Joining the department as a Principal Investigator

There are two main ways to join the department as a principal investigator.

The first is to apply for a lectureship. Open posts are advertised at jobs.cam.ac.uk, which can be accessed via the ‘vacancies at PDN’ section of the PDN website.

The second is to apply for a research fellowship. These are available at two different levels; Senior Research Fellowships and Career Development fellowships. Funding is provided by external funding bodies, with different application deadlines. In some cases, this funding is sufficient to cover all research activity in the lab for the duration of the award.

Senior Research Fellowships

These are available at many different career stages (including at senior professorial level) and offer flexibility with funding and research activities outside of a teaching post. Applicants interested in applying for Senior Research Fellowships should contact the head of department administrator via vcf24@cam.ac.uk.

Career Development Fellowships (CDAs)

These provide start-up funding to allow exceptional postdoctoral researchers from any country to set up their own research group and make the transition to principal investigator within a host institution in the UK, usually for a period of 5 years. The department welcomes applications from potential career development fellows whose work synergises with existing research.

CDA Application process:

  1. Identify a sponsor within the department who would be willing to host you if you are successful in securing a fellowship
  2. Identify which career development fellowships you would like to apply to and note their deadlines for application.
    The University Research Operations Office requires 4 weeks notice in advance of the funder deadline of your intention to submit a grant application. They also require the fully completed application to be submitted to them for approval at least 7 working days before the funder deadline.  Please contact grants@pdn.cam.ac.uk of your intention to submit an application and they will advise the University Research Operations Office.
  3. Submit a short summary of your current and future research plans (no more than 2 pages) and your CV by the departmental deadline above to grants@pdn.cam.ac.uk
  4. Shortlisted candidates will be invited to give a research talk at the department, after which a decision will be made whether to support their application to the relevant funding bodies (some of which are highlighted below).

CDA Potential sources of funding: