Early Career Fellowships

Round open: Thursday 23rd April 2026

Deadline for submission of applications: 3pm on Thursday 9th July 2026

Interviews: Early December 2026

Applicants notified of outcomes: End December 2026

Grants will typically be awarded for up to three years' full time and we expect the awards to be in the region of £400,000-£450,000. The maximum budget will be £450,000.

We're aiming to fund three fellowships from our core budget for this round. In addition, we hope to award the second Langmuir Fellowship. This prestigious award has been made possible thanks to a generous gift from the Langmuir Family Foundation, and will be awarded to the highest ranked applicant in the field of myeloma.

Applicants should be proposing to undertake a novel research project that is in line with our overarching strategic aim and with at least one of the three priority research themes from our research strategy:

• Prevention
• Early detection and predicting outcomes
• Treatment

The fellowship should provide the researcher with the leadership, career development and training opportunities needed for the applicant to reach the next stage in their career.

Fellows are permitted to undertake discovery or translational research, small scale clinical studies or research projects associated with ongoing clinical trials as part of a fellowship. These Fellowships are not designed to directly support the design or delivery of clinical trials.

We encourage applications from outstanding early career researchers who are dedicated to pursuing a career in blood cancer research, and who are aiming to transition towards independence with the support of this fellowship. To be eligible candidates will have had a maximum of six years’ full time equivalent active research experience since gaining their PhD. Allowances will be made for career breaks, COVID-19 impacts and clinical activity.

For more information on the full remit and eligibility criteria, head to page 2 in the application guidance document.

All applications must be submitted via the new Blood Cancer UK Grants Portal. The form will be live from Thursday 30th April. Guidance on using the new portal will be provided. The full question set can be found in the guidance document below so you can begin preparing your application. 

No applications will be accepted after the deadline. Applicants must submit their application ahead of this deadline leaving sufficient time for the required signatories to approve the application.

All proposals submitted for this call will be reviewed by external peer reviewers from relevant fields and people affected by blood cancer.

The application and associated reviews will be assessed and shortlisted by our Fellowships Committee and members of our Research Involvement Network. Shortlisted candidates will then be invited to interviews with members of our Fellowships Committee and Research Involvement Network.

More information on the assessment criteria can be found on pages 4-5 of the application guidance document.

Please make sure to read the application guidance document in full to ensure you have understood all of the requirements for this funding scheme.

Grants will be awarded in line with Blood Cancer UK’s Terms and Conditions.

If you have any queries regarding Early Career Fellowships, please contact [email protected].