Edmond and Lily Safra Research Fellow

About the role

Applications are invited to join a cohort of Edmond and Lily Safra Research Fellows to establish independent research programmes in Parkinson’s and related neurodegenerative diseases at Imperial College London.

Imperial College London is one of the world’s most highly ranked universities. Imperial has made a major commitment to neurodegenerative disease research in its Department of Brain Sciences, which achieved top overall ranking in its group (UoA4) in the 2021 national Research Excellence Framework (REF). It is the only UK university hosting two centres for the UK Dementia Research Institute: the UK DRI Centre at Imperial and the UK DRI Care Research and Technology Centre. The Department of Brain Sciences has a long-term commitment to Parkinson’s disease (PD) research and houses the MS and UK Parkinson’s Tissue Bank, which provides both a local and national human tissue resource for study of PD.

We are an international research community. We are committed to being fair and inclusive, to creating an equitable environment, built on equality of opportunity, and to being a place where everyone is welcome. We particularly welcome applications from under-represented groups. Women and scientists from an ethnic minority are particularly under-represented in research positions at these levels.

With generous support from the Edmond J. Safra Foundation and Lily Safra, a prestigious Safra Fellowship Programme was initiated in 2016 for postdoctoral researchers of demonstrated ability and highest potential. All who have completed their Fellowships successfully progressed on to independent faculty positions at Imperial or other UK universities.

Now, through additional generous support from the Edmond J. Safra Foundation, we invite applications for a new cohort of Fellows in Parkinson’s and related neurodegenerative diseases. We are looking for accomplished researchers, ready to take the next step towards independence, willing to take risks to pursue important objectives to advance the field.

If you are curious about the opportunity but have questions, please get in touch to discuss how this Research Fellowship could be the right decision for you.

What you would be doing

As an Edmond and Lily Safra Research Fellow, you will be based in the Department of Brain Sciences at Imperial. You will have the opportunity to establish your group at Hammersmith Campus and White City, the major new campus designed to bring together scientific researchers, corporate partners, entrepreneurs and the local community to co-exist and co-create on an unprecedented scale.

You will belong to a cohort of up to five Fellows appointed in 2024/25 within the Department of Brain Sciences. The Fellowships may be held for 3 years in the first instance. You may spend up to 12 months visiting other research institutions and/ or in industry, the maximum time spent at any one institution or company being 6 months. Research space will be provided at Imperial, as will a non-renewable research start-up fund of £65,000. Additional funds may also be available on a project-by-project basis from other internal funds, including e.g., those of the NIHR Biomedical Research Centre or the UKRI Impact Acceleration Account (IAA) scheme administered by Imperial.

The Fellowships are research focused roles, but opportunities to develop a broad range of related skills relevant to success in an academic career also will be made available. These have typically included formal training provided by Imperial’s Early Career Researcher Institute and teaching and examining for undergraduate and taught post-graduate courses.

What we are looking for

We are looking for driven, motivated scientists to:

• Lead and grow a scientific programme of the highest quality in Parkinson’s disease research towards international excellence in the chosen area.
• Publish research papers in peer-reviewed journals
• Attend and present work at international conferences
• Obtain external research funding

What we can offer you

• The opportunity to continue your career at a world-leading institution and be part of our mission to continue science for humanity.
• Grow your career: Gain access to Imperial’s sector-leading dedicated career support for researchers as well as opportunities for promotion and progression
• Sector-leading salary and remuneration package (including 39 days off a year and generous pension schemes).

Further information

The contract is offered full time, for three years based at White City and Hammersmith campuses

Applicants are encouraged to contact Prof Paul Matthews for an informal discussion about the role pa-pmm@imperial.ac.uk.

If applicants wish to discuss any aspect related to EDI in the Department before applying, they are welcome to contact Jessica Kitsell on j.kitsell@imperial.ac.uk or the co-chairs of the Department’s Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Committee.

Candidates are required to complete an online application form. CVs only will not be considered.

The deadline for application is 15th February 2025. We expect interviews will be held in March 2025.

Available documents

Attached documents are available under links. Clicking a document link will initialize its download.

• download: Employee Benefits Booklet.pdf
• download: Edmond and Lily Safra Research Fellow Job Description.pdf

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