Key Considerations

   1. Eligibility

• The scheme is open to early-career researchers with a maximum of six years’ postdoctoral experience at the time of application, dated from their PhD defence. Applicants with more than the stated period post-PhD who have had a career break, undertaken part-time roles, or work outside of active research, are advised to contact cbr-ukdri-pdf[at]cbr-iisc.ac.in to discuss their eligibility.
• Applicants must hold a PhD degree from a recognised university.
• Applicants are not restricted by their age or nationality.
• Applicants must be eligible to hold a Visa to work in the UK for up to 12 months in a four-year period. UK DRI is a UKRI approved research organisation, applicants may be eligible to apply for the Global Talent Visa fast track route.
• Applicants are ineligible to apply if they already hold a permanent contract of employment at CBR.

    2. Supervisory Team

• Applicants must be supervised by a lead Supervisor at the CBR and a Co-Supervisor at a UK DRI Centre. All supervisory team members must hold a contract of employment (fixed or tenured) which outlasts the proposed duration of the project.
• The Supervisor and Co-Supervisor have oversight of the Fellow, their research programme, and are expected to contribute actively to the training of the Fellow.
• The supervisory team are required to provide access to appropriate facilities necessary to undertake the project.
• The Supervisor may not be the applicant’s PhD guide and/or co-guide.
• Potential Supervisors from CBR: Prof. Thomas Gregor Issac, Dr Jonas S Sundarakumar, and others
• Potential Co-Supervisors from UK DRI: Dr. Henrik Zetterberg, Prof. Valentina Escott-Price, Prof. Jonathan Schott, Prof. Suvankar Pal, and others
• Successful applicants will have the opportunity to engage with an independent Mentor. The Mentor/s may be within the CBR and/or at a UK DRI Centre. The role of a Mentor is to provide guidance to the applicant but not be directly involved in the research.

    3. Research Proposal

• The research proposal should be distinct from the ongoing research projects of the Supervisory team members, although it is recognised that often the science will be complementary to the work undertaken in the Supervisor and Co-Supervisor’s groups.
• The research proposal must be independent of the applicant’s PhD Guide and/or Co-Guide.
• Proposals should look to develop and apply biomarker, digital health, and/or data science approaches to advance our understanding of dementia. This may be through furthering knowledge of disease mechanisms, identification of risk factors/markers, or other relevant approaches to improve diagnosis and the lives of those with dementia.
• Fellowships are subject to annual progression review with the Supervisory team and other relevant scientific experts. Progress into year three is subject to a formal mid-term review and interview.

   4. Training Package

• Fellows will have access to high-quality training opportunities across the CBR and UK DRI. The training package will support technical and transferrable skill development, complementing the Fellows’ research programme.
• Fellows will benefit from “future leader” training workshops delivered through UK DRI and partner organisations, which will include:
  • Laboratory leadership, management and negotiation
  • Applied statistics and data-driven approaches for Biomedical Research
  • Science communication

Costing

Fellowships are salaried at:

• ₹1,50,000 per month at CBR
• ₹3,50,000 per month at UK DRI Centre

CBR will provide reasonable consumable costs, conference attendance fees and travel costs to and from the Co-Supervisor’s UK DRI Centre. UK DRI will meet reasonable research costs incurred during the period spent at the Co-Supervisor’s UK DRI Centre.