LCLU Senior Fellowship

The Leverhulme Centre for Life in the Universe Senior Fellowship (Fixed Term) 

Application currently closed.

Applications are invited from early-career researchers (up to five years of research experience, excluding career breaks since the award of your PhD, at the time of proposal submission) to conduct research at University of Cambridge. The fellowship aims to advance interdisciplinary research that tackles significant questions regarding the origins and distribution of life in the universe as part of the Leverhulme Centre for Life in the Universe. It provides the opportunity for junior researchers to build academic independence, contribute to significant interdisciplinary research, and collaborate with top researchers in multiple fields.  

Applicants must have a PhD in a relevant field to LCLU research themes (Research Themes | Leverhulme Centre for Life in the Universe). LCLU research focuses on four themes: Identifying the chemical pathways to the origins of life; Characterising the environments on Earth and other planets that could act as the cradle of prebiotic chemistry and life; Discovering and characterising habitable exoplanets and signatures of geological and biological evolution; Refining our understanding of life through philosophical and mathematical concepts. 

The Leverhulme Centre for Life in the Universe (LCLU) harness simultaneous breakthroughs in astrophysics, planetology, organic chemistry, evolutionary biology and cognate disciplines to tackle one of the great interdisciplinary challenges of our time: to develop a deeper understanding of life, its emergence, and its distribution in the Universe. This work brings together researchers from Cambridge's Cavendish Laboratory, Institute of Astronomy, Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry, Department of Earth Sciences, Department of Zoology, Department of Biochemistry, Department of History and Philosophy of Science, Faculty of Divinity, and the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology to enable cross-disciplinary research on the origin, nature, and distribution of life in the Universe. 

The Centre also has established international and national collaborations with researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder, University College London, University of Oxford, ETH Zurich, University of Oxford, Harvard University and the Centre of Theological Inquiry in Princeton. 

The successful candidate will be expected to demonstrate clear evidence for intellectual independence and should be proposing an original and innovative research programme. They will be expected to actively participate in the Leverhulme Centre for Life in the Universe by attending events, networking activities therein and by giving a presentation at the midpoint and end of the fellowship. 

Fellows may wish to take part in teaching activities of their host department, to a maximum of 6 hours per week, for which they will be renumerated. 

The fellowship may be held for up to four years. 

Application Requirements 

Collaborative Nature: Applicants must submit joint applications with at least one and a maximum of two of University Cambridge research faculty members acting as host. In case there are two hosts from different departments, the applicant will need to identify the main hosting department. A research faculty member can only support two candidates per call.   

Independence and Innovation: Successful applicants will demonstrate clear evidence for intellectual independence (e.g., as documented in letters in reference, publications without PhD supervisors, collaboration with other institutions or different PIs, etc.) and should be proposing an original and innovative research programme.  

Focus on Interdisciplinary Research: The programme values the development of interdisciplinary approaches, as evidenced by the need for the proposed projects to bridge different fields like astrophysics, biology, organic chemistry, and Earth Sciences.  

What we offer 

Salary will be grade 9 (£47,389 to £59,966) on the University scale based on experience. A research allowance up to £40,000 based on outlined research costs specified in their initial proposal and support for relocation will be provided. Further benefits of university employment are outlined at http://www.induction.admin.cam.ac.uk/http://www.induction.admin.cam.ac.uk/.  

Assessment criteria 

Applications will be assessed against criteria addressing both the candidate’s aptitude as well as the quality of the proposed research and the synergy with the host labs and the Centre. Successful applications must be compelling in all respects.  

The criteria pertaining to the candidate’s aptitude are based on CV, demonstrated evidence of research independence (as described above), reference letters, the career outline and include:  

  • research performance and potential  

  • track record relative to opportunities and career stage  

  • competence for the proposed work and synergy with the faculty member host(s) and the Centre  

  • compatibility of the Senior Fellowship with the career goals of the applicant  

  • long-term research vision  

The criteria referring to the research proposal include  

  • the scientific quality of the planned research  

  • the interdisciplinary nature of the planned research  

  • significance and innovativeness of the project  

  • high-risk /high-reward nature of the planned research  

  • suitability of the proposed procedures methodologies  

  • consideration of gender aspects where appropriate  

The criteria referring to the synergies with the host labs and the Centre include  

  • particular strengths and skills relevant to the host labs  

  • added value and integration into the host labs and the Centre  

  • ambition to move beyond his or her and the hosts’ previous research  

  • embedding of the research within LCLU  

Application 

Applications should be submitted online via the University of Cambridge jobs page LCLU Senior Fellowship (Fixed Term) | University of Cambridge by clicking “Apply online” in the job advert. You will need an email address to register for our online system.   

Applicants must submit the following documents with their application. Please ensure that you upload these documents in the "Upload" section of the online application.

  • Curriculum Vitae (CV), cover letter, publications list 
  • Research statement (1500 words) including:
         (a) summary of the vision and methodology of the project, including outlined research costs**
         (b) how the proposed project relates to LCLU aims and objectives, other research directions in the host group
         (c) specific role and input of the fellow 
         (d) description of the interdisciplinary nature, the high-risk/outside-the-box character of the proposed research and
         the synergy of the proposal with the Centre’s mission
  • Invitation letter from one of the host faculty members describing the suitability of the candidate to the scheme and the potential synergy between the applicant, host, and the Centre.
  • The names and contact details of two academic referees are a necessary part of the submission. Referees will be contacted automatically following an application, but applicants should inform nominated referees for the need to provide references latest by 21 November 2025.

*Your application won't be considered complete without the documents listed above.
**  The fellowship offers a research allowance up to £40,000 based on outlined research costs specified in the initial proposal.

Informal enquiries can be addressed via email to se413@cam.ac.uk.  

Applications will be reviewed after the closing date and short-listed candidates will be interviewed in end of January 2026.  

Applications received after the closing date will not be considered. 

Appointees shall ideally start in October 2026, but alternative starting dates can be arranged with some flexibility.