Through our professorships we provide funding, careers support and access to our professional networks to help attract and retain emerging talent from around the world to the UK. This is one of the ways we are working to make the UK the best place in the world to have a career in medical sciences.
The professorships are currently OPEN for applications. View our When to apply and How to apply sections for further information.
Summary
Our Professorships offer up to £500,000 of research funding to support biomedical and healthcare researchers who are new to the UK during the early years of a full professorship. They are intended to support researchers in the early-leadership career stage.
Who can apply
Eligible applicants
- Applicants will have recently taken up, accepted or been guaranteed a full professorship at a higher education institution (HEI) in the UK.
- Applicants must have moved (or plan to move) to the UK.
- While the professorship does not need to be an applicant’s first, this scheme is intended to support researchers in the early-leadership career stage and the selection panel will consider this in their assessment of applications.
- It is our expectation that applicants who have already commenced their professorship will typically have done so within the past three years, though the selection panel will be asked to take all factors into account in its assessment of the proposal.
- Applicants will not normally have lived in the UK for more than 12 months immediately before accepting their professorial appointment.
- The Academy is unable to consider multiple applications from a single applicant to a round of competition.
Eligible administering organisations
- Only UK-based HEIs are eligible to administer an award.
- HEIs are required to provide applicants with an open-ended contract and evidence that they will be offered a supportive environment.
If you would like to discuss your eligibility for the scheme, please contact Professorships@acmedsci.ac.uk.
When to apply
Round 16 opens on Wednesday 14 October 2026 and closes at 16.00 GMT on Wednesday 6 January 2027.
Duration
Award funds must be spent within three years. Awardees will hold the professorship for five years.
Funding amount
Applicants may request up to £500,000.
Funding is provided in three annual instalments: up to £225,000 in year 1; up to £175,000 in year 2; and up to £100,000 in year 3.
Funding may be used to support research during the early years of a professorship. This includes consumables, staffing costs and equipment. Funding cannot be used to cover applicants’ salaries or personal expenditure, such as relocation, visa or NHS surcharge costs. Indirect and estates costs are also ineligible.
How to apply
Read:
You will need to apply using our online grant management system Flexigrant. You may be asked to submit further information if requested by the selection panel. If you have further questions, please contact professorships@acmedsci.ac.uk.
| Schedule | Date |
|---|---|
| Application window opens | 14 October 2026 |
| Application window closes | 6 January 2027 |
| Interviews held | 18 February 2027 |
| Outcomes released | March 2027 |
| Awards start | By 31 March 2027 |
Selection process
Applications will be reviewed by a selection panel that includes Fellows of the Academy. The criteria for assessment will include:
- the extent to which the application aligns with the aims of the scheme
- the track record of the applicant and their strategic fit with the proposed UK administering organisation
- the added value offered the professorship would offer to the applicant’s research career
- the level of support being provided for the applicant by the UK administering organisation
In the first instance, applications will be shortlisted. Selected candidates will be invited to an interview on Thursday 18 February 2027. Interviews will be conducted remotely through video conference.
Supporter
Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade
What alumni say
Juanma Vaquerizas, Professorship recipient and Professor of Developmental & Regulatory Genomics, Imperial College London
The Academy Professorship provided transformative support to explore the 3D genome's role in early development. I highly recommend applying!
Professor Juanma Vaquerizas
Philip Shaw, Professorship recipient, Director of the King’s Maudsley Partnership for Children and Young People, and Professor at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience at King's College London
I’m excited to be part of such a collaborative and internationally connected environment that values global perspectives in improving children’s and young people’s mental health.
Professor Philip Shaw