RD Lawrence Fellowship
Definition of the RD Lawrence Fellowship
The RD Lawrence Fellowship was established by Diabetes UK in 1976 in recognition of the life and example of the late Dr RD Lawrence, co-founder of Diabetes UK. It is a career development fellowship which enables postdoctoral researchers to establish their independence in diabetes research.
Financial support
Support may be requested for up to five years.
Salaries
Salary for the applicant may be requested.
The salary for a technician or post graduate research assistant may also be requested. This must be justified fully in the proposal.
Materials and consumables
Requests should not exceed £14,000 per annum.
Eligibility
Applicants must be in the early stage of their career with between three and six years postdoctoral experience from the date of their doctoral degree (PhD viva). Allowance will be given to applicants whose career has been subject to a late start or interruption for family or personal reasons.
Applicants are expected to have proven research experience and plan to maintain a long-term interest in diabetes.
All applicants must have identified a sponsor before applying. Diabetes UK will not identify sponsors for potential applicants and will not accept applications from those without a potential sponsor.
Deadlines
The RD Lawrence Fellowship is advertised in the scientific/medical press in April of each year and has an annual deadline of 31 October.
How to apply
Application forms must be requested from the research department. At this stage applicants are asked to provide a CV with a full publication list and details of their potential sponsor.
Administrative processes
Peer review
Applications will be sent out for peer review to researchers who have not published or worked in the same institutions as any of the applicants for at least five years. Please consider this when suggesting reviewers in the application.
Shortlisting and interview
The papers will be sent to a specialist Panel who make recommendations for shortlisting based on the criteria listed below.
Candidates will be informed via email whether they have been shortlisted and shortlisted candidates will be invited to attend an interview at Diabetes UK.
Interviews will take place in late February.
Assessment criteria
Applications are assessed on the following criteria:
- Quality of the proposal and its relevance to people with diabetes
- Track record of applicant
- Applicant’s leadership potential
- Quality of research environment and support.