European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) fellowships

EMBO fellowship guidelines
Please note that several changes have been made to the guidelines in November 1998, and all applications arriving at the EMBO headquarters after this date have been and will be judged by the criteria listed below.

EMBO long-term fellowships are awarded twice annually, deadlines for applications are February 15 and August 15. EMBO short-term fellowships are awarded throughout the year, no deadlines for applications.

1. EMBO budget
EMBO receives its budget from the following countries which form the European Molecular Biology Conference (EMBC): Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom. Special provision is also made for applications involving Cyprus.

2. EMBO fellowships
EMBO awards two classes of exchange fellowships (1) long term post-doctoral fellowships, 1 year duration, and (2) short term fellowships of up to 3 months' duration.

3. EMBO long term fellowships
(DEADLINES FOR RECEIPT OF APPLICATIONS: 15 FEBRUARY AND 15 AUGUST)

Purpose
These fellowships are awarded for prolonged visits (12 to 24 months) and are particularly intended for advanced training through research.

The fellowships provide the travel costs and a stipend for the fellow and his/her family. If the applicant is already at the receiving institute, travel is not paid. The stipend rates depend on the country being visited, marital status, etc. In the event of early termination of the fellowship, any payments made after the date of termination will have to be repaid as will the return portion of the travel money. When the fellowship is accepted for a very brief period, the entire travel allowance will have to be returned.

Duration
The fellowship may be awarded for a period of up to 24 months, dependent on a positive interim request from the supervisor. The reviewing committee may also award a shorter period than requested.

It is acceptable that a fellow would use the EMBO support to complete work initiated under some other fellowship. The maximum time for a combination of this previous support with that from EMBO will be 36 months if the laboratory is within a member state. In non-member states the maximum combined period is 24 months. The application will be valid only if the fellow has been in the receiving laboratory for a period not greater than 2 years at the relevant closing date for application.

All fellowships must be started within one calendar year of the relevant closing date for applications.

Eligibility
Applicants must hold a doctorate degree or equivalent before the start of the fellowship but not necessarily when applying. For clarity, it is deemed that this requirement is fulfilled only when the thesis has been stamped as submitted for final examination by the university. As a minimum, applicants must have at least one first author publication in press or published in an international peer reviewed journal at the time of application. This rule is strictly applied as experience shows that those with weaker c.v.s are never successful.

Candidates can only submit applications for one project at one host laboratory at each round of selection.

The long term fellowships are aimed to support those who have recently completed their Ph.D. Normally this means young scientists with up to approximately, 4 years postdoctoral experience. In the past, this has translated to an age limit of 35 years. This limitation is now removed but the emphasis on the support of those early in their scientific career remains.

All applications must involve either a laboratory of origin or a receiving institute from one of the member states listed above. It follows that there are three types of applications possible: (1) The applicant and the receiving institute are both in or from the member states. This is the favoured application but must involve movement between countries. International laboratories such as EMBL are technically extraterritorial and movement e.g. from Germany to EMBL Heidelberg is, therefore, permitted. It is to be noted that scientists from a member state but currently working in a non-member state (e.g. North America) are very welcome to apply to return to a different member state. (2) Applicants from a non-member state who wish to work in a laboratory in a member state. These applications will be considered under the same criteria as above, but a further justification as to the benefit to the host laboratory (as opposed to the applicant) must be made and generally should be due to some special skill which can be attributed to the applicant. (3) Applications from scientists from member states for support for a research project in a non-member state. In recent years approximately 20% of the fellowships have been for this category. Higher scores are required for an award and the applicant must provide a justification for the choice of a laboratory outside the member states. A comparison with options available within the member states is made by the selection committee.

As the aim of the EMBO is to promote international research, it follows that mobility is a crucial element in deciding the eligibility of an application. Occasionally the nationality of an applicant is not the same as the country in which the work for the Ph.D. was performed. This gives rise to the notion of "Ph.D. nationality". The above movements can, therefore, be interpreted using either the applicant?s member state nationality or his/her Ph.D. nationality. This concept will be used in a way which is most favourable to the applicant while ensuring that the overriding principle of mobility is maintained. However, those non-EMBC nationals with a Ph.D. from a member state will not be eligible for a fellowship in a non-member state.

Applications for long term fellowships to be held in the laboratory, institute or department in which the candidate obtained his or her PhD, or to work again with the candidate's PhD supervisor, no matter where the latter is located, are not considered.

Applications to move from one laboratory to another in the same country are only considered if the applicant has been working in the country for less than 3 months before the closing date for the application.

Applications to work in an industrial research laboratory with a view to developing new products or procedures will not be considered. However, research centres for basic research which are endowed by industries will be eligible.

Applications to perform research in the country where, on the basis of the c.v., the applicant normally works will not be considered.

The selection committee will be asked to give special attention to all cases where the mobility and involvement of a member state is borderline.

Selection of EMBO Long Term Fellows The dossier is examined at the EMBO office to ensure that it is complete and eligible. In most cases, for those applicants resident in member states, an interviewer, who is expert in the area of the application will be selected from among the EMBO members and both the applicant and the interviewer will be informed. The interviewer will then endeavour to arrange the interview at the earliest mutually convenient date (see separate note on interviews). It is not always possible to have an interview for practical reasons, and in particular when the applicant resides outside the member states. In this case the dossier of the candidate is sent for review to an expert in the relevant area of research. All dossiers are then considered by a ten-person international committee of EMBO members who are leading European molecular biologists. Each application is scored independently and the scores forwarded for compilation to the secretariat. The selection committee then meets to consider together the applications and the scores. Typically the outcome of the selection is known approximately 10-12 weeks after the closing date and is provided on the EMBO web site (http://www.embo.org/fellowship/fellow_info.html) immediately after the meeting of the selection committee. The fellowships can be started without any further significant delay. The selection process is confidential. The basis for selection is a combination of the C.V. of the candidate (with due recognition given to the laboratory context in which the candidate had worked), the project as presented and the record of the receiving laboratory.

It follows, therefore, that a request to change laboratory or project once a fellowship has started, will have to be considered by the Committee. Requests for such changes have to be fully justified by the candidate and are granted only in extreme circumstances.

4. EMBO short-term fellowships

There is no deadline for applications, but they should ideally be made about 3 months before the proposed starting date.

Purpose
Short term fellowships are established to advance molecular biology research by helping scientists to visit another laboratory with a view to applying a technique not available in the home laboratory.

Short term fellowships are only provided for exchanges between two EMBC member states (see above) and are not awarded for exchanges between two laboratories within the same country. Short term fellowships are intended for joint research work rather than consultations.

The fellowships cover travel plus subsistence of the fellow only and not of any dependents.

Duration
Short term fellowships are intended for visits of 1 week up to 3 months' duration.

Eligibility
The short term fellowships are reserved for visits by scientists working in the member states (see §1) (or from non-member East European countries) to a laboratory in a different member state.

These fellowships are not restricted to candidates with a Ph.D. degree or the equivalent, although candidates with little research experience have a lower priority. There is no age limit.

Applications which are presented as a means of training in a technique rather than as a component of a research project tend to receive lower priority from reviewers.

EMBO does not consider applications for short term fellowships to prolong visits begun under other auspices, or as bridging fellowships between, or prior to, long term stays funded by EMBO or other organisations. Applications for fellowships to attend courses, workshops, or symposia will not be considered.

The fact that an applicant has previously held an EMBO short or long term fellowship does not preclude further applications for a fellowship for a new project in. It is not, however, possible to hold both a short term and a long term fellowship at the same time.

Selection of EMBO short-term fellows Applications are refereed by a postal procedure by EMBO members expert in the area of the research project and fellowships are awarded throughout the year.

The reviewers are asked to judge the quality of the candidate, the research project and the receiving laboratory but the major criterion deciding whether or not to award a fellowship will be the projected benefit to the home laboratory of the applicant. It follows that those who have not got career plans that include a return to their current home laboratory for a reasonable period after the fellowship will be at a grave disadvantage.