My winning proposal: Reaching out

Don’t be overawed by Wellcome’s Early Career Awards—help is always at hand

Top tips

• Consider splitting your time between research environments if appropriate
• The Wellcome Trust’s grants team is very helpful
• The costings and project management aspects are likely to be unfamiliar; do not be afraid to ask your host institution for help
• Hone your central research question so you can express it with total clarity
• Fully research the interview panel if you get that far

The fruit of the Wellcome Trust’s overhaul of its funding schemes in 2021 to give researchers “more freedom, time and financial resources to pursue their ideas”, the Early Career Awards are some of the most generous grants available to researchers with a maximum of three years’ postdoctoral experience (allowances are made for personal circumstances).