__NOTOC__ The Royal Society University Research Fellowship (URF) is a

research fellow A research fellow is an academic research position at a university or a similar research institution, usually for academic staff or faculty members. A research fellow may act either as an independent investigator or under the supervision of a pr ...

ship awarded to outstanding early career scientists in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

who are judged by the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

to have the potential to become leaders in their field."University Research Fellowship"
Royal Society The research fellowship funds all areas of research in

natural science Natural science is one of the branches of science concerned with the description, understanding and prediction of natural phenomena, based on empirical evidence from observation and experimentation. Mechanisms such as peer review and repeatab ...

including

life sciences This list of life sciences comprises the branches of science that involve the scientific study of life – such as microorganisms, plants, and animals including human beings. This science is one of the two major branches of natural science, the ...

physical science Physical science is a branch of natural science that studies non-living systems, in contrast to life science. It in turn has many branches, each referred to as a "physical science", together called the "physical sciences". Definition Physi ...

s and

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...

, but excluding

clinical medicine Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care practice ...

. The URF scheme provides the opportunity for fellows to build an independent career in

scientific research The scientific method is an empirical method for acquiring knowledge that has characterized the development of science since at least the 17th century (with notable practitioners in previous centuries; see the article history of scientific m ...

. Fellows are expected to be strong candidates for permanent faculty posts and

academic tenure Tenure is a category of academic appointment existing in some countries. A tenured post is an indefinite academic appointment that can be terminated only for cause or under extraordinary circumstances, such as financial exigency or program disco ...

in universities at the end of their fellowships. , the fellowship funds up to 80% of basic salary costs for the awardee, with the other 20% usually provided by the University hosting the fellow. Fellowships are awarded annually. In 2016, there were 25 universities across the UK and Ireland hosting 44 newly appointed University Research Fellowships. In 2015, the success rate of applications was 8%.

Notable fellows

, examples of current and former Fellows include: *

Frances Ashcroft Dame Frances Mary Ashcroft (born 1952) is a British ion channel physiologist. She is Royal Society GlaxoSmithKline Research Professor at the University Laboratory of Physiology at the University of Oxford. She is a fellow of Trinity College, Ox ...

(1985–1990), Oxford *

Terri Attwood Teresa K. Attwood is a Professor of Bioinformatics in the Department of Computer Science and School of Biological Sciences at the University of Manchester and a visiting fellow at the European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI). She held a Roya ...

, University College London (1993-1999)

University of Manchester , mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity , established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univer ...

1999-2002 *

Jean Beggs Jean Duthie Beggs CBE FRS FRSE DSc (née Lancaster, born 16 April 1950) is a Scottish geneticist. She is the Royal Society Darwin Trust Professor in the Wellcome Trust Centre for Cell Biology at the University of Edinburgh. Biography Beggs w ...

Sarah-Jayne Blakemore Sarah-Jayne Blakemore (born 11 August 1974) is Professor of Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience at the University of Cambridge and co-director of the Wellcome Trust PhD Programme in Neuroscience at University College London Sarah Jayne Blake ...

(2007–2013),

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

Richard Borcherds Richard Ewen Borcherds (; born 29 November 1959) is a British mathematician currently working in quantum field theory. He is known for his work in lattice (group), lattices, group theory, and infinite-dimensional algebra over a field, algebras, f ...

Sarah Bridle Sarah Louise Bridle is a Professor of Food, Climate and Society at the University of York. She previously served as Professor of extragalactic astronomy and cosmology in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Manchester where she ...

(2008–2012), University of Manchester * Brian Cox (2005–2013), University of Manchester *

Gideon Davies Gideon John Davies (born 6 July 1964) is a Professor of Chemistry in the Structural Biology Laboratory (YSBL) at the University of York, UK. Davies is best known for his ground-breaking studies into carbohydrate-active enzymes, notably analysin ...

(1996–2005),

University of York , mottoeng = On the threshold of wisdom , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £8.0 million , budget = £403.6 million , chancellor = Heather Melville , vice_chancellor = Charlie Jeffery , students ...

Athene Donald Dame Athene Margaret Donald (née Griffith; born 15 May 1953) is a British physicist. She is Professor of Experimental Physics at the University of Cambridge, and Master of Churchill College, Cambridge. Outside the University, she chaired the ...

(1983),

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

Rafal E. Dunin-Borkowski Rafal Edward Dunin-Borkowski (born 3 August 1969) is a British experimental physicist. He is currently Director of the Institute for Microstructure Research (PGI-5) and the Ernst Ruska-Centre, Ernst Ruska-Centre for Microscopy and Spectroscopy wi ...

(2000-2007),

* David Jones (1995–1999),

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

Andrew P. Mackenzie Andrew Peter Mackenzie (born 1964) is a director of Physics of Quantum Materials at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Physics of Solids in Dresden, Germany and Professor of Condensed Matter Physics at the University of St Andrews, Scotla ...

(1993–2001)

University of Birmingham , mottoeng = Through efforts to heights , established = 1825 – Birmingham School of Medicine and Surgery1836 – Birmingham Royal School of Medicine and Surgery1843 – Queen's College1875 – Mason Science College1898 – Mason Univers ...

Zita Martins Zita Carla Torrão Pinto Martins (born 1979), OSE, is a Portuguese astrobiologist, and an associate professor at Instituto Superior Técnico. She was a Royal Society University Research Fellow (URF) at Imperial College London. Her research explo ...

(2014–2017),

Imperial College London Imperial College London (legally Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom. Its history began with Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, who developed his vision for a cu ...

Shahn Majid Shahn Majid (born 1960 in Patna, Bihar, India) is an English pure mathematician and theoretical physicist, trained at Cambridge University and Harvard University and, since 2001, a Professor of Mathematics at the School of Mathematical Sciences ...

(1993-2003), *

John Pethica Sir John Bernard Pethica, (born 1953) is Science Foundation Ireland (S.F.I.) professor of material science at Trinity College, Dublin, Chief Scientific Advisor at the UK's National Physical Laboratory, and a visiting professor at Oxford Unive ...

Tanya Monro Tanya Mary Monro FOSA FAIP GAICD (born 1973)Prof. Tanya Monro
Royal Institution of Australia, riaus.org.au< ...

(2000-2005), for research at the

University of Southampton , mottoeng = The Heights Yield to Endeavour , type = Public research university , established = 1862 – Hartley Institution1902 – Hartley University College1913 – Southampton University Coll ...

* Tom Sanders (2016-2019),

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

* Suzie Sheehy (2017 - ) for research at the University of Oxford *

Nigel Scrutton Nigel Shaun Scrutton (born 2 April 1964) is a British biochemist and biotechnology innovator known for his work on enzyme catalysis, biophysics and synthetic biology. He is Director of the UK Future Biomanufacturing Research Hub, Director of the ...

(1991-1999) for research at

and

University of Leicester , mottoeng = So that they may have life , established = , type = public research university , endowment = £20.0 million , budget = £326 million , chancellor = David Willetts , vice_chancellor = Nishan Canagarajah , head_labe ...

Beth Shapiro Beth Alison Shapiro (born 1976) is an American evolutionary molecular biologist. She is a professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Shapiro's work has centered on the analysis of ...

(2006-2007),

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

* Stephen Warren, *

David J. Wales David John Wales (born 1963) FRS One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from the royalsociety.org website where: FRSC is a professor of Chemical Physics, in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Cambridge. Educa ...

(1991-1998), University of Cambridge One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from the royalsociety.org website where: *

Kathy Willis Katherine Jane Willis, Baroness Willis of Summertown, (born 16 January 1964) is a British biologist, academic and life peer, who studies the relationship between long-term ecosystem dynamics and environmental change. She is Professor of Biodive ...

Tara Shears Tara Georgina Shears (born 1969) is a Professor of Physics at the University of Liverpool. Early life Shears was born in Salisbury in Wiltshire. She remained in Wiltshire, living in Wootton Rivers and attending the co-educational comprehensive ...

(2000-2008)

References

{{authority control Fellowships Innovation in the United Kingdom Research and development in the United Kingdom Royal Society Universities in the United Kingdom