NeuroCure Research Fellowships – For Female Postdocs in the Neurosciences

The transition from postdoc to leading an independent research group is a critical bottleneck for all early career researchers, but especially for women, who may face extra hurdles due to the challenges of combining career and family, as well as various forms of unconscious bias, including questioning women’s independence.

To address this problem, the cluster offers NeuroCure Research Fellowships for female postdocs in the neurosciences as an intramural funding program to promote early independence for advanced female researchers from the local community who have a strong interest in continuing their career towards an independent faculty position.

The aim is to foster conditions for scientific freedom so that fellows can sharpen their scientific focus, gain experience managing their own team and budget, and thereby strengthen their chances of securing an independent research position. To do this, NeuroCure bundles together into one fellowship package significant funding for personnel, consumables and small investments, as well as childcare, mentoring, and networking support.

The impact of this program on career development shines through in its alumnae. 50% of the female postdoc fellows from the Cluster’s first two funding periods now lead their own independent research groups, while others continue to make important scientific contributions in other sectors.

For information on current and former research projects, see here.