Funding

Salary · Partial / Stipend

Program dates

TBA

Fellowship•Global

EMBO Postdoctoral Fellowships

EMBO (European Molecular Biology Organization)

Application Deadline

January 22, 2027

Official Page

The EMBO Postdoctoral Fellowship supports outstanding early-career researchers in the molecular life sciences who want to gain experience in a laboratory abroad. It is run by EMBO (the European Molecular Biology Organization), based in Heidelberg, Germany. A fellow relocates to a host laboratory in a different country and pursues a mechanism-driven biological research project for up to 24 months. Every project must involve a change of country, as the scheme exists to promote international scientific exchange. Around 1,400 applications arrive each year, with a success rate of roughly 8%.

Benefits & funding

  • Salary or stipend for up to 24 months (minimum 12 months); the rate depends on the host country. In EMBC member states EMBO funds a full employment contract; outside them fellows receive a living stipend.
  • Travel and relocation allowance for the fellow and family.
  • Child-daycare allowance of up to €2,500 per fellowship year, per child under six.
  • A country-specific dependent-child allowance for children under 18.
  • Three months of paid parental leave, with a matching fellowship extension.
  • Access to EMBO Laboratory Leadership and scientific-skills courses, and to the EMBO Fellows’ Network.

Eligibility

  • A PhD (or equivalent) by the fellowship start date, obtained within the two years before submission (extensions apply for parental leave, military/civil service, or serious illness).
  • At least one first-author (or joint-first-author) research paper accepted or published in an international peer-reviewed journal, or a first-author preprint carrying public in-depth peer reviews.
  • International mobility is mandatory: the project must involve moving to a different country. Applicants cannot apply to the country where they did their PhD, to their PhD institution or supervisor, or to any lab where they already worked more than six months.
  • To work in an EMBC member state, applicants of any nationality and any PhD country are eligible. Fellowships to EMBO’s global partners or to non-member states carry extra nationality and mobility conditions.
  • The project must sit within EMBO’s molecular-life-science subject areas and cannot be a direct continuation of the PhD.

Can you apply?

Worth a closer look

Sign in and add your profile to check this against your nationality, residency, and studies.

  • Education required

    PhD

    Not in your profile yet

  • Appears to have an age limit “up to 24”

    confirm in the requirements

Sign in to check eligibility

We only check the criteria we have data for. Always confirm full eligibility on the official page before applying.

Application process

  1. 1
    Register for an EMBO online application account.
  2. 2
    Prepare the application in English (no figures or tables), including the research proposal and choice of host lab.
  3. 3
    Secure two reference letters (one from the PhD supervisor, none from the host institute) and an acceptance letter from the receiving institute.
  4. 4
    Submit through the EMBO online system before the relevant cutoff. Applications are accepted year-round and enter the next selection round.

Program timeline

  1. Fourth Friday of January, 14:00 CET

    Spring round cutoff (next: 22 January 2027); results announced end of June.

  2. Second Friday of July, 14:00 CEST

    Autumn round cutoff; results announced end of December.

  3. 0–6 weeks after cutoff

    eligibility pre-screening.

  4. 7–15 weeks after cutoff

    expert interview, held online.

  5. 15–17 weeks after cutoff

    final committee selection.