Senior Clinical Investigator Fellowship — Fellowship

The Senior Clinical Investigator Fellowship is run by the Research Foundation – Flanders (FWO), the public funder of fundamental research in the Flemish Community of Belgium. It is built for doctors and clinical-biology pharmacists who already hold a permanent hospital post and want to build a research career beside it.

The fellowship funds translational research, the work that carries laboratory biomedicine into patient care and brings clinical questions back to the bench. FWO pays the host hospital to cover the clinical hours the fellow steps away from, so the fellow keeps their post while spending roughly half their time on research.

A term runs five years from 1 October and can be renewed twice after positive evaluation. The 2026 round closed on 2 March 2026; the call runs once a year and opened in early December last cycle.

Benefits & funding

Replacement funding of up to EUR 60,000 per year, paid so the host hospital can staff the clinical work the fellow hands over.
The standard arrangement releases the fellow from half their clinical duties; an alternative releases 20% of the time and adds a scientific or technical employee, within the same EUR 60,000 per year ceiling.
First-term fellows also receive research support of up to EUR 20,000 per year, capped at EUR 100,000 across the five years, for operational costs and equipment.
That research budget, FWO’s bench fee, covers consumables, equipment, travel, conference fees and publication costs; unspent amounts carry forward within the fellowship term.
The term is five years and can be extended twice by five years each, subject to positive evaluation.

Eligibility

Government-recognised authorisation to practise in Belgium as a medical specialist, a general practitioner, or a pharmacist specialising in clinical biology.
A PhD by thesis, obtained no later than 1 June of the year the fellowship starts and no more than 20 years before the start date.
An open-ended employment contract at a university hospital affiliated to a university in the Flemish Community; general practitioners instead hold a post at a Flemish university family-medicine department.
At least 80% of working time spent on purely clinical activities.
Agreement with FWO’s research-integrity clause and completion of the ethics self-assessment questionnaire.
Letters of support from the clinic director, the supervisor and the faculty dean (general practitioners excepted), committing to replace the fellow’s clinical work and to reinstate them afterwards.
No nationality requirement is stated. One application per round, and at most two applications for this fellowship in a career, counted from the 2020 call.

Can you apply?

Here's who can apply

Decoded from the official rules. A free account checks them against your passport, degree and age in seconds.

Residence required
Belgium
Education required
PhD

Check my eligibility — free

Circlebreaker is a free database of global fellowships, scholarships and programs — every one decoded like this.

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

Application process

1
Check yourself against the senior clinical investigator regulations and FWO’s general regulations before drafting anything.
2
Write the project outline and the future-planning document on FWO’s own templates.
3
Obtain the letters of support from your clinic director, supervisor and faculty dean.
4
Complete the ethics checklist questionnaire and select your research discipline codes.
5
Submit through the FWO e-loket portal before 17:00 on the deadline day.
6
The jury clinical fellowships scores the application against the published score grid, the board of trustees confirms the ranking, and FWO sends feedback after the decision.

Program timeline

Call opens.
5 December 2025
Online information session.
12 December 2025
Application deadline.
2 March 2026, 17:00
Results announced.
27 May 2026
Fellowship starts.
1 October 2026