BioFAIR is delighted to announce our second call for fellows. BioFAIR Fellows are ambassadors for excellence in research workflow and data management across the UK life science research community, and contribute to the creation of the BioFAIR People Commons. Following the success of our inaugural cohort last year, we are now inviting applications to join the BioFAIR People Commons for 2026/27.
This is an opportunity to be a part of the ambitious BioFAIR programme, to deliver a BioCommons infrastructure for end-to-end FAIR research data management and analysis capabilities – along with support and training – for UK researchers in the life sciences. A BioFAIR Fellowship will fund 20% of your time for one year to support ambassadorial activities within your institution, across your research domain and the wider scientific community. The People Commons aims to establish a collaborative network throughout the UK, promoting FAIR data practices and offering hands-on support to researchers grappling with data management and data analysis challenges.
Our inaugural cohort of fellows (2025-2026) focused mainly on methods. This year, we are looking to fund up to ten fellows (2026-2027) focused on FAIR data management. This call will focus on data stewardship, metadata management, standards development and adoption, ontologies, approaches to data curation, and AI-readiness of data, and additionally will prioritise geographic and scientific breadth. We expect this cohort to be made up of individuals from across the UK who can act as ambassadors for the adoption of good practice in research data management (RDM) and stewardship, while helping BioFAIR develop a Data Commons that can address the key RDM challenges faced by the community.
Fellowship calls run annually and, in future years, cohorts will continue to have a different focus, targeting other activities across the BioFAIR remit.
Launch Webinar
To kick off the 2026-27 BioFAIR Fellowship Programme the BioFAIR Hub team will host a webinar on 14th July to give an overview of the fellowship call and explain how to apply. We will also run a second webinar to cover a range of frequently asked questions on 28th July. Recordings will be made available below after each session. Following our introductory webinar on 14th July, we’re holding a Q&A session on Tuesday 28 July, 12:00–13:00 BST.
Why you should apply
As part of the 2026 cohort of BioFAIR Fellows, you will help shape the strategy and direction of BioFAIR’s People Commons. Fellows help identify priorities and bottlenecks, and reach into communities that would otherwise be disconnected. As part of our mission, BioFAIR seeks to drive adoption of the FAIR principles and open data, and build excellent research data management capabilities across the UK life sciences. This change starts with the people who can lead it, so if you are excited about the chance to embed FAIR best practices amongst diverse communities of front-line life sciences researchers and directly support them with their data management needs, then you are the type of person we are looking for.
The benefits of becoming a BioFAIR Fellow include:
Shape the future: Help us establish FAIR research data management as a vital capability for organisations doing data-intensive life sciences research, professionalise data stewardship skills across the UK, and help develop the vision for BioFAIR services and infrastructure for years to come. Provide input that will shape the emerging Data and Methods Commons, so that they provide the capabilities that researchers really need.
Be a role model: Stand amongst your peers, advocate for good FAIR data practices, and embody a practical, hands-on, supporting role for data managers and data stewards across the UK.
Support a FAIR transformation: Many research organisations around the UK struggle to manage, share and reuse their research data, and to adopt the FAIR principles themselves. As a BioFAIR Fellow you can make use of your expertise to create a step change in data-driven research.
Create dedicated specialist time: Use BioFAIR funding to carve out some of your time to prioritise outreach, engagement, and your own learning and development. Make space for the specialist activities – such as developing data management best practices, data stewardship, and peer support – that you don’t typically have time for in research projects.
Engage at key events: Deliver training, attend conferences and events, and speak to a range of researchers to gain breadth in your understanding of typical data management problems. Attend training courses for your own development. Gain access to a BioFAIR travel and training fund to support you with the budget to represent BioFAIR at key events.
Join the team: Become part of the growing community of BioFAIR Fellows who together form the BioFAIR People Commons. Help set the direction for this team, as well as build a positive culture within BioFAIR. Exchange ideas and expertise, and learn from your peers and colleagues working on similar research data management challenges.
Lasting status: BioFAIR operates a ‘once a fellow, always a fellow’ policy. Fellows will retain access to support from the BioFAIR Hub team and remain part of the community even once their funding ends. Fellows can use their experience and expertise to provide input to the BioFAIR BioCommons and other digital infrastructures, and will have the chance to act as role models and mentors to future fellows.
What we are looking for
We are seeking applicants with the capability, capacity, and institutional support to act as Ambassadors for BioFAIR – embedded research data management experts who can work within their research communities to promote FAIR, and can support the adoption of good data management, curation and stewardship. We are looking for individuals who can come together as part of a wider BioFAIR team and get hands-on, driving up the FAIR-ness and reuse of research data across UK research performing organisations, and tackling the data management challenges faced by researchers through the transfer and adoption of established solutions. We are hoping to bring together an amazing team that can lead the culture change BioFAIR aims to deliver.
Ambassadors should be individuals who are:
- Recognised or emerging experts in data stewardship, data curation, or research data management within the life sciences
- Experienced in enabling FAIR data, and addressing some of the barriers to this, especially in the context of open, reproducible science. You might, for example, be supporting your organisation with their data management plans, deposited datasets in a domain repository, applied community metadata standards or ontologies (or be part of developing them), or curated data for long-term reuse.
- Passionate about supporting others, including early-career researchers, technicians, and project teams
- Experienced in working across disciplinary or institutional boundaries and able to identify and respond to diverse community needs
- Committed to open science and FAIR principles and enthusiastic about shaping the future of research infrastructure in the UK
We particularly welcome applications from individuals with strong domain knowledge in areas such as, but not limited to, the following:
- Genomics and transcriptomics
- Proteomics and metabolomics
- Environmental and ecological sciences
- Biodiversity and taxonomic research
- Synthetic biology and biotechnology
- Health data research (within ethical and regulatory limits)
We aim to appoint a diverse cohort in terms of geographic location, institutional setting, scientific focus, and career stage.
Key attributes we are looking for in an applicant:
Strong collaborative mindset, with examples of participation in cross-institutional or national initiatives
The potential to contribute meaningfully to a shared team mission, including shaping the direction of the People Commons
A demonstrable track record in enabling FAIR data and/or supporting good research data management
Practical experience supporting researchers through training, consultation, or helpdesk-type services
Evidence of ability to engage and influence peers, including in interdisciplinary and cross-sector settings
Funding available
- Each Fellow will receive funding equivalent to 0.2 FTE over 12 months (direct costs: salary plus on-costs, maximum claimable £20,000)
- Contribution to Indirect costs at 25% of direct salary costs (maximum claimable £5,000)
- A BioFAIR Flexible Fund will be available to support attendance at key events and learning opportunities.
What the funding will support
BioFAIR funding will support:
- Salary costs for 0.2 FTE of time (buy-out), including employer on-costs
- Participation in BioFAIR coordination and review meetings
- Development and delivery of community-facing activities, including events, training, and documentation
- Contribution to shared team outputs, including data management and training resources and evaluation reports
- Travel and subsistence to attend BioFAIR-relevant events and training, available through access to a shared “Flexible Fund”. Requests for travel and training from this fund will be reviewed against BioFAIR and UKRI policy and subject to prior approval with the BioFAIR Hub.
What the funding will not support
Please note, this fellowship does not meet UKVI requirements to provide visa sponsorship.
- Disconnected or purely theoretical work without direct community engagement
- Full-time positions or additional FTE beyond 0.2
- Equipment or capital purchases
- Recruitment of new staff for independent research or technical projects
- Institutional overheads or indirect costs beyond what is permitted by UKRI infrastructure rules
Click Here
Visit funding web page
(https://biofair.uk/biofair-fellowship-programme-2/#what-we-are-looking-for)
