2025 Interdisciplinary Postdocs Fellowships-Exploring Life In Context: call for applications

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EIPOD-LinC is an international and interdisciplinary postdoctoral fellowship programme offered by EMBL and the Marie Skłodowska-Cure Actions Cofund programme (grant agreement number The programme supports promising researchers from around the world who work on self-designed cutting-edge, cross-disciplinary projects to address pressing challenges to human and planetary health.

The 2025 call offers 19 fully funded, three-year postdoctoral fellowships

Your role

EIPOD-LinC fellows will:

Work on a self-designed interdisciplinary research project under the overarching theme of exploring life in context, gaining a molecular understanding of organisms in the context of different environments.  The goal of the programme is to drive understanding of life on earth and inform potential solutions to society's biggest challenges such as irreversible loss of biodiversity, antimicrobial resistance, pollution, climate change, food security and emergent pathogens. Fellows will:

• Develop a projects in one of four areas linked to the EMBL research programme, ranging from understanding molecular mechanisms, promoting human health, preserving planetary ecosystems to capitalising on AI and theory. The projects involve an EMBL Host and a partner lab from academia, industry or a clinic in an EMBL member state, prospect member state or associate member state (MS). Additional research partners can be added if relevant to the project.
• Complete a research secondment (between 3 -12 months) in the MS partner lab. Dedicated funding is available to contribute to travel and accommodation costs.
• Receive structured training in transferable skills courses in line with the needs of future employers from the academic, private and public. Trainings include the gender and diversity dimension in research, research integrity and good scientific practice, open science and data management, dissemination and communication, IP and entrepreneurship training, leadership training, innovation training and science policy training.

You have

• A Ph.D. at the time of the call deadline (February 2, Researchers who have successfully defended their doctoral thesis but who have not yet been formally awarded the degree are eligible to apply. A maximum of eight years of experience in research, from the date of the award of the PhD degree is permitted.
• The programme is open to experienced researchers of all nationalities. Prior association (including visitor contracts) of an applicant with EMBL and/or the MS partner lab is compatible with application to the programme but cannot exceed 12 months within the last 3 years prior to the application deadline.
• Strong research potential that can be illustrated by a diverse set of research outputs (e.g., publications, software, data sets, patents, technical documentation, contribution to technology development or other innovative research etc.)
• The ability to work independently and in collaborative settings
• Excellent communication skills and fluency in English
• Good organisational and time-management skills

EIPOD-LInC  has received funding from the European Union's Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under Grant Agreement No

Why join us

EMBL is Europe's flagship research laboratory for the life sciences – an intergovernmental organisation performing scientific research in disciplines including molecular biology, physics, chemistry and computer science. We are an international laboratory with more than 1800 employees from many nations, operating across six sites, in Heidelberg (HQ), Barcelona, Hinxton near Cambridge, Hamburg, Grenoble and Rome. One of our missions is to provide access to advanced technologies and engage in technology transfer activities.

EMBL is a curiosity-driven, community-oriented and international organisation. As an inclusive, equal opportunity employer, we believe that diversity enables us to collaborate more effectively and be innovative in our approaches. We are, therefore, committed to creating an inclusive and flexible culture - one where everyone can realise their full potential and make a positive contribution to our organisation. We operate by our values of: openness, inclusion, integrity, transparency, fairness.

At EMBL, as per our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy, we actively encourage applications from people who are currently underrepresented in science. We also welcome applications from researchers at risk and applicants with disabilities and offer consultations during the selection process to ensure individual needs are taken into account.

We value our collegial and family-friendly working environment, and offer excellent health insurance, pension contributions, flexible hybrid working arrangements, family allowances, diverse training opportunities and other social benefits.

Salaries and allowances offered to EIPOD-LinC fellows are competitive. The entry-level gross salary (excluding employer's social contributions) varies by EMBL host site and currently ranges from 3291,23 to 4118,45 EUR per month. EMBL fellows are exempt from national taxes due to EMBL's intergovernmental status, but contribute to EMBL's social security system. The first year salaries across the EMBL sites are: 4.118,45 € for EMBL Heidelberg and Hamburg, Germany; 3.646,24 € for EMBL Grenoble, France; 3.228,38 € for EMBL Rome, Italy; 3.291,23 € for EMBL Barcelona Spain and £3.383,52 for EMBL-EBI located outside of Cambridge, UK.

Our working language is English.

What else you need to know

Please select the EMBL group you wish to work with and prepare a project proposal which you would like to do in the group. Projects also require a partner from an EMBL Member, Prospect or Associate Member State. If you are not sure who would be a good fit you can discuss with the EMBL Host. Projects must use of the template we prepared which is available on the EIPOD-LinC programme pages. We strongly encourage you to contact the groups before applying to inform them about your interest and learn about their future plans.

For details on how to apply, please visit the EIPOD-LinC website, where you will find the application and project template forms. To apply please click the "Apply" button above and upload a pdf version of the application form and project proposal (including ethics self-assessment form) in the section My Experience under "CV + Cover Letter".

• We accept applications from 28 November - 2 February (23:59 CEST), 2026.
• Interviews of top candidates are planned for April 20 and 21, 2026 .
• Start of the fellowship: between May 1 and August 30, 2026.

Please contact the EIPOD team ) if you have any questions.

EMBL is a signatory of DORA. Find out how we implement best practices in research assessment in our recruitment processes here