Cambridge University Biomedical science fellowships to be established after gift reflecting Vice-Chancellor's legacy

The Borysiewicz Biomedical Sciences Fellowship Programme will award supplementary fellowships annually for four years to up to 10 of the most exceptional postdoctoral researchers when they start working in Cambridge.

An four-year fund to support ten exceptional postdoctoral researchers working in biomedical science is to be set up in recognition of the importance placed on postdocs by the outgoing University of Cambridge Vice-Chancellor, Professor Sir Leszek Borysiewicz

The university says it sees postdocs as key to its future research strength.

The Borysiewicz Biomedical Sciences Fellowship Programme will enable the researchers to focus on a range of global challenges in addition to their primary research.

The Vice-Chancellor said: “Our postdoctoral researchers are the bedrock of what Cambridge is able to achieve, particularly in terms of its research area. We want to make sure that we can bring the very best here, and that they are fully embedded into our community. I am delighted and honoured that the Borysiewicz Biomedical Sciences Fellowship Programme is being created in my name, and enormously grateful to the members of the Campaign Board for this collective gift, and their incredible generosity.”

The gift comes from the members of the Collegiate Campaign Board. Mohamed El-Erian and Sir Harvey McGrath, co-chairs of the campaign for the University and Colleges, said on behalf of the Board: “The recognition and promotion of postdocs in Cambridge are among the most important legacies of Sir Leszek’s successful tenure as Vice-Chancellor. It has been transformative at Cambridge, and the benefits are increasingly spreading out across higher education and the world. The Board wanted to celebrate this initiative, and ensure that this legacy will be truly sustainable.”