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Postdoctoral Fellowship: Cross-Disciplinary Fellowship

Human Frontier Science Program

HFSP Cross-Disciplinary Fellowships offer a unique opportunity for scientists with no (or little) prior training or experience in the life sciences to enter this exciting research area. Fellows must move to a new country and new institution, gain exposure to fundamental biological questions, and develop expertise in the life sciences. CDF applicants are expected to bring a unique skill set and approach based on their non-biological background to a challenging, fundamental problem in the life sciences. A successful CDF proposal will combine the best of life sciences and non-life sciences to solve an outstanding interdisciplinary research question in biology, leveraging the applicant’s prior experience to bring a new approach to a fundamental biological question.

Successful CDF proposals:

• Incorporate novel investigative approaches at the frontiers of the life sciences with the potential to disrupt existing paradigms and have impact beyond the immediate field.

• Demonstrate the change of field of the applicant, and how the applicant’s unique (non-life science) training will allow them to address a fundamental biological problem in a novel and distinct way.

• Clearly explain how the proposed project is different from the applicant’s research to date (PhD or previous postdoctoral positions), and how this will help the applicant to learn new research approaches and methodologies.

• Demonstrate the applicant’s ability to formulate a research project that is frontier-extending and of a risky nature.

• Combines life sciences and non-life sciences in a unique way to generate new research directions for the applicant and host laboratory.

Deadlines

The ProposalCentral application portal will OPEN on March 12, 2026. You must start filling in your application between March 12 and May 5, 2026.
Initiation of a Letter of Intent must be completed BEFORE May 5, 2026 at 9:00 am (09:00, Eastern US Time). Instructions can be found in the Application Guidelines (above) and in the ProposalCentral instructions (pdf)
Submission of a Letter of Intent by May 12, 2026 at 9:00 am (09:00, Eastern US Time) via ProposalCentral
- HFSP will notify fellowship applicants between mid-August and end of August as to whether their Letter of Intent was selected or not for submitting a Full Proposal.
Submission of Full Proposals for invited applicants by September 24, 2026 at 9:00 am (09:00, Eastern US Time) via ProposalCentral.

AI Based Application Success Predictor

🔬 1. Frontier, High-Risk Basic Science (Top Predictor)

HFSP exclusively funds:
- Fundamental (basic) research in life sciences
Strong emphasis on:
- High-risk, high-reward ideas
- Projects that challenge existing paradigms

👉 Key question:
“Is this bold, unconventional science that could transform biology?”

🚀 2. Breakthrough Innovation & Originality (Critical)

HFSP actively seeks:
- “game-changing” and unconventional ideas
Encourages:
- Ideas that other funders might reject as too risky

👉 Incremental or “safe” projects are rarely funded

🌐 3. International Collaboration (Non-Negotiable for Grants)

Applications must be:
- Multinational teams (typically 2–4 researchers)
Prefer:
- Intercontinental collaborations

👉 Solo or single-institution projects → not eligible

🔄 4. Interdisciplinary Research (Major Differentiator)

Strong preference for:
- Cross-disciplinary teams
Especially:
- Non-biologists entering life sciences
- Integration of:
  - Physics, math, engineering, AI

👉 HFSP explicitly promotes non-traditional collaborations

🧠 5. Novel Combinations of Expertise

Successful teams:
- Have members who haven’t worked together before
Must show:
- Complementary expertise
- Synergy

👉 “New collaborations” score higher than existing ones

🧪 6. No Requirement for Preliminary Data (Unique Feature)

HFSP:
- Does NOT require preliminary data
Focus is on:
- Idea quality, not prior results

👉 This enables:

Truly high-risk proposals

👩‍🔬 7. Investigator Creativity & Track Record

Reviewers look for:
- Creative thinkers
- Strong scientific background
Not necessarily:
- Established seniority

👉 Intellectual boldness matters more than CV prestige

🌍 8. Global Scientific Impact (Long-Term Focus)

Projects should:
- Advance fundamental understanding of life systems
Not required:
- Immediate clinical or commercial outcomes

👉 Long-term scientific breakthroughs are prioritized

🔬 9. Clear, Compelling Research Question

Must address:
- A fundamental biological problem
Should:
- Remove a major barrier in the field

👉 Mechanistic depth + conceptual clarity are essential

📑 10. Strong Letter of Intent (LOI) Strategy

Two-stage process:
1. LOI (highly competitive filter)
2. Full proposal

👉 Only a small fraction of LOIs advance

📊 Summary: Key Predictors (Ranked)

Highest impact factors:

High-risk, frontier basic science
Breakthrough innovation
International collaboration

Moderate predictors:
4. Interdisciplinary approach
5. Novel team composition
6. Scientific creativity

Supporting factors:
7. Clear research question
8. Global impact
9. LOI strength

💡 Insider Insight

Compared to other major funders:

Human Frontier Science Program is:
👉 the most “risk-tolerant” major funder
👉 strongly favors ideas over data

👉 Winning formula:
Bold idea + unconventional team + interdisciplinary approach

✔️ What wins:

Radical, paradigm-shifting ideas
Cross-disciplinary teams (e.g., physicist + biologist)
Novel collaborations

❌ What struggles:

Incremental research
Single-discipline biology
Overly safe or conventional proposals

Specialties

Public Health

Eligibility Requirements

General HFSP encourages inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility (see our Shared Values Statement), and welcomes applicants independent of gender, origin, cultural background, or age.

There is one application round per year for the HFSP postdoctoral fellowships. In one year, each applicant may submit only one Letter of Intent for an HFSP postdoctoral fellowship (LongTerm Fellowship or Cross-Disciplinary Fellowship) and must propose a change in country AND a change in research topic. Unsuccessful applicants may reapply in subsequent years, provided they still meet all eligibility requirements.

Please note that each host supervisor may only endorse ONE applicant per year. An HFSP postdoctoral fellowship may only be held once.

Sponsor Details

Sponsor Institute/Organizations: Human Frontier Science Program

Sponsor Type: Corporate/Non-Profit

Address: 12 quai Saint-Jean 67080 Strasbourg Phone : +33 3 88 21 51 23

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