Applications are now open for the 2026 ICGEB Fellowships for Scientists in Biosecurity: fully funded to Italy, India, South Africa and China

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Closing Date: 31 March 2026

Applications are now open for the 2026 ICGEB Fellowships for Scientists in Biosecurity: fully funded to Italy, India, South Africa and China

ICGEB Fellowships for Scientists in Biosecurity

With the co-funding of the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation through the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA), BWC ISU, the ICGEB offers early-career scientists from OECD/DAC countries a fellowship at the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB) laboratories in Italy, India, South Africa and at the ICGEB Regional Research Centre in China, to receive hands on training in life sciences and detection and response to biological threats.

To Apply to the ICGEB in Trieste, New Delhi or Cape Town

Applicants wishing to apply for positions to the ICGEB in Trieste, New Delhi or Cape Town must submit an application for a short-term PhD Fellowship. Applicants should contact the ICGEB Group Leader/PI of their choice with a motivation letter to determine availability of laboratory space and to define the research project proposal that will form an integral part of the application. Please note that the written statement from the ICGEB Group Leader you have contacted and who is willing to support your project is mandatory to apply. This written statement must explicitly indicate that it is issued for the Fellowships for Scientists in Biosecurity.

To Apply to the ICGEB RRC in China

Applicants who want to apply to the ICGEB China Regional Research Centre in Taizhou, must submit an application for a SMART PhD Fellowship and must clearly specify that the application is for the Fellowships for Scientists in Biosecurity. Please note that after you provide the requested details on the Home and Receiving laboratories in the dedicated section on the online application form, an automatic notification with a dedicated link will be sent to the Head of the Home lab and to the Head of the Receiving lab asking them to confirm and complete the data you entered by the closing date of the call.

Applications without this section completed by both labs by the set deadline will not be considered for the selection.

Eligibility

Applicants must be nationals of an ICGEB Member State or from a country listed in the DAC list of ODA recipients. Applicants must be early/mid-career scientists (i.e. researchers, laboratory personnel) with a background in biotechnologies and an interest in Dual Use Research of Concern (i.e. infectious diseases, gene editing etc). Women scientists are particularly encouraged.

Fellowships for the ICGEB China Regional Research Centre in Taizhou are awarded under the SMART ‘Scientific Mobility for Advanced Research Training’ scheme. Consequently, only applicants from other countries are eligible to apply.

Degree requirements: applicants for ICGEB Trieste and Cape Town should hold a BSc (Honours) degree; applicants for ICGEB New Delhi should hold a MSc degree; applicants for the ICGEB RRC in China should hold an MSc or equivalent.

Candidates must have a good working knowledge of the English language, supported by a proficiency certificate (TOEFL, Cambridge Certificate, or equivalent). This document is not required when English was the medium of instruction; however, the university must provide an official certificate attesting to this.

Subject Area

Topics applied to humans, animals and plants:

Molecular detection tools of biological threats; epidemiology and genomic surveillance of pathogens; drug discovery; vaccine development; fundamental pathogen studies; point-of-care diagnostics; genetic editing; synthetic biology; industrial bioengineering; antimicrobial resistance; regulatory science and quality assurance; computational biology and AI in biotechnology.

Financial support

ICGEB Fellowships for Scientists in Biosecurity are co-funded by the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation through the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) and the BWC ISU.

Duration: 2 months (which may be extended up to a maximum of 6 months under a co-funding mechanism).
Monthly stipend: Trieste (Italy): Euro 1,500, New Delhi (India): US$ 1,122, Cape Town (South Africa): ZAR 16,500, Taizhou (China): US$ 1,500.
Travel: the fellowship includes provision for travel expenses from the participant’s home country to the host lab at the beginning of the fellowship and a return travel provision upon completion of the fellowship.
Medical health insurance coverage is provided for the duration of the fellowship.
Visa/permit of stay application and renewal costs are reimbursed.

ICGEB makes no financial provision, nor can it provide administrative support for family members of participants in the programme.

Bench fee allowance for fellowships at the ICGEB RRC in China

The bench fee allowance is a contribution to the implementation of the research project proposal presented by the candidate. The receiving laboratory is expected to use the entire bench fee allocation to the benefit of the approved research-training programme.

Any unspent balance left will have to be returned to ICGEB. Funds can only be used to cover the purchase of laboratory consumables that are directly related to the Fellow’s research activities including: general labware, glassware and plasticware, chemicals and reagents, cell culture consumables, kits for molecular biology (e.g. PCR, RNA/DNA extraction, sequencing etc), pipettes and pipette tips.

The following items are not considered eligible costs: costs of maintenance, repair, running or insurance of existing assets belonging to the Host Institute; purchase of equipment, office furniture or fittings; computer hardware or software; office stationary; travel costs; literature; administrative costs and overhead expenses of the Institute; bank charges.

Submission

Please complete this application online.
Only one application per call is accepted for each candidate.

Documents to be uploaded for ICGEB Trieste, New Delhi and Cape Town

Please note that you will be requested to upload the following documents (pdf files) for the short-term PhD Fellowship:

(i) Your full CV
(ii) Written Statement from the ICGEB Group Leader
(iii) A valid identification document (passport or identity card). Recommended passport validity should be 12 months at least
(iv) English Certificate (TOEFL, Cambridge or similar). This document is not required when English was the medium of instruction; however, the university must provide an official certificate attesting to this.

Documents to be uploaded for the ICGEB RRC in China

Please note that you will be requested to upload the following documents (pdf files) for the SMART PhD Fellowship:
(i) Your full CV
(ii) The full CV of the Head of the Receiving Laboratory (complete with list of publications)
(iii) A valid identification document (passport or identity card). Recommended passport validity should be 12 months at least.

Selection

The ICGEB Fellowships Selection Committee will evaluate complete applications received by the closing date. Both successful and unsuccessful candidates will be notified of the outcome by e-mail only. Please note that the selection might take several weeks according to the amount of applications received.

The main criteria for selection includes the scientific excellence of the project, the qualities of the candidate’s CV and the potential benefit for the home country.