APPLICATION

FIRST CALL (2025) / 11 positions
(9 to UTU and 2 to ÅAU)

Opening Date: 2nd October 2025
Deadline: 27th November 2025
Start of the Fellowship: April/May 2026

 

Call for Applications 
APPLY NOW:

Applicants to UTU submit their application through UTU’s online recruitment system TalentAdore.

Applicants to ÅAU submit their applications through ÅAU’s online recruitment system LAURA.

HOW TO APPLY

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

Step 4

Step 5

Check eligibility requirements and application criteria.

Learn about applying and develop a research idea.

Contact potential host and acquire a letter of support.

Prepare a research proposal and other required documents.

Submit your application.

WE LOOK FOR

The applicants are encouraged to define an original, autonomous research project of their own design that is immunology research related and can be implemented in within the existing units of UTU or ÅAU.

IMMUFELLOW particularly encourages applications that will generate high-impact research that intersects scientific, economic, and social values, with intersectionality as a core training element.

Drawing methods from various disciplines, including the social sciences and humanities (SSH) disciplines, to foster diverse scientific approaches to tackle the challenges of immunology. Applicants may select any research topic and approach to immunology, including basic, translational, and clinical immunology, diagnostics, drug development, and health economics, provided it reflects the core research strengths of UTU or ÅAU.

Engaging knowledge and resources from outside academia to enhance research quality and practical applicability.

Thereby providing a holistic view of human health by connecting organs, diseases or systems across different life stages and genders.

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

The applicant must have completed their doctoral degree by the application deadline, meet the requirements of the MSCA Mobility Rule regulations, and submit the application with all required attachments before the application deadline.

Applicants must have completed their doctoral degree within ten (10) years before the submission deadline for applications.

The fellow must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in Finland for more than 12 months in the 36 months immediately before the call deadline.

All relevant documentation must be submitted on time.

APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS

The application package must contain all the following documents:

  • Completed online application.

Attach to the application form in this order the following documents (8 attachments):

  • Copy of the Doctoral Certificate (if unavailable, a copy of the official confirmation of PhD completion)
  • Curriculum Vitae 
  • A list of publications indicating the five most significant
  • Research Plan, including secondment strategy and consideration of ethical issues (maximum 20,000 characters no spaces, including references)
  • Research Plan Abstract (maximum 2,000 characters no spaces)
  • Ethics Self-Assessment form 
  • Initial Data Management Plan (DMP)
  • A Letter of Support from the host laboratory (UTU or ÅAU)
  • All eight (8) attachments must be in PDF format and  written in English with a font size of 11 in Arial, single spaced. This font size must be used throughout the application, except for the footnotes, which must have a font size of 9. Any text within figures, tables, etc., must have a font size of at least 8.
  • Please use the provided standard templates to ensure uniformity and follow the specified instructions for each attachment.
  • Incomplete or non-compliant submissions will not be considered for review.
  • Name all the attachment documents using your last name and the document title (e.g. Last name_Doctoral certificate, Last name_Curriculum vitae).
  • Upload attachments 5–8 as ‘Other attachments’ in the application form in the given order.
  • Please note that in templates, the content in italics and green font within <…> marks are for guidance only and should be removed before submission.
  • Please check that you have attached all required documents.
  • Please refer to the Guide for Applicants for more details.
  • Linked files:
  • Call for Applications 
  • Guide for Applicants
  • CV Template
  • Research Plan Template
  • Ethics Self-Assessment form Template
  • Data Management Plan Template
  • Letter of Support Template
  • Checklist for Applicants

EVALUATION AND SELECTION

Evaluation includes an eligibility check and an external review followed by a possible ethical review. The external experts will review each application based on pre-defined criteria. The Selection Committee with operational support from the IMMUFELLOW Management Team compiles an ordered ranking of reviewed applications.

The Selection Committee and Supervisory Board make the final selection on the successful applications that are selected for funding, relying upon the scores and evaluations of external reviewers. 

A reserve list will also be formed from applicants ranked directly after those selected. Reserve list applicants will be notified of their status and rank by email. For further details about evaluation, see Reviewers Instructions.

The eligibility check of all applications will begin after the application period has ended. Ineligible applications will be rejected at this stage. A maximum of one application per applicant will be considered. All applicants will receive feedback on their eligibility via email.

All applications that meet the eligibility requirements of the IMMUFELLOW programme will be sent for external evaluation.

Applications that meet all IMMUFELLOW eligibility requirements will be sent for external review.

The external experts will review each application based on pre-defined criteria, which include:

  • Excellence of the research project (innovation and scientific merit)
  • Impact (social, scientific, and economic relevance)
  • Quality and Efficiency of Implementation (feasibility and methodology)

All applications (to UTU or ÅAU) will be evaluated in a single pool using shared criteria and external reviewers. After evaluation, separate ranking lists will be created for UTU and ÅAU, and appointments will follow the rank order within each list.

All selected or reserve-listed applications with ethical concerns must be reviewed and approved by the IMMUFELLOW Ethics, Gender, and Diversity Committee (EGDC), following UTU/ÅAU Ethics Policy.

Applicants may appeal on the basis of procedural errors only at redress-immufellow@utu.fi.

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