Researcher Mobility Fellowship is sponsored by Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) Bioorganic and Medicinal Chemistry Sector (BMCS). This scheme encourages short placements (up to 3 months) between academic institutions and industry, or between academic institutions, to drive excellence in UK-based science by facilitating collaborations, partnerships, and exchanges in areas like bioorganic chemistry, medicina…

Researcher Mobility Fellowship - RSC BMCS Researcher Mobility Fellowship Douglas Williamson 2026-05-14T12:35:42+00:00 Researcher Mobility Fellowship Research Mobility Fellowship 2026 – Call for Nominations Research Mobility Fellowship – terms and conditions The aim of the Bioorganic and Medicinal Chemistry Sector (BMCS) Research Mobility Fellowship scheme is to encourage short placements between academic institutions and industry, in either direction, or between academic institutions, in order to drive excellence in UK‐based science by facilitating academic‐industrial and academic collaborations, partnerships and exchanges in areas of interest to the BMCS, namely bioorganic chemistry, medicinal chemistry, chemical biology and agriscience Fellowships cover a single one‐off visit of up to 3 months in duration, supported by awards of up to £5000*.

The fellowship, including submission of the final report, is to be completed within 1 year of the grant. * The fellowship grants will contribute towards return travel to the host location and accommodation during the visit. Applications are now open until 30th September 2026.

One page applications should be submitted jointly by both partners. Applications should outline the scope, duration and proposed time lines (start/end date) of the project to be undertaken in addition to making clear the benefit it will have for both parties. Applicants must give an outline of how the funds they are requesting will be utilized and produce evidence to support this.

Applications should be made jointly by both parties. Additional letters of support from academic supervisors / line managers, may also be included to strengthen the application. Individuals are eligible to receive only one grant per year.

Applicants need not be RSC members, but preference will be given to RSC members. If the applicant is an RSC member, they should use their membership application number in the application. There are no age restrictions; applications are invited from anyone who has been educated to degree level, or higher, in chemical sciences, or has equivalent industrial experience.

At least one partner applicant must be UK based, but applications will also be considered where one partner applicant is based in the continent of Europe.

Applications must hold a fixed-term or permanent contract at an eligible organisation (university; industrial, private or commercial organisation; university spin-out company or research institute) that lasts for the duration of the project and be working for the duration of the project and be working or holding a contract in the UK or Europe, regardless of nationality.

Upon completion of the fellowship, a 1 page report should be submitted to the BMCS to outline the benefit of the collaboration. A synopsis of this may be posted on the BMCS website to encourage future applications.

Applicants may also request supporting funding for their host organisation (with justification), which may include provision for bench fees and administrative support costs (e.g. visa application, insurance) which would be incurred during their visit. These costs must be specified in the application form and verified by the host organisation.

While applications that involve ongoing existing collaborations will be considered, applications that target new collaborations are particularly encouraged. Please contact the Conference Secretariat, Hg3 Conferences for any further information.

Research Mobility Fellowship Awardee Experiences Catherine Dickmann at Cantabio Pharmaceuticals in Budapest I was fortunate enough to receive the RSC’s Biological and Medicinal Chemistry Sector’s Researcher Mobility Fellowship to complete a 3-month placement in Budapest, Hungary in the labs of Cantabio Pharmaceuticals, a biotech company based out of the labs at ELTE University.

With the guidance and support of the very talented team at Cantabio I was able to overcome a major hurdle in my PhD research. The aim of my PhD project is to develop a small-molecule positron emission tomography (PET) imaging agent which targets mutant huntingtin protein, a misfolded protein which is thought to be a causative agent of disease pathology in Huntington’s disease.

Central to this development pipeline is having a suitable assay to test the affinity of small molecules to this misfolded protein. This is non-trivial as there are no commercial sources of recombinantly expressed mutant huntingtin protein available yet. During my placement at Cantabio pharmaceuticals we designed and successfully recombinantly expressed over 200 mg of a GST-tagged mutant huntingtin protein.

We were then able to develop conditions to aggregate the mutant huntingtin protein to obtain the desired mutant huntingtin fibrils. With these fibrils in hand, a fluorescence binding assay was developed which enabled us to probe the small molecule binding affinity of my ligands as well as the amyloid-binder Thioflavin-T.

We were able to generate some interesting data about the behaviour of these mHTT fibrils; to the best of our knowledge a fluorescence-based mHTT binding assay has not been reported. We have shipped the expressed protein back to Cambridge and hope to further characterise these mHTT fibrils with a suite of biophysical techniques.

Transmission electron micrograph images of fibrillar mHTT generated in Cambridge from protein material expressed at Cantabio in Budapest. During my time at Cantabio, we were able to explore synergies between my doctoral research and the industrial research being carried out at Cantabio.

Namely, we were able to test some proprietary compounds of Cantabio’s using the mHTT fluorescence-based assay we developed in tandem to my synthesised compounds which produced some promising data and a potential new research avenue. Discussions are underway to apply for joint grant funding to support the continuation of this collaborative project.

As a radiochemist, my industry placement at Cantabio challenged me to expand my skillset beyond small-molecule synthesis to the expression and purification of proteins in E. coli , protein purification and biophysical assay development. I am very grateful to the team at Cantabio for their patience and generosity in taking the time to train a novice biochemist in these fundamental techniques.

These newfound skills will hold me in good stead in my development as a medicinal chemist, as the synthesis of new compounds is no use without suitable biological evaluation and screening. Beyond the lab, I greatly enjoyed my time in Hungary and being an honorary member of the Biophysical Group at Cantabio.

I am grateful to have been able to spend time in such a wonderful city and learn a bit about the culture and language (although my Hungarian lessons did not get me very far).

Some memorable occasions included falling me into the Danube on a team kayaking trip and accidentally killing the power to the whole lab overnight when mistaking the light-switch for the power switch (post-it notes translating Hungarian to English were henceforth stuck next to all buttons around the lab for me).

Drollery aside, I am extremely grateful to Cantabio for their generous hospitality and hope the work we have done can form the basis of one if not two journal articles in the shorter term, and an ongoing collaboration between our centres in the longer one. I am also incredibly grateful to the RSC Biological and Medicinal Chemistry’s sector’s support of my travel to Budapest and work at Cantabio.

It has been an incredibly formative experience in my development as a researcher and has imparted me with life-long skills and knowledge. A not-so-bad view from one of many post-work runs. Marek Varga at One-Carbon Therapeutics in Stockholm The awardee of the BMCS Researcher Mobility Fellowship in 2024, Marek Varga, had a three-month placement at One-Carbon Therapeutics in Stockholm.

You can read about Marek’s experience below. Marek and the team he worked with During my three-month placement at One-Carbon Therapeutics in Stockholm, I had the unique opportunity to gain first-hand experience within a start-up biotech company focused on developing novel inhibitors of one-carbon metabolism enzymes (MTHFD1/2) for potential application in cancer therapy.

This placement allowed me to witness the real-world impact of scientific research within a clinical development setting. I encountered challenges specific to industry that I would be unlikely to face in academia. These included the scale-up of a clinical drug candidate while maintaining the stringent standards of pharmaceutical development, heavy isotope labelling for mechanistic studies, and fragment-based drug discovery.

In doing so, I was able to apply the synthetic and medicinal chemistry expertise I had acquired during my PhD. While learning new methods and strategies used to accelerate early-stage drug development, I expanded this expertise further by gaining experience with cutting-edge equipment, such as automated purification systems far more advanced than the tools available in my academic lab.

This helped to prepare me for future work in the pharmaceutical industry. I also collaborated closely with professionals with decades of experience in medicinal chemistry. Their mentorship provided valuable insights into industrial workflows and decision-making processes within the drug discovery context.

This experience has been instrumental in shaping my thinking around long-term career goals and confirmed my interest in pursuing a path that bridges academic knowledge with real-world application. Beyond the scientific and professional development, I found the placement personally enriching.

Spending the summer in Sweden was a fantastic experience—I enjoyed learning about a new culture and working in a diverse and collaborative environment. In summary, this collaboration was an important step in my development as a scientist. It strengthened my technical skills, broadened my understanding of pharmaceutical R&D, and gave me a clearer sense of direction for my future career.

It was also a strong addition to my CV, providing highly relevant industrial experience that helps me stand out in an increasingly competitive field.