Maplethorpe Fellowship

Applications will open on Monday 2^nd February 2026.

Maplethorpe Fellowships have been established under the Will of the late Mr Cyril W Maplethorpe for the promotion of pharmaceutical education and excellence in research. The Maplethorpe Fellowship seeks to fund excellent candidates from diverse backgrounds who propose strong projects that will form a suitable platform for progression to a successful, long-term career in pharmaceutical research.

The Fellowship may be held at the Institute of Pharmaceutical Science at King's College London or the UCL School of Pharmacy.

Applications are encouraged from early career researchers and, although preference is given to pharmacists, any individual with a suitable background in Pharmaceutical Science or Healthcare will also be considered. We particularly welcome applications from black and minority ethnic candidates as they are underrepresented in these roles. We will consider applications to work on a part-time, flexible and job share basis wherever possible.

The appointment will usually commence from October of the recruitment year and will have a duration of up to two years. The Fellowship will comprise the salary for the fellow, consumables, and travel allowance.

Prior to submission, forms must be signed by:

• Professor Ben Forbes, Institute of Pharmaceutical Science, King's College London, if applying to undertake a Fellowship at Kings; for this purpose, please email Professor Forbes directly ben.forbes@kcl.ac.uk

or

• Professor Cate Whittlesea, Director of the UCL School of Pharmacy, if applying to undertake a Fellowship at UCL. If you wish to obtain a signature from Professor Whittlesea, please email sop.director@ucl.ac.uk

Key information

UCL School of Pharmacy are running an information seminar and a writing workshop:

A writing workshop will take on Monday 16th March 2026 in room M1 at 17:00. The writing workshop will be run by Professor James Phillips (Associate Director for Research at SoP) and Professor Zoe Waller (Head of Research Department, PBC). 

The information seminar has already taken place, the recording can be found below. Recording here.

You will need to submit the application form attached below which includes details of two references to maplethorpe@ucl.ac.uk by 23:59 on Friday 17^th April 2026.

Interviews will take place in June/July 2026.

We expect applicants to have a PhD degree in a relevant subject area. If a candidate does not have a PhD, the initial appointment will be at research assistant Grade 6B (salary £39,148 - £41,833 per annum inclusive on London weighting) with payment at Grade 7 being backdated to the date of final submission of the PhD thesis (including corrections). Candidates should not normally have more than 2 years PDRA experience. You will need to have an academic sponsor who is an established member of academic staff at the Department of Pharmacy at KCL and/or the UCL School of Pharmacy.

Your salary will be between point 31 and point 33 of the Central University Salary Scale depending on experience, plus London Allowance offered by your host institution. Fellowships can be awarded as full time or part time appointments depending on individual circumstances. Continuation to subsequent years is subject to a satisfactory end of year report. Third year extensions may be considered in extenuating circumstances.

The job description, person specification and application form can be accessed at the bottom of this page.

If you have any queries regarding the vacancy or the application process, please click the apply button above.

https://www.jobs.ac.uk/enhanced/fp/Maplethorpe_Fellowship_Application_Form_2026.pdf

https://www.jobs.ac.uk/enhanced/fp/Maplethorpe_Fellowship_Job_Description.pdf

https://www.jobs.ac.uk/enhanced/fp/Maplethorpe_Fellowship_Regulations_2026.pdf

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