The University Research Fellowship scheme aims to provide outstanding scientists, who demonstrate the potential to become leaders in their fields, with the opportunity to build an independent research career. The Fellowships provide five years of funding for salaries plus some research costs, and recipients are expected to be strong candidates for permanent university posts at the end of their fellowships.

The Royal Society has appointed 38 University Research Fellows for 2009; three of them have been awarded to the University of Bristol, and the recipients took up their posts in October. They are: 

Dr Ross Anderson, Department of Biochemistry
‘The Functional Assembly of Artificial Oxidoreductases’

Dr Paul Race, Department of Biochemistry
‘Structure Function and Engineering of Polyketide Synthases’

Dr David Tew, School of Chemistry
‘Computational tools for quantum molecular dynamics’