Foundation for the Sociology of Health and Illness

Introduction
This programme of awards is named for Professor Mildred Blaxter, a previous editor of the journal Sociology of Health and Illness, in recognition of her contribution to the discipline.

The awards will provide support for individuals who have recently completed a PhD in the field of sociology of health and illness to enable them to disseminate findings of their thesis through publications and presentations and/or to develop a new programme of work related to their thesis. Successful applicants will be expected to produce substantive outputs in terms of high quality publications and grant applications.

The award will provide full salary costs for one year (including on-costs but not estate or indirect costs), at spine point 29 (£28,839 in 2009-10), and £2,550 for research and/or conference expenses. London weighting will be payable where appropriate.

The awards are tenable at any UK University which can provide appropriate support for a Post-Doctoral Fellow working in the field of sociology of heath and illness. This may include social science, health care and medical departments.

The Trustees aim to fund two new Post Doctoral Fellowships per annum.

Eligibility
Applications will be considered from individuals who have been awarded a PhD in the field of the sociology of health and illness by a UK University and who meet the following criteria:

• The PhD must be awarded on the basis of a research thesis; those with a taught or professional doctorate or a PhD by publication are not eligible to apply

• The applicant should have no more than two years active post-doctoral experience at the point of application (pro rata for part-time experience)

• Any new research proposed is in the field of the sociology of health and illness

• The application is supported by the Head of a Department that is able to provide appropriate support for a Post-Doctoral Fellow working in the field of the sociology of heath and illness.

• The applicant has not made a previous unsuccessful application to this programme of awards

Mildred Blaxter Post-Doctoral Fellowships can only be held in a UK University but awards will not be restricted to UK or EU citizens. The Fellowship need not be held in the University which awarded the PhD.

Trustees will not be eligible for awards but other members of their Departments will not be excluded from applying.

Application procedure
An application should be made by the recent PhD graduate, using the Application Form below, and signed off by the Head of Department and appropriate University officer at the UK University where the Mildred Blaxter Post-Doctoral Fellowship is to be held.

The application should outline the work to be undertaken and the expected outputs, in terms of specific publications and grant applications. If ethics approval is required for your planned programme of work, please indicate to which ethics committee you intend to apply.

Please supply the names of two external referees. Since assessment of the application will be based in part on the quality of the PhD, at least one of these referees should be the external examiner of the thesis.

The deadline for applications for a Fellowship with a start date of June 2010 has now closed.
The deadline for applications for a Fellowship with a start date of December 2010 has now closed.

Applications will be considered by a Panel of three Trustees of the Foundation for the Sociology of Health & Illness, using the following criteria:

• The quality of the applicant’s PhD

• The potential contribution to the sociology of health and illness from the planned dissemination and or the proposed new research

• The feasibility of the activities proposed for the award period

Decisions are normally made within six weeks of receipt of an application and applicants will be informed as soon as possible after a decision has been made. The Trustees regret that they cannot give feedback on applications or the reasons for unsuccessful applications.

Application form
Download the application form here. The deadline for submitting an application is 15 May 2010. Please send the completed form electronically to FSHIadmin@googlemail.com and send one signed hard copy to:

Professor Mary Boulton
Foundation for the Sociology of Health & Illness
School of Health & Social Care
Oxford Brookes University
Oxford OX3 0FL

Post Award Procedures
Successful applicants are required to provide a short (one page) report at the end of the Fellowship.

Post-Doctoral Fellows supported by a Mildred Blaxter Post-Doctoral Fellowship should acknowledge this in any conference presentations or publications arising from it. The phrase to use is: This work is/was supported by a Mildred Blaxter Post-Doctoral Fellowship from the Foundation for the Sociology of Health and Illness.

In the interests of transparency and to encourage further applications, successful applications will be listed on the Foundation website.

Terms & Conditions
Please Contact us for full terms and conditions

Further information
Please address any queries to FSHIadmin@googlemail.com