EPFL Life Sciences Independent Research (ELISIR) scholar

Employer: Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL)

Location: Switzerland (CH)

Salary: EPFL offers internationally competitive start-up resources, salaries, and benefits.

Closing date: Mar 14, 2026

Discipline: Life Sciences, Biochemistry, Bioengineering, Bioinformatics, Biology

Position Type: Full Time

Organization Type: Academia

The position offers a finishing doctoral student or recent PhD graduate with a track-record of excellence and creativity the opportunity to work as an independent principal investigator heading a small team to conduct innovative research in any area of the life sciences. Nominations of women are particularly encouraged.

ELISIR scholars have an independent research budget, access to state-of-the-art facilities and infrastructure, plus a mentorship program. The position is an attractive springboard for scientific and career development. ELISIR scholars are not tenured and appointed for an initial period of 3 years, which is renewable for another 2 years after a scientific and financial evaluation. ELISIR scholars have the opportunity to seek additional external funding.

The vibrant interdisciplinary research community at the EPFL School of Life Sciences fosters interactions with allied disciplines on campus, including engineering, physics, chemistry and computer sciences. EPFL offers an English-speaking work environment, and competitive salaries and benefits. EPFL strives to increase the diversity of its principal investigators and strongly encourages women to apply.

Who can apply?

• Young researchers with a track record of excellence, having earned their PhD degree by the time they begin at EPFL and less than 18 months before the application deadline; EPFL PhD graduates are not eligible.
• Applicants must be nominated by their PhD supervisor or a leader in the research community.

Your application must include:

• Cover letter, brief CV, publication list, a 3-page research proposal for the 5-year period – all in one PDF file.
• The nomination letter and two additional reference letters, submitted directly by the letter writers.

The deadline for application is April 1st, 2026. The full application material, including the nomination letter and the two reference letters, must be submitted via https://go.epfl.ch/elisir

Successful applicants will be notified in the second half of April and invited for interviews in principle on May 27th-29th, with a starting date in late 2026 or early 2027.

Further enquiries should be directed to:

Professor Pierre Gönczy

elisir@epfl.ch

For additional information on EPFL and its School of Life Sciences, please consult: http://www.epfl.ch and https://go.epfl.ch/life-sciences/

EPFL is an equal opportunity employer and a family friendly university.