CALL FOR APPLICATIONS

2026 Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Research Fellowship Award

Enabled by a generous gift from Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal, the Alwaleed Fellowship Program has supported 17 deserving researchers to date.  This program is establishing an enduring legacy of high-impact research that alleviates suffering and improves health and wellbeing for all, with emphasis on diseases endemic to the Middle East.

Harvard Medical School is pleased to announce that the Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Research Fellowship program is now accepting applications for 2026 - 2029.  The program is intended to provide support to talented young investigators from the Middle East and North Africa region.  The awards offer postdoctoral researchers the opportunity to work with a faculty mentor and research group based at Harvard Medical School, the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, or one of the Harvard Medical School-affiliated hospitals or research institutes. Recipients will have the flexibility to explore fundamental scientific questions that lead to a better understanding of the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease.  The Fellowship covers the cost of an annual postdoctoral research salary and fringe benefits, currently estimated to be $100,000 per year.  

CALL FOR APPLICATIONS

The Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Research Fellowship award will support a postdoctoral researcher, scientist, or physician-scientist for up to three years dedicated to basic, translational, clinical, or epidemiological research

SELECTION CRITERIA

  • Candidates must be researchers from the Middle East and North Africa region. Preference will be given to candidates from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and from other Arab states when possible.
  • The proposed research should demonstrate novel ideas and new approaches to biomedical research.  
  • Proposed research activities may draw on recent advances in the basic, translational, clinical, and epidemiological sciences – including such fields as biochemistry, cell biology, genetics, immunology, molecular biology, pharmacology, clinical epidemiology, health outcomes research, and population studies – that provide new opportunities for alleviating human disease.
  • The Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Research Fellowship award is designed to encourage the successful applicant(s) to be innovative in their research endeavors, to publish their research findings, and eventually to pursue additional sources of support.  
  • The Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Research Fellow(s) must apply with a laboratory or research center based at Harvard Medical School, the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, or a Harvard Medical School-affiliated hospital or research institute.
  • The successful applicant(s) will have demonstrated that he/she brings added knowledge and expertise to the host laboratory or research center. 

ELIGIBILITY

The Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Research Fellowship award is open to individuals from the Middle East and North Africa region with an MD, PhD, or MD/PhD degree in medical or biomedical sciences, or in a health-related field.  The successful candidate(s) will have demonstrated outstanding performance during their education and training, and will have exhibited promise as contributors in science relevant to human health.  Applications should exhibit innovative and creative approaches to their chosen field of research.

The Research Fellowship award is granted for a maximum of three years. Award recipients will be expected to relocate to Harvard University or an affiliated institution for the majority or entirety of the funded period.  

Fellows will be employed by Harvard Medical School, the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, or a Harvard Medical School-affiliated hospital or research institute, and therefore must obtain the required legal documentation to fulfill the fellowship.  If for any reason a candidate is unable to secure a visa and/or proper legal status for employment purposes, the fellowship offer will be deferred for up to two years from the July 1, 2026 start date.

AWARD AMOUNT

Fellows who are accepted into the program will be awarded up to $100,000 total costs per year for the duration of the fellowship.  For the purposes of the research plan, the applicant should assume a three-year fellowship.

ALLOWABLE AND UNALLOWABLE COSTS

Allowable costs include: fellow compensation, fellow fringe benefits.

Unallowable costs include: mentor PI effort, lab supplies, research costs, clinical research equipment, any other cost not explicitly referenced as allowable.

APPLICATION GUIDELINES

Candidates for the Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Research Fellowship are invited to submit their application by March 9, 2026 by 11:59 p.m. ET, and must include the following information:

  1. Cover Page with applicant name, address, contact information, and proposal title
  2. Mentor’s name, contact information, and NIH biosketch
  3. Specific research aims – 1 page
  4. Statement confirming that the applicant is from the Middle East and North Africa region – half page
  5. Academic accomplishments and research experience – 1 page
  6. How the Alwaleed Research Fellowship would benefit the applicant’s career – 1 page
  7. An outline of the proposed research plan and methods – 3 pages
  8. Letters of support and recommendation from up to 3 academic advisors or mentors, including the proposed fellowship mentor
  9. A brief CV (not to exceed 2 pages).
  10. A brief list of relevant publications – 1 page

All previous research experience and accomplishments, the potential to pursue innovative research, demonstrated ability to work independently while part of a larger research team or collaborative effort, and publication history will be considered by the Review Committee.

The Fellowship Review Committee will consider all applications for the Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Research Fellowship Award and will recommend the successful candidate(s) to HMS.  The successful candidate will be notified in approximately May 2026.  Funding will be available from July 1, 2026.

Please submit applications to: https://forms.hms.harvard.edu/f/alwaleed

Questions? Please contact globalprograms@hms.harvard.edu.