The SSA is offering fully-funded fellowships through the Addiction Healthcare Goals flagship research leadership programme. Applications close at 17:00 GMT on 15 January 2026.

The SSA is now accepting applications for full-time fellowships. Funding will include salary costs (typically in the range of £35–50K), and research costs of up to £30,000 over three years.

Submit your application by 15 January 2026, and complete the enquiry form if you have any questions for the SSA team.

What does a fellowship involve?

The purpose of a fellowship is to shape your own research agenda. During the course of a fellowship, you will lead a programme of research, lead grant applications, and supervise junior researchers.

Fellowships require a substantial commitment. The SSA is offering full-time, three-year fellowships, but you can also apply to do a part-time fellowship, which could take around six years.

If you come from a clinical background, you may choose to pursue a fellowship alongside continuing with some clinical work. The SSA can fund clinical fellowships for people who work in a registered profession (e.g. nurse, midwife, pharmacist, doctor, and dentist) with an NHS, third sector, or other public health clinical healthcare provider. SSA-funded fellowships can include ongoing clinical work for up to 20% of your full-time fellowship.

What types of fellowships will the SSA fund?

In this specific round of funding, the SSA will be considering applications for fellowships that meet the criteria of the Addiction Healthcare Goals flagship research leadership programme:

  • The research should focus on addiction to illicit drugs or alcohol
  • The research should be innovative (in terms of subject, treatment approach etc.)
  • The research should foster links with organisations
  • The research should include input from people with lived experience

Applications will need to demonstrate that the proposed fellowship meets the following criteria:

  • Research focus:
    • Your research must focus on addiction to illicit drugs or alcohol. Research that solely focuses on nicotine, tobacco or behavioural addictions will not be eligible. Research that solely focuses on primary prevention will not be eligible.
  • Innovation:
    • Your research will focus on developing innovations to improve recovery or reduce harm from drug and/or alcohol addiction; or it will focus on an innovative subject area within addiction research; or it will demonstrate an innovative approach to addiction research.
  • Collaboration:
    • You must have links with a provider, such as a treatment centre, criminal justice body, policy organisation, or industry (e.g. pharmaceutical or technology).
    • Your research must have input from people with lived experience of addiction or from treatment provider organisations.
  • You should demonstrate your personal commitment to a career in UK addiction research.

If your research does not fit the Addiction Healthcare Goals criteria, but would further the Society’s mission to advance the scientific understanding of addictive products and behaviours and the use of this knowledge in policy and practice, there may be an opportunity to apply for broader SSA funding in Spring 2026. You can submit questions about this via the enquiry form.

“I work in applied areas with at-risk populations, where it is not easy to do high-quality research. Thanks to the SSA and having dedicated time, my fellowship research was conducted to high standards and is of international significance.”

Dr Paul Toner, former SSA-funded fellow, and currently Senior Lecturer and Associate Professor at the University of Dundee. Paul leads research which aims to prevent and alleviate the suffering and economic burden caused by addictive behaviours and common mental health difficulties.

Am I eligible to apply?

All applicants must meet the following conditions to be considered for an SSA fellowship:

  • You must be a resident in the UK
  • You must be employed and supervised within a UK university for the duration of the fellowship
  • You will already hold a higher degree (e.g. PhD) in an area of study relevant to addiction
  • You must have submitted your application within five years of completing your higher degree, although individual exceptions will be considered (e.g. maternity or medical leave)
  • If you are applying for a clinical fellowship, this work must be agreed with your employer before applying

You will be ineligible to apply for funding if, in the past three years, you have been employed by, or received funding from, non-pharmaceutical ‘addictive product industries’. Addictive product industries are defined as businesses, people or other legal entities that make money from selling, promoting or lobbying to promote use of non-pharmaceutical, addictive products. This includes, but is not limited to, the alcohol, non-pharmaceutical cannabis, gambling, tobacco and non-pharmaceutical nicotine (e.g. vaping) industries.

You will also be ineligible to apply for funding if you are an employee of an ‘Industry Social Aspect Organisation’. Industry Social Aspect Organisations are those that are funded by addictive product industries – sometimes through secondary organisations – that often have a stated purpose to reduce the harms of those addictive products.

Before awarding funding, the SSA must be satisfied that there is no risk of bias, ethical concerns, or risk to the reputation of the SSA.

Potential conflicts of interest are assessed by the SSA in a two-stage process. Stage one identifies potential conflicts of interest that would render an application ineligible for SSA funding. Stage two requires applicants to declare any potential conflicts of interest, which would then be reviewed by the SSA’s conflicts of interest subcommittee.

To be eligible, you must declare all potential conflicts of interest on the application form. These should include financial, professional, personal, and other interests that are either specific to your project or general to addictions:

  • Specific conflicts of interest are those that might relate to your research. For example, if your research focuses on a technology in which you hold a financial stake.
  • General conflicts of interest relate to any kind of interest you hold in relation to addictive products and industries.

What do I need to prepare before applying?

All applications must be made using the online application form below. You can save progress as you go; however, this will rely on your browser’s cookies, so progress may be lost if your cookies are deleted. It may help you to prepare the following items before starting:

  • Document summarising your fellowship plan (max. 2,000 words, excluding references)
  • Gantt chart depicting the timeline for your fellowship
  • Details of all costs, including your proposed salary and research expenses
  • ORCiD number
  • Email and address of an appropriate reference
  • Letter of support from your proposed supervisor
  • Letter of support from the university head of department confirming that they support your application

Please see the application guidance for details about the requirements of each question or document.

The SSA is committed to ensuring that the application process is accessible to everyone. If you require any reasonable adjustments or assistance to complete the form, please contact Graham Hunt.

How can I prepare a strong application?

Strong applications for funding will demonstrate how the research aligns with:

Strong applications will also satisfy the reviewers that:

  • The candidate has demonstrated excellence through their contributions to the field and the development of others
  • The candidate has plans to develop their skills and experience, and advance their career goals
  • The candidate has provided evidence of their commitment to a research career in the field of addiction
  • The candidate’s research will have an impact on addiction treatment, policy, and/or research

1. Eligibility review

The SSA’s Operations Officer will check that applications have been completed and meet the eligibility criteria for the scheme. If there are minor issues, applicants may be given the opportunity to add clarifications so that their applications is complete and eligible.

2. Initial panel review

A panel formed from the SSA’s review college will review all applications to shortlist those that are of sufficiently high-quality to progress to peer review.

3. Peer review

Eligible applications will be sent for peer review by people who have relevant expertise and who do not have a conflict of interest in relation to the applicant or application. Applications will include a rating and a narrative summary of the application clearly stating the reviewers recommendations to the panel. Peer reviewers will also be asked to provide a short review that is suitable for sending to applicants. This section may be incorporated into any decision letter at the discretion of the scheme lead.

4. Secondary panel review

Once the peer review has been received, the panel will read the review and take note of its recommendations. The panel will then independently rate each of the applications using the expert review to inform that rating. Panellists will rate applications and then the panel will convene to discuss the peer review and panel ratings and agree which applicants to invite for an interview. If an application is of sufficiently high-quality to fund, then the applicant should be invited for an interview. If an application does not meet that level of quality, then they should not be invited for an interview. There is no maximum or minimum number to invite to interview.

5. Interview

The Operations Officer will invite all identified applicants to an interview. The questions will be agreed in advance and each interview will follow the same structure. There will be a short presentation at the beginning from each applicant, followed by specific questions relating to the application from the panel. There will then be a series of questions that are asked of all applicants. The panel will rate answers and take notes throughout the interview. These will be discussed at the end of the end of the session, with a funding decision usually made on the same day. All shortlisted applicants will be informed of the decision within three working days.

6. Feedback

Unsuccessful applicants will be given feedback about the reason they were not chosen. This will be compiled from reviewer comments that were designated as open to the applicant. The SSA will not usually enter into a discussion about the feedback or about the decision of the panel. If applicants wish to challenge the panel’s decision, they can register a complaint following the SSA’s standard complaints’ procedure.

What can I expect from the SSA if I am successful?

The SSA is an addiction-specific funder. We are a relatively small Society with staff and trustees that are dedicated to offering the best learning experience, and who take an active interest in the wellbeing and future of fellows.

SSA-funded fellowships include a salary (typically in the range of £35,000 to £50,000), as well as National Insurance contributions, pension, and other employment-related costs. The SSA makes payments directly to host institutions, which then arrange for fellows to receive monthly payments in accordance with their employment contracts.

For clinical fellowships, the salary costs will usually be determined by the current pay grade of the applicant and will need to be justified during application. The SSA will pay full salary costs in cases where the applicant continues clinical work for 20% of their fellowship time.

The SSA will provide research costs of up to £30,000 across the three years.

What will the SSA expect of me if I am successful?

Successful candidates will be required to:

  • Attend the SSA’s Annual Conference
  • Submit annual reports, detailing progress to date, publications, changes to the research or timeline, and issues with the host university or supervisory team
  • Submit a final report on completion of the fellowship, outlining all outputs
  • Contribute to the SSA community, for example through writing content for the website, participating in subcommittees, and helping to organise and run events
  • Acknowledge SSA funding in appropriate settings (e.g. in email signatures, presentations, and publications) and in accordance with the SSA’s brand guidelines