SAMRC Early Investigators Programme Grant

Written by Keagan HendricksStaff Writer (Unisa Alumnus)

Reviewed & verified by Naledi KhumaloSenior Admissions and Bursaries EditorVerified

The SAMRC Early Investigators Programme is a three-year grant from the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) for health researchers who hold a PhD but do not yet run their own research group. The SAMRC’s Division of Research Capacity Development issued the current Request for Applications (RFA) on 13 August 2026, and the call closes at 23:59 on 9 October 2026. This is not a student bursary: the money pays part of the researcher’s salary and part of the research costs, and the host university or research institution has to commit to the rest.

R500 000 a year, split between salary and research

The SAMRC pays up to R500 000 per year for three years. The RFA divides that amount into R200 000 for research expenses and R300 000 towards the awardee’s salary. Each payment is tied to milestones and deliverables in the grant agreement, and the second and third years depend on satisfactory performance and on the SAMRC having the funds.

Because the grant covers only part of a salary, the application must include a formal letter in which the host institution undertakes to appoint the applicant as a researcher, to fund the running costs of the project and to provide infrastructure. The RFA calls this a matching contribution. An applicant without that letter cannot complete the application.

Where an applicant must be in their career

The SAMRC aims the programme at scientists who are typically three to five years past their PhD, and the RFA is strict about both ends of that range. The published criteria are:

• South African citizenship or permanent residence.
• A research doctorate in health or medical research, with three to five years of postdoctoral research experience. Clinician-scientists qualify with at least one year of post-PhD research experience.
• Younger than 45. Older applicants need a strong motivation from their institution.
• Affiliation with a recognised academic or health research institution for the full project, or a hosting commitment from one.

The RFA also rules people out. Researchers whose posts are already fully paid by their institution are not eligible, and neither are those who have shown independence through substantial grant income as a principal investigator or who have led their own research group for more than three years. The award cannot run alongside another SAMRC capacity development grant, and full-time staff of the SAMRC’s intramural research units cannot hold it.

The nine priority areas in the 2026 call

The SAMRC wants projects in infectious diseases; non-communicable diseases; maternal, child and adolescent health; health systems and policy research; digital health and artificial intelligence; climate change and health; genomics; antimicrobial resistance; and pandemic preparedness. Projects with potential for public health impact receive preference. Work proposed on behalf of a commercial company is not considered.

How reviewers score a proposal

Eligible applications go to peer review, and a Grant Selection Committee scores them against the SAMRC’s published evaluation guidelines. The weightings in the 2026 guidelines are:

The budget is checked for reasonableness but carries no percentage. The SAMRC encourages black and women early-career scientists and applicants at resource-limited institutions, and targets 65% of awards at them, but the RFA states that academic merit and scientific quality rank higher.

Registering, uploading and emailing the application

Applicants first complete the short online application registration form, then upload four SAMRC templates: the application form with the full research proposal, the milestone table, the budget form and the reviewer nomination form. All four are linked from the SAMRC Early Investigators Programme RFA page. The annexures are a motivation letter, the principal investigator’s full CV with a complete publication list and two confidential referees, a co-principal investigator CV listing their 10 most-cited articles, a two-page NIH-format bio-sketch of any senior collaborator, a certified ID copy, a support letter from the DVC Research or equivalent, and the institutional commitment letter.

The complete submission must also be emailed to RCDgrants.applications@mrc.ac.za on or before 9 October 2026. The SAMRC does not consider late or incomplete applications, and says it will release outcomes before 30 April 2027. Questions go to Dr Frederic Nduhirabandi at frederic.nduhirabandi@mrc.ac.za or +27 21 938 0461.

Students who are still studying should look instead at the SAMRC Internship Scholarship or the Bongani Mayosi National Health Scholars Programme. Researchers at a similar career stage elsewhere in Africa can compare the ARUA Early-Career Research Fellowship, and the postgraduate bursaries hub lists funding for Master’s and PhD study.

FAQs