Build your research career at SLU.

Page reviewed:  30/10/2026

The Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science (VH) can nominate outstanding researchers currently based outside SLU for prestigious career grants. We are looking for excellent researchers whose ideas can strengthen our research environments and long-term capacity.

External candidates are particularly welcome.
For both programmes, SLU must meet funder requirements for international recruitment and gender balance. Early contact lets us assess eligibility, timing and the fit with a prospective host department.

Two routes to a long-term research career at SLU

VH welcomes expressions of interest from excellent candidates throughout the year. WAF, VR-BUL and other nomination opportunities recur regularly, but formal calls and internal selection windows have set dates. We identify strong candidates year-round and help match them to the next suitable opportunity. Selection is competitive: independence, research vision, mobility and fit with a prospective host environment matter alongside scientific quality.

Wallenberg Academy Fellows

A career programme from the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation for promising young researchers who need the freedom to pursue ambitious, long-term research questions. The university nominates candidates; the Royal Swedish Academies evaluate them and the Foundation makes the final selection.

Who it is for

Early-career researchers across disciplines. The PhD eligibility window is defined in each round.

For candidates currently working abroad

Current published five-year grant levels are SEK 12.5 million for experimental and SEK 11.5 million for theoretical disciplines. Under KAW’s definition, candidates must not have been employed or received salary or other funding in Sweden during the previous four years. Eligible candidates may also request a one-off start-up grant of SEK 1.5, 3 or 4.5 million; SLU sets the level and provides matching co-funding. A further SEK 100,000 may be requested for moving expenses.

Long-term opportunity

After five years, Fellows may be nominated to compete for a further five years of funding.

Grant amounts and eligibility conditions are set by the Foundation and may be updated between rounds.

Wallenberg Academy Fellows programme

SLU WAF profile: Maliheh Mehrshad

SLU information on KAW and WAF

VR-BUL: Strategic Recruitment of Associate Senior Lecturers

A Swedish Research Council career programme that helps promising early-career researchers establish independence and qualify for a senior lecturer position.

Who it is for

Researchers in all disciplines. Eligibility is based on time since PhD, with adjustments considered under the Council’s rules.

Funding

SEK 3,000,000 per year for five years, with the possibility of up to five additional years of funding at senior-lecturer level after review.

Selection

A highly competitive process that values scientific quality, independence, mobility and international experience.

Host commitment

The nominee must hold an associate senior lecturer position at SLU when the grant begins. The host department and faculty commit to employment, career development and co-funding.

Swedish Research Council: calls and programme information

VR-BUL call information 

Most recent VR-BUL call and requirements 

Previous grantees: the 2026 VR-BUL cohort 

2026 decision statistics and awarded grants 

Research that advances animal health, welfare and sustainable animal production

VH conducts research and education in veterinary medicine and animal science, with domesticated animals and their protection and welfare at the centre. A strong nomination must show how the candidate’s programme will contribute to, and benefit from, a specific VH research environment.

Research profile

Our thematic breadth spans the life, health and welfare of farm animals, horses and companion animals—from molecular mechanisms to whole-animal function and clinical practice.

  • Animal health, disease, clinical and comparative veterinary medicine
  • Animal biosciences, genetics, microbiology, immunology, food safety and One Health
  • Animal management, nutrition, behaviour, ethics, welfare and protection
  • Sustainable food production, product quality and public health

About research at the VH Faculty 

Department of Animal Biosciences

Department of Applied Animal Science and Welfare

Department of Clinical Sciences 

Research infrastructures

VH infrastructure connects experimental, clinical and production-animal research. The Swedish Livestock Research Centre provides facilities for dairy cattle, pigs and poultry, with continuous recording of production, behaviour, reproduction and health; other resources include Röbäcksdalen’s dairy facility and Götala Beef and Lamb Research Centre.

UDS, Sweden’s only university animal hospital, integrates clinical care, research and veterinary education for companion animals, horses and livestock. Its specialist imaging and clinical pathology facilities support clinical research; access to patients, records or samples must be arranged with the host and is subject to approvals and capacity.

Swedish Livestock Research Centre

Livestock research resources

SLU University Animal Hospital (UDS)

Clinical Pathology Laboratory for researchers

Choosing a host matters.
VH is looking for researchers who want to develop an independent research programme and build a group of their own. A strong fit does not mean duplicating existing work: your research should complement and strengthen VH’s profile, while the faculty offers a setting where you can thrive. In your expression of interest, name the VH department and researcher you see as a potential host, and explain how their expertise, local collaborators and relevant infrastructure could help you get started—and what distinctive expertise you would bring.

Working at SLU and in Sweden

At SLU, your research can contribute to a clear public mission: advancing sustainable living through research, education and environmental assessment. The university works throughout Sweden, with main locations in Alnarp, Uppsala and Umeå and research environments that connect academic work with real-world questions in agriculture, animals, food and the environment.

The VH Faculty is primarily based in Uppsala, at the centre of the Stockholm–Uppsala life science region. The cluster brings together academic research, clinical capability and companies in biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, medical technology and e-health. SLU collaborates closely with regional universities, including Uppsala University, Karolinska Institutet (KI) and KTH Royal Institute of Technology—offering opportunities to connect animal health and veterinary science with wider biomedical and life science research. Explore the Stockholm–Uppsala life science cluster ↗ and Uppsala’s life science sector ↗.

Swedish working life is designed to support both ambitious careers and life outside work. Employees are entitled to at least 25 days of annual leave by law; a 40-hour standard working week and respect for time off are part of the national framework. At SLU, annual leave is 28 days up to and including the year you turn 29, 31 days from the year you turn 30, and 35 days from the year you turn 40. SLU also offers a SEK 2,000 annual wellness allowance, parental-pay supplements and a government occupational pension. Eligible parents may share 480 days of parental benefit per child, 390 of them income-related.

Your location and exact employment conditions depend on the host department and appointment. Explore working at SLU and vacancies ↗, SLU’s employee benefits ↗, living and working in Sweden ↗, and work–life balance in Sweden ↗. For personal eligibility and benefit rules, see the Swedish Social Insurance Agency’s parental-benefit information ↗.

From research idea to an SLU nomination

We encourage you to make contact well before an internal deadline. The exact materials and dates are updated for each call.

How to apply

  1. Make contact
    Send VH a short overview of your profile, PhD date, research idea and preferred SLU research environment.
  2. Identify a host
    Discuss the opportunity with the prospective department. The department head must support the proposal and its strategic fit.
  3. Submit a pre-proposal
    Eligible candidates prepare the required pre-proposal in English, with the prospective host department involved.
  4. Faculty and SLU selection
    VH assesses and prioritises submissions. Selected candidates then enter SLU’s central prioritisation process.
  5. Full application
    SLU’s Rector decides which candidates are nominated. Nominees complete and submit the full application with SLU support.

What to include when you contact us

  • Attach your CV. Include your PhD defence date and any relevant career breaks; current position, employer and research location(s) during the past four years; a selected-publication list with a brief note on your contribution to each; and evidence of mobility, international experience, research independence and leadership. Add teaching or supervision experience where relevant.
  • Give us your ORCID and a link to your researcher profile, if available.
  • Summarise your research vision: the key question, what is novel, why it matters and how you would approach it.
  • Identify a potential VH host: name the department and researcher whose profile best fits your work, and briefly explain the scientific connection.
Expressions of interest are welcome year-round
VH is always interested in hearing from excellent researchers who may be a strong fit for our research profile. We can discuss potential hosts, eligibility and the next suitable nomination opportunity, even when a formal call is not open. Funders set specific eligibility criteria and deadlines for each round. Contact us early so there is time to explore a suitable host and prepare for internal selection.

Interested in being nominated by VH?

Contact Ann-Sofi Bergqvist, Research Officer at the VH Faculty. We will help you identify the appropriate route and connect with the prospective host department.

Email:
ann-sofi.bergqvist@slu.se

Phone:
+46 18 67 23 40
+46 72 329 49 70

Start the conversation

When you send an email prepared using this form, SLU processes the personal data you provide in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). We use it to assess your expression of interest and potential fit for future VH nomination opportunities, and to contact you about next steps. The legal basis is that processing is necessary for SLU to perform a task in the public interest.

For questions about this processing, contact Ann-Sofi Bergqvist; SLU’s Data Protection Officer can be reached at dataskydd@slu.se. SLU also processes and stores information as required by the Swedish Archives Act and the Swedish Public Access to Information and Secrecy Act. Read more about SLU’s processing of personal data and your rights ↗.