Applications Now Open for 2026 Biota Award Postdoctoral Fellowships

 
 

Walder Foundation has opened the 2026 Biota Awards, a program to fund early-career researchers based in Illinois who seek to restore, protect, and conserve biodiversity locally and around the world. Applications are due October 21, 2025.

For the second year running, the 2026 Biota Awards are exclusively focused on providing support for postdoctoral scientists. We intend to return to supporting independent investigators in the 2027 Biota Awards. 

Through the Biota Awards program, we aim to:

  • Attract and retain exceptional postdoctoral scientists in Illinois

  • Encourage postdoctoral scientists to think creatively and independently about how their research can be applied to deliver on the ground results

  • Develop a more inclusive and equitable biodiversity research community by supporting fellows from a wide range of backgrounds. 

“Postdoctoral researchers and aspiring postdocs are the next generation of leaders in science and conservation,” shares Jack Westwood, Walder Foundation’s senior program director of environmental sustainability. “At a time when young scientists face significant uncertainty, Walder Foundation is committed to providing opportunities and pathways into science careers for outstanding researchers and helping them build their careers here in Illinois—an outstanding place to pursue action-oriented biodiversity research. “

Biota Award Postdoctoral Fellowships will provide successful applicants:

  • Annual salary of $70,000 in Year 1 and $73,500 in Year 2

  • Fringe benefits at the host institution’s rate for postdocs 

  • Annual research and travel allowance of $20,000

  • Relocation allowance of up to $3,000 for those moving from outside of Illinois

  • Indirect costs of 15% to the host institution

Postdoctoral fellows must be employed by and have a primary adviser at an institution in Illinois by the start of the grant. Researchers that are currently based outside of Illinois (either completing a Ph.D. or working as a postdoc) are encouraged to apply by developing a proposal with an adviser at an institution in Illinois. 

For researchers proposing projects at Chicago-region* institutions, the geographic focus of the research is not restricted, and projects may focus on biodiversity and conservation topics relevant to the Chicago region or elsewhere, for example biodiversity hotspots and/or the Global South.  

For researchers proposing projects at Illinois institutions outside of the Chicago region* (e.g. University of Illinois Urbana Champaign or Illinois State University), the geographic focus of the research and intended outcomes must be the Chicago region.

If successful, the researcher would need to move to the region to take up employment at a local grantee organization.

Learn more about the requirements and how to apply here.

*The Chicago region is broadly defined as the Metropolitan Statistical Area according to the United States Census Bureau.

 
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