1 Group Leader 2 Postdoctoral Researchers

Call for Application #2025-XFL-C01 [Heidelberg] New Team: New Strategies for Female-Controlled Non-Hormonal Contraception

Call for Application #2025-XFL-C01 closed since December 7, 2025

New Strategies for Female-Controlled Non-Hormonal Contraception

Call closed!

1 Group Leader 2 Postdoctoral Researchers

What we are looking for

The BioMed X Institute in Heidelberg is establishing a new, fully funded research group in the following field: New Strategies for Female-Controlled Non-Hormonal Contraception.

If you hold a PhD with an outstanding track record or strong interest in the fields of womens health, we invite you to apply with a project proposal for a position in our new research group (1 group leader, 2 postdoctoral researchers).

This call for application is supported by the Gates Foundation .

Family planning is one of the most cost-effective interventions to reduce maternal, infant, and child mortality, while empowering women and catalyzing economic development. Despite the availability of a variety of modern contraceptive methods, over 200 million women in Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs) continue to face an unmet need.

Current options - primarily hormonal - are not meeting many womens needs. Side effects, especially changes in bleeding patterns, contribute to high discontinuation rates (up to 40% within the first year). These challenges are compounded by access barriers and sociocultural norms, leaving many women without viable, acceptable choices.

There is an urgent need for female-controlled, non-hormonal contraceptive solutions that significantly differ from currently available products, are safe, effective, reversible, and culturally acceptable - especially in LMICs.

We invite transformative research proposals that explore new biological targets, molecular mechanisms, or delivery modalities for continuous and/or on-demand non-hormonal contraception for women.

Major objectives:

Identification and/or validation of innovative non-hormonal mechanisms of action for a continuous and/or on-demand methods (systemic or intravaginal).

Demonstration of contraceptive efficacy in vitro and/or in vivo, with attention to safety, tolerability, maintenance of a natural bleeding cycle, and reversibility.

Mechanisms of interest:

Follicle maturation and ovulation

Sperm function within the female reproductive tract

Gamete interaction through fertilization and up to implantation

Effects on the endometrium

With attention to:

Safety and tolerability

Maintenance of natural bleeding cycles

Efficacy and reversibility of contraceptive effect

We will not consider proposals focused on:

Systemic sex hormones or hormone-like effects

Male contraceptive discovery and development

Post-implantation mechanisms

Adjunct molecules for co-delivery with hormonal regimens

Barrier methods such as condoms, diaphragms, cervical caps or intrauterine approaches

Basic reproductive biology without a clear link to non-hormonal contraceptive discovery

Permanent contraception

We strongly encourage proposals that demonstrate originality, leverage interdisciplinary insights, and are responsive to real-world needs of women - particularly those in LMICs. We especially welcome approaches that can lead to discreet, self-administered, affordable products with potential for high user satisfaction.

Please note that generic project proposals which were generated by large language models such as ChatGPT will not be considered.

Group leader positions are intended to suit candidates with a PhD (or equivalent) in womens health or in a related area who would like to develop themselves towards a leadership career path either in academia or industry and have typically between three and six years of relevant postdoctoral research experience.