What is the Seeds for Success Fund?

ECRI is delighted to offer the Seeds for Success Fund again this year. ECRI understands that securing funding is crucial to researchers, and we want to give the postdocs the possibility of exploring new ideas. The Fund aims to provide postdocs with the means to work on a research project independently from their PI which will provide preliminary data for a Fellowship application. We will fund up to £5,000 per project. All funds must be spent by 31 July 2025. This is a great opportunity to use your 10 development days. We strongly encourage you to discuss your participation in this call with your PI and/or line manager

Timeline and How to Apply

  • Application deadline: 12.00 noon on Friday 8 November.

  • Outcome: successful applicants will be notified by the first week of December.

  • Mid-year reports due: 7 May 2025

  • Final reports: 26 September 2025

  • All the funds allocated in the 2024/25 academic year must be spent by 31 July 2025.

To apply, please complete the Template Seeds for Success and submit your application online using the link found in the Guidelines for Applicants Seeds 2025 document.

If you have any queries not covered in the Guidelines, please contact Anna Seabourne, a.seabourne@imperial.ac.uk.

Seeds fund guidance accordion

Guidance on completing your application

All information on eligibility and criteria is available in the Guidelines for Applicants Seeds 2025 document.

Previous years' winners

2024 winners

Name

Department

Project

Maria Valdivia Garcia

Department of Metabolism, Digestion and Reproduction

Fluorescence interface for single-cell analysis

Stefania Maneta Stavrakaki

Department of Metabolism, Digestion and Reproduction

Deciphering metabolic adaptations driving ovarian cancer drug resistance

Vishwas Mishra

Life Sciences

Investigating the long-term effects of diarrhoeagenic infections on IBD susceptibility

Cheng Ouyang

Institute of Clinical Sciences

Uncertainty quantification for trustworthiness in machine learning-driven MRI reconstruction

Davia Prischich

Department of Chemistry

Synthetic photomorphogenesis: using light-regulated molecules in developmental biology

2023 winners

Name

Department

Project

Biancastella Cereser

Department of Surgery & Cancer

Oestrogen regulation of clonality in the human mammary gland

Joel Luke

Physics

Probing the Stability of Organic Photoelectrodes using in situ electrochemical Raman Spectroscopy

Marcus Yio

Civil and Environmental Engineering

Transforming London Clay into low carbon cements

Nina Moderau

Department of Surgery & Cancer

Bioink development for macrophages to mimic breast cancer microenvironment

2022 winners

Name

Department

Project

Beth Pennycook

Institute of Clinical Sciences

Characterising the regulation of meiosis by CDKs through single cell in vivo imaging

Carol Sheppard

Infectious Disease

The influenza RNA polymerase host protein interactome

Eszter Csibra​

Bioengineering

Engineering specialised protein nano-factories for biotherapeutics

Jackie van Dael

Surgery & Cancer

Novel analysis methodologies for safe communication in remote consultations

Lucia Lombardi

Chemical Engineering

Artificial synapses for studying neurodegenerative diseases

Maria Paraskevaidi​

Metabolism, Digestion and Reproduction

Blood-based spectroscopy for the screening and diagnosis of ovarian cancer

Marieke Hoekstra​

Brain Sciences

Imaging temperature in brain models

Matyas Daboczi​

Chemical Engineering

High efficiency solar hydrogen generation by integrated perovskite-organic photoelectrodes

Nathan Gemmell

Physics

Single Photon Level Quantum Imaging with a Commercial CMOS Camera

Ruth Reid​

Infectious Disease​

A rapid diagnostic to distinguish between bacterial and viral infections

Wenzhuo Cao​

Earth Science and Engineering​

Rate-and-state friction – Capping the maximum induced earthquake in geothermal systems

2021 winners

Name

Department

Project

Ali Mohammed​

Dyson School of Design Engineering

Hassle-free degassing – an enzymatic approach to oxygen free environments​

Amy Switzer​

Infectious Disease​

A novel regulator of bacterial population structure​

Claudia Contini​

Chemical Engineering​

Developing a minimal model system of motile artificial cell​

Flurin Eisner​

Physics

Low cost solar-to-fuel energy conversion using organic heterojunctions​

Giulia Tarantino​

Chemical Engineering

Drug Delivery – elucidating API-carrier interactions and release mechanisms​

Maria Weinert

Brain Sciences​

Mini Brains for the Science of Ageing​

Pavani Cherukupally​

Chemical Engineering​

Antimicrobial sponges for wastewater disinfection

Roya Haghighat-Khah

Life Sciences

Human gene expression from swabs implicated in COVID-19 disease severity​

Valerie Soo​

Institute of Clinical Sciences​

The biological fitness of penicillin-binding protein mutants​