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
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Mid-year reports due: 7 May 2025
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Final reports: 26 September 2025
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All the funds allocated in the 2024/25 academic year must be spent by 31 July 2025.
The round for 2025 is now closed, but the Template Seeds for Success and Guidelines for Applicants Seeds 2025 document are likely to be similar next year.
If you have any queries not covered in the Guidelines, please contact Anna Seabourne, a.seabourne@imperial.ac.uk.
Seeds fund guidance accordion
All information on eligibility and criteria is available in the Guidelines for Applicants Seeds 2025 document.
Previous years' winners
Name |
Department |
Project |
Andre Ohara |
Chemical Engineering |
Modulating the postbiotic effects of Saccharomyces boulardii through integrated OMICS approaches and synthetic biology (PostBioeng) |
David Carreno Yugueros |
Infectious Disease |
Engineering live-pathogen biosensors to spatiotemporally monitor host-pathogen interactions |
Sarah Dixon Smith |
Bioengineering |
AI & Archives: An Innovative Approach to Longitudinal Health Data |
Floriane Tissot |
Department of Life Sciences |
Cancer associated fibroblasts and leukemic cells dynamics in the bone marrow: towards the development of new therapeutic targets. |
Despoina Chrysostomou |
Metabolism, Digestion and Reproduction |
Leveraging the microbiome to predict therapy outcomes in gastro-oesophageal cancer. |
Mingzhu Cai |
Metabolism, Digestion and Reproduction |
Investigating Nutrient-Sensing in Gut Hormone Secretion Using Human Duodenal Organoids |
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 |
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 |
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 |
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 |