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
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 .
The round for 2025 is now closed, but the Template Seeds for Success Guidelines for Applicants Seeds 2025
If you have any queries not covered in the Guidelines, please contact Anna Seabourne, a.seabourne@imperial.ac.uk .
Seeds fund guidance accordion
Previous years' winners
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2025 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
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