LSI Seed-Corn Funding - Catalyst
LSI Catalyst Awards
Our internal Catalyst Fund provides pump-priming funding for new interdisciplinary projects between LSI PIs and Affiliates or industry partners.
In some cases, partners may be based at other academic institutions, if the funding primarily supports the LSI PI. Projects can be ‘blue skies’ in nature but more typically have a clear route to follow on funding, generating preliminary results or laying the groundwork for a major strategic funding application.
We have funded eight projects with a combined value of >£80k since the scheme’s inception in 2021.
For further information - contact Dr Matt Amesbury (LSI Research Development Manager) - m.j.amesbury@exeter.ac.uk
LSI PI Bertram Daum (Biosciences) with Tessa Quax at the University of Groningen, Netherlands
The goal of this award was to compose a proposal to the European Research Council for a Marie Skłodowska Curie Actions Doctoral Network as part of a pan-European consortium of partners from across academia and industry.
All partners share a common interest in novel proteins and enzymes found on the surfaces of micro-organisms known as archaea, which are particularly well suited for novel bio-inspired technologies. These include novel approaches to drug encapsulation, biocatalysis and green energy production. LSI Catalyst funding contributed to preparation of the bid, which received a mark of 95% and was subsequently awarded with a total value of over €2.7M (>£500k to Exeter).
The network, ‘ARCTECH – Harnessing the potential of archaea – training Europe’s next visionaries for an innovative and sustainable future’, means the Daum group will host two new PhD students as well as leading cohort training in cryo-electron microscopy. The doctoral network increases visibility and recognition through new international academic and industrial collaborations, will support a new generation of truly interdisciplinary scientists, generate high-impact publications and lead to further funding opportunities.
LSI PIs Ge Guo (Clinical and Biomedical Sciences) and David Richards (Physics and Astronomy)
The goal of this award was to establish a system to perform live imaging of a 3D cellular model of the developing human blastocyst, the blastoid, developed by the Guo group. The blastocyst is one of the earliest stages in the formation of a human embryo. In assisted conception, failure rates of viable pregnancies are a major and costly hurdle so model systems that offer the opportunity to study the underlying biology are critical and the blastoid model system can be used to investigate the fundamental biophysical rules that control human embryo development.
However, to effectively observe blastoid development with high-resolution time-lapse imaging requires controlling a range of factors such as CO2 and temperature within the imaging chamber. In this project, that goal was achieved using a stage incubator and a live imaging and modelling approach.
Along with preliminary data generated, this guided the research team into a recent successful BBSRC ALERT grant (£975k) for a lightsheet microscope for true 4D live imaging and analysis. The lightsheet microscope, housed in the state-of-the-art University of Exeter Biosciences Bioimaging Centre, has driven a step change in our technological capability for live cell imaging that is now empowering biological and biomedical research across Exeter and the wider GW4 alliance.
