Applications for the PCRBIO Research Grant are now closed. Results will be announced in late January 2026.
The grant offers a total of £10,000 funding for PCR reagents to scientists working in human health, microbiology, plant sciences, environment and sustainability, and all other research areas with a biological focus or which require plenty of PCR.
Applications will run from September until 30th November 2025. The results will be announced, and funding will commence, in January 2026.
The PCRBIO Research Grant will be awarded as follows:
- A main award of £6,000 of PCR reagents over 3 years
- 4 runner up prizes of £1000 of PCR reagents
- Help and technical support with all PCR related queries pertaining to our reagents
This award is ideal for PhD students, post-doctoral researchers, and academics looking for extra funding to expand their lab. To apply, simply complete the application form below.
This webpage is for applicants in the UK, if applying in the USA, follow this link.
This grant is open to full-time academic researchers of all levels, from PhD candidates to principal investigators, including lab technicians and lab managers, who submit applications on time. The grant is only available to researchers at UK academic institutions. A parallel grant for US academics is available here.
We encourage members of the same lab group to submit a single joint application describing all PCR work that is carried out in their lab, rather than submitting individual applications.
Criteria evaluated include:
- Expected impact on the field of study
- Expected broader impact (social/medical/healthcare/diagnostic)
- Novelty
- Clarity, completeness
- How realistic is the requirement for the requested number of PCR reactions?
- Grants will be made out to the hosting laboratory (i.e., if you move laboratories before the grant funds are exhausted these will remain with the recipient host laboratory) in the form of credit with PCR Biosystems.
- Successful applicants will be contacted via email shortly after the evaluation process is complete. Funds will only be released once the successful applicant has acknowledged receipt of this email, submitted any additional required information, and provided a headshot photograph. Failure to complete any of these steps within two weeks from the date the original notification email is sent will result in the forfeiture of the grant, which will then be offered to the next highest-scoring applicant based on the judges’ evaluation.
- By submitting your application, you certify that you have been granted all permissions required by your academic supervisor or department to process this grant. It is your responsibility to ensure this is the case prior to submission.
- This grant covers all PCR Biosystems reagents, excluding dNTPs and DNA markers. Exceptions can be made when a reasonable quantity of these two product types is ordered along with any enzyme and only by separate communication with your PCR Biosystems account manager.
- Funding will commence in January 2026 and recipients will be able to place orders up to the maximum allotted amount at their discretion, in as many orders as they choose, until midnight December 31, 2029, or until the allotted funds are exhausted, whichever occurs first. Reagent cost will be deducted from the grant at the product list price.
- Grant applications will be assessed by an internal team of PCR experts and a shortlist will be reviewed by a mixed judging panel of internal and external research experts.
- PCR Biosystems retains the right to exclude any application, without giving a reason, at our own discretion.
- Multiple applications from the same individual will not be considered.
- Only one grant will be awarded per research group.
- Grant recipients consent to their identity and institute name being published on the PCR Biosystems website, social media, and on other promotional materials.
- Following their acceptance of the grant, grant recipients agree to produce a short video in which they introduce themselves, explain their research and discuss how the grant will aid their project. This video will be used by PCR Biosystems for promotional purposes, including on the PCR Biosystems website and social media channels.
- Grant recipients agree to participate in a follow-up interview with PCR Biosystems, to be conducted during the grant period. This interview may be published in written or video format across PCR Biosystems’ platforms.
- In addition, grant recipients agree to share a second piece of content (short science communication video, written testimonial, Q&A, lab photo or video, data image, video discussing their work with PCR Biosystems reagents, or other similar piece of content) with PCR Biosystems for promotional use. The main grant (£6000 prize) recipient agrees to share one such piece of content annually.
- Grant recipients agree to acknowledge PCR Biosystems funding on all works containing data generated with PCR Biosystems reagents acquired as part of the grant.
- Your personal data will be used for the purposes described in our privacy policy.
Professor Julian Marchesi
Professor of Digestive Health
Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London
Professor Julian R. Marchesi graduated from Cardiff University with a PhD in biochemistry (1992) and became interested in the role bacteria play in biosystem function. His work uses a variety of “omic” approaches such as metagenomics, metatranscriptomics, metabonomics and organoid culture to understand how the microbiome influences the non-communicable diseases, such as IBD and cancer and how it drives and supports disease progression and therapies. He now holds the Chair in Digestive Diseases at Imperial College London.
Dr. Martha McLaughlin
Research Fellow
University of Sussex
Dr Martha McLaughlin conducted her PhD in Clinical Neuroscience at University College London, focusing on the RNA pathology of Motor Neuron Disease (MND) and is now a research fellow at the University of Sussex. Her current project is in a similar field to her PhD, investigating the feasibility of blood-derived small RNA as diagnostic biomarkers for MND.
Dr. Sarah Withers
Post-Doctoral Research Assistant
Newcastle University
Dr. Sarah Withers is a research associate at Newcastle University, working on a project focused on a group of rare autoinflammatory diseases, known as the Type I Interferonopathies. This being a topic which she also researched during her PhD at the University of Manchester. Her projects have focused on both in vivo disease modelling (in zebrafish and mice models) and in vitro models, utilising induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) to try and increase our understanding of these diseases.
Dr. Constantine Garagounis
Product Manager
PCR Biosystems
Dr. Constantine Garagounis studied Biochemistry and Biotechnology and has a DPhil in Plant Sciences from the University of Oxford. He worked as a post-doctoral researcher and contract lecturer on plant secondary metabolism and how it affects plant microbe interactions. He has conducted various research projects in plant synthetic biology and engineering plant metabolic pathways and lectured in corresponding courses. He is currently working as a Product Marketing Specialist for PCR Biosystems.
Luke Haddock
PhD candidate
University of Warwick
2025 Main Grant Winner – Developing a high-throughput multiplex diagnostic test for respiratory pathogens implicated in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
Sophia D'Alessandro
PhD Researcher
Imperial College
Studying the mechanisms through which breastfeeding reduced the risk of breast cancer in women.
Aidan J. Taylor
Senior Researcher
University of Reading
Improving qPCR-based screening approach to detect variants of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli.
Aralolaoluwa Ogunrin
PhD Candidate
Swansea University
Studying the role of E.coli in bacterial sepsis & developing diagnostic testing panels.
Charlotte Willoughby
PhD Candidate
University of Edinburgh
Using sensitive molecular diagnostics to study “invisible malaria” and improve reliability of testing.
Martha McLaughlin
Post-doctoral Researcher
University of Sussex
2024 Main Grant Winner – Developing novel small RNA biomarkers for Motor Neuron Disease diagnosis.
Jeffrey Kelu
Post-doctoral Researcher
King's College London
Investigating the impact of disrupted circadian rhythms on transcription in skeletal muscles.
Debabrata Dutta
Post-doctoral Researcher
Heriot-Watt University
Studying the role of small secreted proteins in mediating wheat resistance to Septoria tritici (wheat blotch disease).
Carlos Abelardo dos Santos
Graduate Student
University of Warwick
Validating RT-LAMP assays for in-field detection of Influenza D (IVD) in livestock.
Isabel Hughes
Graduate Student
University of Warwick
Field study on the prevalence of Wolbachia endosymbiosis in mosquitoes (as a means of preventing malaria) in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Tegan Hibbert
PhD Candidate
University of Liverpool
2023 Main Grant Winner – Respiratory environment, P. aeruginosa, A. xylosoxidans, species interactions, virulence, therapeutic model development
Helen Cockerton
Research Fellow
University of Kent
2023 Runner Up – Fungal pathogen plant interactions
Christos Velanis
Lecturer
The Open University
2023 Runner Up – Microalgal engineering
Golsana Haghdousti
Graduate Student
University College London
2023 Runner Up – Investigating the role of manganese in brain physiology and disease
Kai Kean
Graduate Student
University of Oxford
2023 Runner Up – Developing diagnostic assays to test for infections and viraemia in blood/platelet transfusion samples.
Elena Lugli
Post-doctoral Researcher
Natural History Museum, London
2022 Main Grain Winner – Molecular Biology Research
Bruno Salomone Gonzalez de Castejon
Researcher
University of Bristol
2022 Runner Up – Biomedical Science
Robert Baldock
Senior Researcher
University of Portsmouth
2022 Runner Up – Biomedical Science
Victor Tapia Olivares
Post-doctoral Researcher
University of Mancherster
2022 Runner Up – Biomedical Science
Sareen Galbraith
Senior Researcher
Leeds Beckett University
2022 Runner Up – Biomedical Science
