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Grants and Bursaries

Sponsored Seminar Series Grants

Our Sponsored Seminar Series Grant assist with the costs associated with hosting a seminar series within your institution. 

The intended lectures must help us with our goal of promoting the future of molecular biosciences; facilitating the sharing of expertise, supporting the advancement of biochemistry and molecular biology, and raising awareness of their importance in addressing societal grand challenges.  

The grant is intended to help with the travel costs for guest speakers at a series of seminars or lectures throughout the year. The grant can also be used to assist with catering costs should any refreshments be provided with the lectures or seminars.  

Grants of £500, £750, £1000 or £1500 will be awarded to successful applicants.  

Next deadline

20 June 2025

Apply now!

To be eligible to apply:

  • All intended speakers within the series must give a talk that has a biochemical or molecular biology focus. 
  • The seminar series must consist of three or more lectures. 
  • The applicant and series organizer must be a Postgraduate, Early Career, Full, or Emeritus member of the Biochemical Society. 

Applications are assessed according to three main criteria:

1. Balance of programme and intended audience

  • Is there a clear balance in gender, location, and career stage of the speakers?
  • Has consideration been given to the breadth of topics included in the programme?
  • Will this seminar series appeal to multiple demographics?

2. Promotion of the molecular biosciences discipline

Successful applicants will demonstrate that their seminar series will support the advancement of biochemistry and molecular biology and/or raise awareness of the importance of the molecular biosciences in addressing societal grand challenges.

This can be done by:

  • Indicating the scope e.g., How many people will attend? What career stage are you targeting this series towards? Are there opportunities for networking?
  • Indicating which topics will be covered throughout the series e.g., a detailed breakdown of the planned sessions and/or lecture titles.

3. Financial need for support

  • A clear and detailed breakdown of costs should be included.
  • Details of existing funding available from your Institution or other organisations.
  • Why funds are being sought from the Society and why the level of support is being requested.
  • What the requested funds will be used for e.g., travel and accommodation for keynote speakers, catering, promotional materials.

The level of support will depend on the biochemical content of the lecture series, the size of the institution, the number of planned seminars or lectures and the expected number of attendees. 

Please note that a maximum of one grant can be awarded per institution and thus, applicants are advised to check with colleagues prior to submitting an application.  

There is only one application deadline per year: 

  • 20 June 

Please note we aim to send round the outcome of applications three to four weeks after the deadline of the round that has been applied to.

Please keep the following in mind when applying for a Sponsored Seminar Series Grant:

  • Applications should be for a seminar series with a molecular bioscience focus.
  • All intended speakers within the series must give a talk that has a biochemical or molecular biology focus. 
  • The seminar series must consist of three or more lectures.
  • The Recipient must act in accordance with government legislation and is responsible for obtaining any licenses, permissions and insurances that are necessary by law to carry out their seminar series.
  • We accept applications from anywhere in the world, however please note that we are unable to pay grants to recipients in jurisdictions, countries or regions subject to sanctions, embargoes or other political trade restrictions put in place by the United Nations, the EU or the UK.
  • The Biochemical Society does not fund any applications made retrospectively.
  • Incomplete or late applications will not be accepted.
  • A Sponsored Seminar Series Grant is non-transferable and can only be used to support the series outlined in the original application. 

If successful:

  • The Recipient must badge the series as ‘sponsored by the Biochemical Society’.
  • The Biochemical Society logo and/or marketing materials will be provided by the Biochemical Society and the Recipient must ensure these are displayed at all times, either online or in print.
  • The Biochemical Society cannot be held responsible for any of the Recipient’s debts or liabilities.
  • The Recipient is required to send photographs and a report of approximately 200-500 words outlining the highlights of the series, the speakers featured, key themes and topics discussed and an overview of the reach and demographic of the series e.g., what were your aims and ambitions for the series and were they accomplished? The report and photographs may be published on the Biochemical Society website, social media channels or considered for publication in our community magazine, The Biochemist. Please ensure consent is given by any individuals featured in the photographs.
“

We at the Norwich Research Park are very grateful to the Biochemical Society for sponsoring our ‘Environmental Interactions’ series. We established this seminar series to bring scientists together across the NRP, highlight the shared research interests, encourage collaboration, and promote biochemical research. All sessions were well received, with some early career researchers suggesting that they would keep in touch with the speaker for future collaborations!

“ 
Seminar audience at Norwich Research Park
Dr Jacob Pullin

Sponsored Seminar Series Grant recipient

Hear from a Grants Committee member

Members of our Grants Committee took part in a Biochemistry Focus webinar titled 'How to apply for Biochemical Society grants'.

Hear from Professor Ian Wood, who discusses what to include in a Sponsored Seminar Series Grant application.

Contact us

For further information please get in touch with the Grants department.

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