Protein Engineering Seed Grant

Protein Engineering Seed Grant is sponsored by Sarafan ChEM-H, Stanford University. This opportunity supports mission-aligned projects and measurable outcomes.

2025 Sarafan ChEM-H Seed Grant | Sarafan ChEM-H 2025 Sarafan ChEM-H Seed Grant The road from molecules to medicines, from discovery to translation, is complex. No single lab is equipped to address each hurdle on the path. The most transformational human health research projects require expertise, techniques, and instrumentation not typically found in academia.

The Nucleus at Sarafan ChEM-H is a cluster of labs that bring scientific expertise, tools, and flexibility to Stanford. Led by a unique cadre of scientists with over a century of combined experience in academic and industrial biomedical research, the groups at the Nucleus provide industry expertise, cutting-edge instruments, and training to Stanford labs.

From metabolomics to crystallography, from medicinal chemistry to cell therapies, the Nucleus supercharges research at Stanford. Sarafan ChEM-H is seeking proposals from Stanford labs who would like to start a new collaboration with a scientific team in the Nucleus.

We are accepting proposals for projects that would utilize one or more of the following research areas to pursue basic science and translational research projects: Cryogenic Electron Microscopy Successful projects will receive $50,000, which will be split between funds awarded to the PI lab and in-kind support. The award period will be 12 months, with the opportunity to request a 6-month no-cost extension.

We are able to provide a limited number of pilot funds ranging from $5,000 to $25,000 to help initiate new collaborations (see details under “ Support Provided ” and descriptions for individual Nucleus areas). Funds can be split between the PI lab and in-kind support. The award period will be 12 months, with the opportunity to request a 6-month no-cost extension.

Download a pdf version of the instructions shown on this web page here: sarafan_chem-h_seed_grant_2025_rfp. pdf Applications open on December 1, 2025. All application materials must be received by 11:59 pm, Friday, January 23, 2026 .

Seed grant recipients will be notified by March 6, 2026. Stanford faculty with UTL , UML , NTLR and CE appointments are eligible. CEs should provide a note from their Chair or Division Chief with their application stating that the Department/Division will cover salary support for time devoted to the project.

Preference will be given to junior faculty members at the assistant or associate professor level. Collaborative proposals between junior and senior faculty (full professor) are welcome, but we recommend that the junior faculty member be the lead investigator.

Faculty who have not yet collaborated with a Nucleus scientist, or those who have generated preliminary data and would like to jumpstart a larger-scale project are especially encouraged to apply. Stanford faculty with UTL , UML , NTLR and CE appointments are eligible.

CEs should provide a note from their Chair or Division Chief with their application stating that the Department/Division will cover salary support for time devoted to the project. Faculty at all career stages are encouraged to apply. See details for Track 2 budgets and proposals under “ Support Provided ”.

Faculty who have not yet collaborated with a Nucleus scientist, or those who have generated preliminary data and would like to jumpstart a larger-scale project are especially encouraged to apply. Successful projects will receive $50,000, which will be split between support awarded to the PI lab and in-kind support provided by the Nucleus. The split will be determined on a project-by-project basis.

The PI lab support can cover direct costs for study-related expenses, including supplies, consumables, biobanking costs, etc. Student or postdoctoral scholar time can be supported on this award. Faculty and clinician time cannot be supported on this award. In-kind support may include user training and instrument fees, consumables, and Nucleus scientist time.

More details are included in the Research Areas section, below. Before applying, each applicant is required to contact the leader of the relevant research area to discuss project scope and budget. Successful projects will receive pilot funds ranging from $5,000 to $25,000 to support Nucleus collaborations: Projects requesting a budget of $10,000 or below may have any research focus.

Projects requesting a budget between $10,000 and $25,000 should broadly focus on stem cell biology OR therapeutic approaches in treating cancer, with a preference for EGFR-mutant lung cancer, as we have specific funding to support these areas. The PI lab support can cover direct costs for study-related expenses, including supplies, consumables, biobanking costs, etc. Student or postdoctoral scholar time can be supported on this award.

Faculty and clinician time cannot be supported on this award. In-kind support may include user training and instrument fees, consumables, and Nucleus scientist time. More details are included in the Research Areas section, below.

Before applying, each applicant is required to contact the leader of the relevant research area to discuss project scope and budget. Submit one PDF file containing the following in the order indicated below. All documents should be single-spaced, Arial 11 point font with 0.

5” margins.

Name of Nucleus research area (or areas) that the project aims to leverage (Medicinal Chemistry, Metabolomics, Macromolecular Structure, Chemoproteomics, Cryogenic Electron Microscopy, Protein Engineering, Cell and Gene Therapy) Name, title, and contact information for Principal Investigator(s) Name, title, and contact information of Primary Researcher (i.e. the student or postdoctoral scholar responsible for conducting the research and directly collaborating with Nucleus scientist(s)) Whether you are applying for Track 1 or Track 2 Include in the summary a description of the problem you aim to solve and/or the hypothesis you aim to test, the potential impact of the research, and how access to Nucleus scientists/facilities uniquely enables this research.

Project Narrative (2 pages) Background: Please include a clear description of the problem you aim to solve and/or the hypothesis you aim to test Project description: Please include the ways in which access to Nucleus scientists and/or facilities uniquely enables this research. Please add references on a separate page following the project narrative.

Indicate whether you are applying for Track 1 or Track 2 Divide the budget into two sections, one for PI lab expenses and one for in-kind support provided by the Nucleus. Note that project selection does not mean that the budget has been approved as proposed.

Selected projects will undergo a more thorough financial evaluation and award terms will include approved budget with the split between support awarded to the PI lab and in-kind support clearly explained. Before applying, each applicant is required to contact the leader (or leaders) of the relevant research area to discuss project scope and budget.

Budget Justification (½ page) Write a justification of the proposed budget (no more than ½ page). Each application must identify one or more of the following research areas. Please read the descriptions below to ensure your proposal fits the criteria, and reach out to the relevant group leaders with questions about project feasibility.

Cryogenic Electron Microscopy Macromolecular Structure/Chemoproteomics Joint Seed Grant For general questions and questions related to the seed grant application process, please contact Anna Koster ( akkoster@stanford. edu ).

For questions related to project scope, budget, and in-kind support, please reach out to the relevant scientific leader below: Research Area Scientific Leader Email Address Medicinal Chemistry Mark Smith mxsmith@stanford. edu Metabolomics Yuqin Dai yuqindai@stanford. edu Macromolecular Structure Daniel Fernandez danilo@stanford.

edu Cryogenic Electron Microscopy Haoqing Wang hwangab@stanford. edu Chemoproteomics Dina Schuster dschust@stanford. edu Protein Engineering Adrian Hugenmatter adrian.

hugenmatter@stanford. edu Cell and Gene Therapy Fabrizia Urbinati urbinati@stanford. edu Read short descriptions of previously funded Nucleus seed grant projects.