Terms & Conditions

The GIN Discovery Program Seed Funding 2025 is offering two distinct funding opportunities, both designed to support innovative, interdisciplinary research focused on the gut-immune-brain axis. Applicants must meet the specific eligibility criteria outlined below:

  🔹  Super Pitch ($50,000)*

• The project must focus on advancing research within the gut-immune-brain axis.

• The team must include at least one Monash University researcher (Level A-E academic).

• The project must demonstrate interdisciplinary collaboration by:

  • Involving researchers from multiple departments within Monash University, OR

  • Partnering with researchers from another external research institution.

• If the collaboration involves an external institution, funds will be administered by Monash University.

  🔹  GIN & MIME Co-Funding ($25,000)*

• The project must focus on technology-driven innovations or healthcare solutions addressing an unmet clinical need related to the gut-immune-brain axis.

• The research team must include:

  • An active clinician, health service staff member and/or medical researcher involved directly in treating and/or working with patients. This person must be demonstrated to be influential in having identified the unmet clinical need which the project serves to solve, and can meaningfully contribute to advancing its development.

  • A Monash University researcher (Level A-E academic) with a primary appointment in one of the following faculties:

    • Faculty of Medicine, Nursing & Health Sciences (MNHS)

    • Faculty of Information Technology (FIT)

    • Faculty of Engineering (FE)

    • Faculty of Art, Design & Architecture (MADA)

This Monash researcher and their faculty will be the recipient of the funds.

Additional team members (from within or outside Monash University) are encouraged but not essential.

*If your project includes an imaging component you have a chance to get an EXTRA $1000 to be spent on the Monash Imaging Platform. Please contact us or iska.carmichael@monash.edu if you want to discuss that prior to submitting your application.

These two Seed Funding Schemes aim to:

• Advance knowledge within the gut-immune-brain axis and support the development of novel medical technologies.

• Foster new interdisciplinary collaborations that bridge expertise in biomedical engineering, medical research, and clinical practice.

• Support early-stage innovative research that has potential for further external funding and commercialisation.

• Strengthen engagement between Monash STEM researchers, clinicians, and industry partners.

• Promote translational impact, ensuring research outcomes are aligned with addressing significant unmet healthcare needs.

Stage 1 - Written Proposal

Applicants must submit a project outline that includes:

• Names, affiliations, and contact details of all collaborators.

• Background and rationale for the project.

• Project Summary:

  • Research Plan

  • Proposed timeline with realistic deliverables

  • Budget outline detailing the intended use of funds

• Applications must use Arial font size 10 and be submitted via the online form here.

Stage 2 - MIME Consultations

For the applications submitted to the GIN & MIME Co-Funding Scheme, shortlisted teams will have one-on-one meetings with MIME’s expert MedTech consultants to assess project viability and provide strategic guidance. Applicants will directed to contact Dr. Andrew Carey to schedule a meeting with MIME's Expert-in-Residence and Associate Professor of Medicine and Engineering, Khoa Cao.

Stage 3 - The Pitch

Top-ranked written proposals will be invited to present their project during a GIN monthly lunchtime seminar.

• Presentations will be 10-15 minutes long, followed by Q&A

• An online feedback form will be circulated for audience input

• An Executive Committee composed by the leadership of both GIN Discovery Program and MIME will make the final selection

Projects will be evaluated based on:

1. Scientific excellence and innovation.

2. Alignment with each scheme’s funding objectives.

3. Strength of interdisciplinary collaboration, ensuring appropriate expertise.

4. Clarity in identifying the unmet clinical need and the significance of the problem.

5. Feasibility of the proposed milestones, ensuring they are achievable within 12 months.

6. Long-term impact and sustainability, including a strategy for securing further funding.

Following the pitch presentations, the Executive Committee will finalize the selection based on audience feedback and committee deliberations.

• Funds cannot be used for:

  • Salaries for project personnel (Super Pitch scheme only);

  • Internal overheads or faculty administrative charges

  • Travel, accommodation, or conference expenses

• Financial acquittal is required at project completion.

• Any unused funds must be returned to the GIN Discovery Program.

Governance & Compliance

All funded projects must comply with Monash University’s policies, including:

• The Code of Conduct for Research

• Ethical approvals for human and/or animal research

• Compliance with the Office of Gene Technology Regulator

• Health and safety regulations

Reporting requirements

• A mid-term progress report must be submitted within 6 months of project initiation.

• A final report is required 12 months after funding is awarded, detailing:

  • Research outcomes

  • Future directions (e.g., publications, grant applications)

  • Potential for commercialization or clinical translation

• The research team will present findings to the Executive Committee for discussion of next steps.

Acknowledgment & Engagement

• GIN must be acknowledged in all project-related publications and communications and MIME must also be acknowledged for projects funded under the GIN & MIME Co-funding scheme.

• The research team grants MIME & GIN the right to use project information for promotional purposes.

• The funded team is expected to actively engage in GIN & MIME activities, including:

  • Annual Symposia

  • Monthly seminars

  • Outreach and engagement events

Revocation of funding

Seed funding may be revoked under the following conditions:

• Unsatisfactory progress or failure to meet milestones.

• Failure to commence research within 6 months of funding approval.

• Provision of false or misleading information in the application.

If no suitable projects are selected for funding, GIN & MIME reserve the right to retain the funds for future rounds of the respective funding schemes.