Genesis Research Trust

Genesis Research Trust, a UK-based charity founded after the Second World War and led by Professor Robert Winston, drives transformative research in reproductive health to reduce preventable baby loss, infertility, and heartache from miscarriage, stillbirth, preterm birth, and reproductive cancers. Headquartered at Imperial College London’s Institute of Reproductive and Developmental Biology (IRDB) at Hammersmith and Queen Charlotte’s Hospital sites, it embodies scientific rigour, evidence-based innovation, women’s health advocacy, and collaboration—historically linking Chelsea Hospital for Women, Queen Charlotte’s, and Hammersmith. Its pioneering contributions include IVF advancements, hormone therapies, miscarriage prevention, and preterm birth risk reduction, potentially saving 150,000 babies worldwide annually, with global impact through trained experts and disseminated innovations.

The Trust funds targeted biomedical and clinical research, hospital-based studies, public health interventions, professional training, advocacy, and evidence-based information on maternal-fetal diseases, infertility, birth injuries, and reproductive cancers. Beneficiaries are women, parents, babies, and families, with emphasis on translating discoveries into clinical treatments for measurable improvements in pregnancy outcomes.

Eligibility is highly restricted: unsolicited applications are not accepted, prioritising clinical and scientific staff at IRDB/Imperial College; rare exceptions apply for aligned projects elsewhere. No income thresholds exist, but applicants must be affiliated academic or hospital institutions in specific London sites.

Grants, up to £50,000 per round (recently smaller, e.g., £9,050; ~£100,000 yearly total), support projects, PhD studentships, and equipment—not core costs, capital appeals, or general capacity building. Biannual rounds follow Scientific Advisory Committee peer review and Board approval; contact for deadlines. Distinctively, it fosters long-term partnerships with bespoke impact reporting, lab visits, and stands as the UK’s largest reproductive health research collaboration, eschewing generalist funding for high-impact, mission-aligned science.