The Sea as a Good Cause – VLIZ's charitable initiative – awards the Brilliant Marine Research Idea (BMRI) grants annually, valued at 5,000 euros each. In 2025, six laureates received additional encouragement for their marine research through this funding. The BMRI grants can only be realized financially thanks to donations, VLIZ membership contributions, and sponsorships. They were awarded their prize at the VLIZ Marine Science Day on 6 March 2025.
The aim of the BMRI grants is to inspire and support PhD students and young postdocs to further develop a 'brilliant research idea' within the scope of their marine research. The BMRI grants are unique in Flanders and stand out from other funding programs due to their focus on out-of-the-box thinking.
The Sea as a Good Cause is recognized as a Grant Making Facility for the UN Ocean Decade. The Brilliant Marine Research Idea grants are awarded within this framework, meaning that the research conducted by these young marine scientists directly contributes to the scientific development of the Ocean Decade.
BMRI laureates 2025, from left to right: Sofie Peeters (UGent), Nada Nasri (UAntwerpen), Tuan-Anh Bui (UGent), Wenxin Liu (UGent-ILVO), Arida Fauziyah (VUB), Rodgee Mae Guden (UGent).
Tuan-Anh Bui: Studying the diet of sole using otoliths
Otoliths, the ear stones of fish, allow for determining the age of the fish based on their growth rings. Tuan-Anh Bui (UGent – Marine Biology Research Group & ILVO) aims to take it a step further by investigating whether otoliths can be used to study the changes in the diet of sole over time. Through stable isotope analysis, he seeks to gain insight into how climate change, via food availability, impacts fish populations.
Arida Fauziyah: Making mud crab aquaculture more sustainable
The mud crab Scylla spp. is commercially farmed in the mangroves of South Sulawesi (Indonesia) using traditional methods. To make this form of aquaculture sustainable, knowledge is needed about the food available for the mud crabs. Arida Fauziyah (VUB – Ecology, Evolution and Genetics) will use the BMRI grant to investigate what proportion of plant-based food is important for the growth of young mud crabs. She will integrate DNA metabarcoding and stable isotope analysis for this research.
Wenxin Liu: Impact of copepods on algal toxicity
Microscopic algae can have harmful effects when they are abundant and produce toxins. Phytoplankton is grazed by organisms such as copepods. Wenxin Liu (UGent – Blue Growth Research Lab) is studying how these microscopic algae and copepods influence each other in producing chemical substances. With the BMRI grant, Wenxin intends to specifically explore the impact of grazing copepods on the growth and toxin production of algae.
Sofie Peeters: Transcriptome of climate-resistant hybrid kelp
Sofie Peeters (UGent – Research group Phycology) discovered in a breeding program under lab conditions that hybridization between two brown algae species, Laminaria ochroleuca and Laminaria digitata, is possible. These kelp species are under pressure due to rising ocean temperatures, while the hybrid may have higher temperature tolerance. With the BMRI grant, Sofie will unravel the transcriptome (all RNA molecules expressed under environmental influences) of this hybrid.
Rodgee Mae Guden: Effects of underwater noise on microbial life
Underwater noise caused by human activity is increasingly recognized as a significant disruptive factor for marine environments. The effects on larger marine animals have already been studied, but research on the impact on invertebrates is still in its early stages. Rodgee Mae Guden (UGent – Marine Biology) aims to go a step further and investigate the effects of underwater noise on microbial communities. She will conduct metagenomic and metatranscriptomic analyses to map the DNA and RNA of microbial life in sediment samples.
Nada Nasri: Contribution of cable bacteria to CO2 uptake in seafloors
Cable bacteria have the unique ability to transport electrons between the seabed and the sediment beneath it. This process influences the pH of the seafloor. Cable bacteria could contribute to CO2 uptake by promoting the alkalinity (acid-buffering capacity) of the seafloor. Nada Nasri (UA – Geobiology / University of Tunis El Manar) will study these processes with the support of the BMRI grant in her home country of Tunisia, specifically in the Ghar el Melh Lagoon, a site characterized by a higher presence of CaCO3 in the seafloor.
The 2025 edition of the Brilliant Marine Research Awards was made possible with the support of: 
Support or win a BMRI grant?
- Is your company interested in sponsoring a BMRI grant? Please contact our philanthropy team.
- As an individual, you can also donate to support more marine research through the BMRI grants.
- Would you like to apply for a BMRI grant as a doctoral candidate or young postdoc? We will launch a new call for applications on the VLIZ website this fall.