LONDON, March 20, 2025 — Pillar VC is today opening applications for the Encode AI for Science Fellowship powered by the Advanced Research + Invention Agency (ARIA). The Fellowship will place top AI talent across 7 leading UK science labs working in ARIA’s opportunity spaces, which cover climate, science, robotics, neurotechnologies and more.
Each AI fellow selected for the one-year Encode Fellowship will receive a competitive stipend, access to state-of-the-art computing resources, and the opportunity to work on pressing scientific challenges. Encode Fellows will also have the opportunity to collaborate with leaders working on the frontier of AI for Science, including Rohit Prasad, Steve Crossan, Ankit Gupta, and Debbie Marks.
Pillar VC has worked closely with seven universities across the UK to identify 16 projects for Encode AI fellows. Select projects include applying AI to:
- Biomaterials Design: Building an automated platform that uses artificial intelligence to design and optimize nanoparticles for medical applications. Lab advisor: Dame Molly Stevens, Professor of Bionanoscience, Oxford University.
- Human Cognition: Developing AI technology to understand how the human brain performs intuitive physics calculations, using a specialized neural network originally developed for astrophysics research that can find compact, meaningful representations in complex data. Lab advisors: Ray Dolan, Kinross Professor of Neuropsychiatry, University College London; Hiranya Peiris, Professor of Astrophysics, University of Cambridge; Miles Cranmer, Assistant Professor, University of Cambridge; and Andrew Pontzen, Professor in the Department of Physics, University of Durham.
- Morphogenetic Robots: Creating robots that can change their shape and structure like living organisms, using artificial intelligence to design both their bodies and brains. Lab advisor: Jonathan Rossiter, Professor of Robotics, Bristol Robotics Laboratory.
- Precision Neuromodulation: Developing AI that predicts how individuals will respond to brain stimulation treatments — therapies that have shown remarkable success in treating depression, Parkinson's disease, and other neurological conditions. Lab advisor: Marcus Kaiser, Professor of Neuroinformatics, University of Nottingham.
- Programmable Plants: Building an AI-powered computational pipeline to design molecular glues to control specific cellular pathways that can accelerate plant regeneration, addressing a critical bottleneck in agricultural biotechnology. Lab advisor: Stefano Anglioletti-Uberti, Senior Lecturer Department of Materials, Imperial College London.
Read detailed descriptions of all 16 projects and apply at encode.pillar.vc.
About Pillar VC
Pillar VC is an early-stage venture firm co-founded by a group of CEOs who have built highly successful companies, including the leaders of Wayfair, Ginkgo Bioworks, DraftKings, and Tripadvisor.
Pillar invests in scientific breakthroughs at the very earliest stages. From university labs to independent research, Pillar finds and funds the advances that will reshape how we live, work, and solve global challenges. Pillar is typically the first-capital-in for founders building next-generation pillar companies. The firm’s investments span over 90 companies, 50% with university roots and have raised $500M across four funds.
About ARIA
The Advanced Research + Invention Agency (ARIA) is a UK R&D funding agency created to unlock technological breakthroughs that benefit everyone. Created by an Act of Parliament, and sponsored by the Department for Science, Innovation, and Technology, ARIA funds teams of scientists and engineers to pursue research at the edge of what is scientifically and technologically possible.
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