diff --git a/src/app/shared/form/builder/ds-dynamic-form-ui/relation-lookup-modal/search-tab/dynamic-lookup-relation-search-tab.component.html b/src/app/shared/form/builder/ds-dynamic-form-ui/relation-lookup-modal/search-tab/dynamic-lookup-relation-search-tab.component.html
index 376900609e..17aafae5eb 100644
--- a/src/app/shared/form/builder/ds-dynamic-form-ui/relation-lookup-modal/search-tab/dynamic-lookup-relation-search-tab.component.html
+++ b/src/app/shared/form/builder/ds-dynamic-form-ui/relation-lookup-modal/search-tab/dynamic-lookup-relation-search-tab.component.html
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@
            [selectionConfig]="{ repeatable: repeatable, listId: listId }"
            [showScopeSelector]="false"
            [showViewModes]="false"
+           [query]="query"
            (resultFound)="onResultFound($event)"
            (deselectObject)="deselectObject.emit($event)"
            (selectObject)="selectObject.emit($event)">
diff --git a/src/app/shared/search/search.component.ts b/src/app/shared/search/search.component.ts
index c094e37ef2..b83d90cb2b 100644
--- a/src/app/shared/search/search.component.ts
+++ b/src/app/shared/search/search.component.ts
@@ -147,6 +147,11 @@ export class SearchComponent implements OnInit {
    */
   @Input() trackStatistics = false;
 
+  /**
+   * The search query
+   */
+  @Input() query: string;
+
   /**
    * The current configuration used during the search
    */
@@ -303,6 +308,9 @@ export class SearchComponent implements OnInit {
           configuration: searchOptions.configuration || configuration,
           sort: sortOption || searchOptions.sort
         });
+      if (combinedOptions.query === '') {
+        combinedOptions.query = this.query;
+      }
       const newSearchOptions = new PaginatedSearchOptions(combinedOptions);
       // check if search options are changed
       // if so retrieve new related results otherwise skip it
diff --git a/src/app/shared/search/themed-search.component.ts b/src/app/shared/search/themed-search.component.ts
index 64a2befeb2..7ce127b4a4 100644
--- a/src/app/shared/search/themed-search.component.ts
+++ b/src/app/shared/search/themed-search.component.ts
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ import { ListableObject } from '../object-collection/shared/listable-object.mode
   templateUrl: '../theme-support/themed.component.html',
 })
 export class ThemedSearchComponent extends ThemedComponent<SearchComponent> {
-  protected inAndOutputNames: (keyof SearchComponent & keyof this)[] = ['configurationList', 'context', 'configuration', 'fixedFilterQuery', 'useCachedVersionIfAvailable', 'inPlaceSearch', 'linkType', 'paginationId', 'searchEnabled', 'sideBarWidth', 'searchFormPlaceholder', 'selectable', 'selectionConfig', 'showSidebar', 'showViewModes', 'useUniquePageId', 'viewModeList', 'showScopeSelector', 'resultFound', 'deselectObject', 'selectObject', 'trackStatistics'];
+  protected inAndOutputNames: (keyof SearchComponent & keyof this)[] = ['configurationList', 'context', 'configuration', 'fixedFilterQuery', 'useCachedVersionIfAvailable', 'inPlaceSearch', 'linkType', 'paginationId', 'searchEnabled', 'sideBarWidth', 'searchFormPlaceholder', 'selectable', 'selectionConfig', 'showSidebar', 'showViewModes', 'useUniquePageId', 'viewModeList', 'showScopeSelector', 'resultFound', 'deselectObject', 'selectObject', 'trackStatistics', 'query'];
 
   @Input() configurationList: SearchConfigurationOption[] = [];
 
@@ -59,6 +59,8 @@ export class ThemedSearchComponent extends ThemedComponent<SearchComponent> {
 
   @Input() trackStatistics = false;
 
+  @Input() query: string;
+
   @Output() resultFound: EventEmitter<SearchObjects<DSpaceObject>> = new EventEmitter<SearchObjects<DSpaceObject>>();
 
   @Output() deselectObject: EventEmitter<ListableObject> = new EventEmitter<ListableObject>();