About the series
Join the Division of Molecular and Cellular Biosciences (MCB) at the National Science Foundation for our next virtual office hour. On Wednesday, September 11th from 2-3pm ET, the topic will be Postdoctoral Research Fellowships in Biology (PRFB; NSF 23-620). Program Directors will be present to address your questions.
Please registerhere.
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Presentation outline
Resources:
- MCB Blog posts upcoming topics, opportunities and recordings of past office hour presentations: https://mcbblog.nsfbio.com/
- Find recent BIO funding opportunities
- To learn about more opportunities and resources, visit NSF National Synthesis Center for Emergence in the Molecular and Cellular Sciences webpage: https://ncems.psu.edu/
Overview of the Postdoctoral Research Fellowships in Biology (PRFB) Program
- Support independent research and professional training of recent recipients of doctorates
- Foster human resource development in biology
- Proposals must address both Intellectual Merit and Broader Impacts
- Different solicitation-specific requirements under these elements
- Fellowship awards are made to individuals. Fellows are the “institution”
Essential Documents
PRFB Solicitation: NSF 24-593
- Deadline is Nov 7, 2024, but plan to submit early!
- Introduces background and overview of program
- Lists requirements and components for a complete proposal, including necessary documents, descriptions of document format, and contents
Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide (PAPPG) 24-1
- This guide provides the rest of the detailed information needed to complete your proposal. This includes:
- Font size, margins
- Details on content for Personnel Documents
- Guidance on policies around proposal submission
- Post-award management
See the PAPPG for more information.
Program Website
The website includes:
- A description of the program and next deadline
- Relevant announcements and updates
- Contact information for program directors
- Links to:
- The most recent solicitation
- Proposer support documents
- Search of previous awards
See program webpage for more information.
Award information
- Total Award: $270,000
- Annual Stipend (salary): $70,000
- Annual Research allowance of $20,000 for research, training, travel, fringe benefits (e.g., health insurance)
- Duration of fellowship: 3 years for all Competitive Areas
Program Eligibility
- Proposers must be US citizens, nationals, or permanent residents at the time of submission.
- Eligible proposers include graduate students and beginning postdocs with a maximum of 15 months tenure in a position requiring a PhD at the program deadline.
- Proposers should have a PhD in an appropriate field before starting the fellowship.
- Proposers may not submit the same research project to another NSF postdoctoral fellowship program, but can submit to other federal, state, or private postdoctoral programs
Research scope in the PRFB
- Basic biology research within the purview of NSF-BIO: http://www.nsf.gov/bio
- Research may have broader impacts related to medicine and human health
- Proposals with a biomedical research focus are not eligible
- If your proposal mentions human disease, discuss it with a Program Director before you submit
- If you are uncertain about whether your research is appropriate for BIO, contact a Program Officer
Three Competitive Areas
Area 1: Broadening Participation of Groups Underrepresented in Biology (BP)
Area 2: Integrative Research Investigating the Rules of Life Governing Interactions Between Genomes, Environment and Phenotypes (RoL)
Area 3: Plant Genome Postdoctoral Research Fellowships
Note: This is the last year that Rules of Life is being offered as a Competitive Area. In future years, it is expected that research incorporating the Rules of Life criteria could be proposed under other Competitive Areas.
Competitive Area 1: Broadening Participation of Groups Underrepresented in Biology (BP)
- Goal is to enhance diversity of biologists at the postdoctoral level. Enhancing diversity at the postdoctoral level will depend on including the participation of the full spectrum of diverse talent in STEM.
- Any applicant who meets the general PRFB requirements is eligible to apply under this Competitive Area.
- In proposal, must explain how the project will diversify biology at the postdoctoral level
- Any biology research that would be supported by the BIO directorate is appropriate.
Competitive Area 2: Rules of Life (RoL)
- Goal is to understand how higher-order structures and functions of biological systems are formed
- How do key properties and mechanisms of living systems emerge from the interactions of genomes, phenotypes, and environments?
- Produce theories or models with predictive capability outside of study system
- Combine computational, observational, experimental, or conceptual approaches to reveal mechanistic relationships between genomes, phenomes, and environment
- Span hierarchical scale of life, often temporal or geographic scale
Competitive Area 3: Plant Genome Postdoctoral Research Fellowships (PGRP)
Research/training must fall within the scope of the Plant Genome Research Program (PGRP):
- Investigate the structure and function of plant genomes
- Generate and integrate large scale datasets to provide a comprehensive understanding relevant to economically important plants and plant processes
- Develop innovative tools, technologies and resources to drive plant functional genomics forward
DCL 24-108: Biological Research, Understanding and Solutions for a Resilient Planet (RP)
Support research on biological responses to, and influence on, climatic change or associated extreme environmental events.
Projects will:
- Make use of large datasets (e.g., NEON data) in the research plan
- Apply innovative research approaches in Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, or modeling
- Demonstrate relevance at large geographic scales (regional to global)
First deadline likely Fall/Winter 2025.
See the Dear Colleague Letter for more information.
Some Recommendations
- Start early developing the proposal ideas; coordinating with sponsor(s), submitting your proposal, and revise your supporting documents!
- Reach out to NSF Program Directors after writing the Project Summary to assess fit to competitive areas and identify missing elements
- Check the PRFB webpage for support documents, news and updates
