About the series
Join the Division of Molecular and Cellular Biosciences (MCB) at the U.S. National Science Foundation for our next virtual office hour. On Wednesday, March 13 from 2-3pm ET, the topic will be Special Funding Opportunities Relevant to MCB PIs (IntBIO, LIFE, NSF-DBT India). Program Directors will be present to address your questions.
Please register here.
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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
Molecular and Cellular Biosciences (MCB) Core Solicitation: NSF 24-539
- MCB core solicitation supports research across four core clusters: cellular dynamics and function; genetic mechanisms; molecular biophysics; and systems and synthetic biology.
- IntBIO Track - including Leveraging Innovations From Evolution (LIFE) proposals for MCB
- Dear Colleague Letters – including NSF-DBT India proposals for MCB
- EXPAND MCB in EPSCoR Track: Collaborative proposals between a PI in an EPSCoR jurisdiction with PI(s) in any jurisdiction, with the EPSCoR organization serving as the lead. The project should lead to increased research and training capacity in scientific areas supported by MCB.
- Other proposals include conferences, EAGER, RAPID, and RAISE proposals. These require prior consultation with program directors
IntBIO Integrative Research in Biology Track
- What: Integrative biological research spans subdisciplines and incorporates cutting-edge methods, tools, and concepts from each to produce groundbreaking biological discovery. Research should be synergistic and produce novel, holistic understanding of how biological systems function and interact across different scales of organization.
- Proposal title begins with IntBIO:
- Apply to IntBIO via one of the BIO core solicitations
- Contacts:
- For MCB: Loretta Jackson-Hayes (lojackso@nsf.gov)
- For DEB: Steve Dudgeon (sdudgeon@nsf.gov)
- For IOS: Suzy Renn (srenn@nsf.gov) and Jodie Jawor (jjawor@nsf.gov)
IntBIO Program Goals
- Scientific: To support collaborative scientists for innovative, integrative research on fundamental questions that cross different scales of biological organization, using perspectives and approaches from more than one biological subdiscipline
- Training: To prepare a new generation of scientists who reflect the diversity of the nation and are ready to contribute to future research through integrative approaches
IntBIO Solicitation Specific Criteria
- Overarching question:
- Should be addressed through bold, integrative, hypothesis- or question-driven research about function/interaction of biological systems across scales of organization
- Requires integration across subdisciplines, or development of tools/technology for integrative analysis
- Synergistic outcomes from interdependent, integrative components
- Graphical illustration conveys integrated elements and synergistic outcomes
- Description of the investigative team including roles and qualifications of two or more investigators (maybe from the same institution)
- Training and education plan as part of the broader impacts that is inclusive and likely to produce new generation of scientists trained in integrative approaches to biological research
Leveraging Innovations From Evolution
The rich diversity of life and its evolutionary innovations means a treasure-trove of bio-solutions resulting from millions of years of organisms confronting and solving environmental challenges.
- Convergent Evolution: analogous traits arise independently in separate lineages across the tree of life
- Leveraging Innovations: use the diversity of life to discover common or unique molecular and evolutionary mechanisms to speed discoveries of nature-based solutions
Dear Colleague Letter: Leveraging Innovations From Evolution (LIFE): NSF 24-049
- To speed discovery and understanding of convergent biological innovations that hold significant potential for applications in the bioeconomy (nature-based solutions)
- Integrating evolutionary perspectives with mechanistic studies of gene and genome function across the tree of life
- Proposals are particularly encouraged to include novel research collaborations robust integrative training initiatives that cross intellectual silos and bridge the fields of molecular and cellular biology, biochemistry, organismal biology, systematics and/or evolutionary biology
- Translational aims encouraged but not required
For more Information about LIFE, contact a program officer: LIFE@nsf.gov
Explore reports from community scoping workshops in 2023:
https://ag.purdue.edu/department/biochem/research/nsf-life/
LIFE: Convergence to Translation Example
Arthropod Silks
- Silk has evolved independently at least 20 times: insects, spiders, mollusks, crustaceans (Sutherland et al. 2010. Annu. Rev. Entomol. 55:171-188)
- Remarkable convergence in allelic variation in insect silk (Frandsen et al. 2023 PNAS 120:e2221528120)
- Synthetic silk produced in cell cultures (Scheibel 2004. Microbial Cell Factories 3:14)
- Silkworms transformed with spider genes spin silk that is tougher than Kevlar (Mi et al. 2023. Matter 6:P3661-3683)
LIFE: How to submit
- Directly to core solicitation in DEB, MCB, or IOS,
- Directly to the Infrastructure Innovation for Biological Research in DBI (NSF 23-578)
- IntBIO track:
- Title begins with IntBIO:LIFE
- IntBIO must be co-reviewed by two BIO programs
- See previous slide for additional requirements for IntBIO submissions
National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON)
- NSF-funded network of 81 highly instrumented field sites distributed in 20 eco-climatic domains across the United States.
- Provides standardized, open data on 182 data products accessible through the NEON data portal.
- Extensive biorepository that offers specimens and samples that can be requested for research purposes
- NEON also has an assignable assets program that allows PIs to make special requests to use NEON infrastructure
View video of NEON assets: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jtRfEFl3hE
Explore Interactive NEON Overview to learn more
Dear Colleague Letter: U.S. National Science Foundation and India’s Department of Biotechnology (DBT) Collaborative Research Opportunities (NSF 24-054)
Participating Programs
- Directorate for Biological Sciences (BIO):
- Plant Genome Research Program in the Division of Integrative Organismal Systems
- Systems and Synthetic Biology program cluster and Molecular Biophysics program cluster in the Division of Molecular and Cellular Biosciences
- Directorate for Engineering (ENG):
- Cellular and Biochemical Engineering Program and Biosensing Program in the Division of Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental, and Transport Systems
- Cross-Directorate
- Future Manufacturing: Future Biomanufacturing Research Thrust
See OISE India International Collaborations webpage for more information
Important Instructions
- Proposals are expected to adhere to the proposal page limitations, research areas, funding limitation, and award durations for the participating NSF programs from which funding is sought.
- For U.S. Investigators, involvement in a joint international proposal will count towards the limitation on the number of submissions, as specified in the NSF program webpage or program solicitation to which the proposal is submitted.
- Proposals should be relevant and advance knowledge in the areas of focus outlined by the participating program of interest.
Proposal Preparation
- The Project Summary and Project Description must include a description of the collaboration.
- Role(s) of the Indian collaborator(s)
- Explain how the team will work together
- Resources provided by each team
- Address the Intellectual Merits of international collaboration and the Broad Impacts should include relevant societal benefits.
- Follow NSF’s Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide (PAPPG) and the program description.
- If a program has a solicitation, the requirements in the solicitation take precedence over those listed in the PAPPG.
Proposal Submission
- U.S. investigators submit proposals to NSF through Research.gov or Grants.gov
- Proposal title must start with “NSF-DBT:”
- For example – NSF-DBT: Fundamentals of Raising Puppies
- A separate copy of the same proposal to be submitted by the India investigators to DBT
- Identical – Title, Summary, Description and References
- Agency specific – See DCL Guidelines
- #3 - The DBT budget and budget justification must be included in the NSF proposal as a Supplementary Document.
- #10 - Non-NSF funded collaborators require additional information
- Proposal submission due date is April 11, 2024
Proposal Review
- DBT will check that the Indian investigators have active and appropriate roles and confirm their eligibility at the onset of the process
- Proposals will be reviewed by experts contacted by NSF
- DBT may recommend experts from India
- Proposals will compete with other proposals received for the same funding round of the program to which the proposal is submitted
- DBT officials may attend and observe any discussions as part of the merit review. A parallel review will NOT be conducted by DBT
Proposal Funding
- NSF will share outcome of review process with DBT
- DBT will honor the NSF review process
- NSF will honor DBT inputs and insights
- NSF intends to make awards to the U.S. investigators
- DBT intends to make awards to the Indian investigators
- Submission outcomes expected mid-Fall 2024
Ideas Lab: Use-Inspired Acceleration of Protein Design (USPRD) (NSF 24-550)
- USPRD seeks to advance protein design and its applications:
- Use-driven applications for small binders
- The design and use of enzymes and families of enzymes
- Focus on use-inspired translational research with applications beyond human therapeutics.
- Examples: Advanced materials, biomanufacturing, agriculture and food security, environmental remediation, sustainability, climate-related challenges etc.
- Only teams/groups formed during a special Ideas Lab Workshop may be eligible to submit full proposals.
- By invitation only, based on a 2-page preliminary proposals.
Preliminary proposals to participate are due April 23, 2024 and the Ideas Lab Workshop will take place on June 10-14, 2024, in the vicinity of Alexandria, VA.
