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Reproducible Cells and Organoids via Directed- Differentiation Encoding (RECODE)

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NSF 21-608

Important information about NSF’s implementation of the revised 2 CFR

NSF Financial Assistance awards (grants and cooperative agreements) made on or after October 1, 2024, will be subject to the applicable set of award conditions, dated October 1, 2024, available on the NSF website. These terms and conditions are consistent with the revised guidance specified in the OMB Guidance for Federal Financial Assistance published in the Federal Register on April 22, 2024.

Important information for proposers

All proposals must be submitted in accordance with the requirements specified in this funding opportunity and in the NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG) that is in effect for the relevant due date to which the proposal is being submitted. It is the responsibility of the proposer to ensure that the proposal meets these requirements. Submitting a proposal prior to a specified deadline does not negate this requirement.

Synopsis

The National Science Foundation (NSF) Divisions of Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental and Transport Systems (CBET), Integrative and Organismal Systems (IOS), Molecular and Cellular Biosciences (MCB), and Civil, Mechanical, and Manufacturing Innovation (CMMI) seek proposals that elucidate mechanisms of, and develop strategies to, direct the differentiation of undifferentiated cells into mature, functional cells or organoids. Projects responsive to this solicitation must aim to establish a robustly validated and reproducible set of differentiation design rules, mechanistic models, real-time sensing, control, and quality assurance methods, and integrate them into a workable differentiation strategy. They must also deepen our fundamental understanding of how cells develop and differentiate, to provide insights into mechanisms, molecular machinery, dynamics, and the interplay between cells and their environment, such as cell-cell/cell-microbe and cell-extracellular matrix (ECM) interactions and use this understanding to manipulate cells purposefully. Investigators can choose any undifferentiated cell type from any animal species, including human cell types, as a starting point and choose any appropriate functional product (cell, organoid, etc.) with real-world relevance.  The use of non-model systems (e.g., non-human or non-murine systems) is encouraged as is the exploration of non-medical targets. Functional products can span a diverse range of systems (cardiovascular, nervous, immune, etc.). The RECODE program aligns with NSF’s commitment to the development of capabilities in biotechnology that advance the U.S. Bioeconomy.

The process of differentiation involves a multiplex combination of signaling molecules, receptors, promoters, markers, and chemical and mechanical regulators that dynamically interact to direct cell development and behavior. While individual inducers of native differentiation have been identified and employed to create specialized cell types, we generally lack fundamental understanding of the roles of biochemical and environmental regulators necessary for synthetic induction of differentiation along a predetermined path and the ability to actively monitor and manipulate that path dynamically. Such control of differentiation will be valuable to answer mechanistic questions about basic biological processes that govern physiological function and development of specific cells, tissues, and organs, as well as mechanisms for processes involved in immunity (e.g., symbiosis versus disease, immunological responses to infection).The control of differentiation will also enable the realization of enhanced biomanufacturing, leading to novel products, biomaterials, and significant improvements in individualized medicine, environmental control and monitoring, adaptive sensing, as well as the scalable and reproducible application of 3D organoids in drug testing.

The convergence of many disciplines is necessary to answer the fundamental questions and devise the tools needed to realize truly deterministic cell induction and differentiation strategies. As such, investigators are encouraged to form interdisciplinary teams with expertise in engineering, computation, sensing, systems and synthetic biology, developmental biology, stem cell biology, mechanobiology, cell physiology, microbiology, immunology, and biophysics. Proposals will not be responsive to this solicitation if they address only one aspect of the differentiation process or aim to create a functional living product without improving our understanding and control of the mechanisms that underlie developmental processes. Collaborative proposals, of a duration up to 4 years, with budgets up to $1,500,000 total will be considered. Proposed budgets must be justified by the project scope and need for complementary expertise. The solicitation will support teams of three or more PI/co-PIs and senior personnel with complementary expertise. Proposals with only one PI or one PI with one other senior personnel are not permitted and will be returned without review. Reflecting the need for thoughtful collaboration and planning required for these projects, Preliminary Proposals are required to be submitted prior to submission of a full proposal.

Topics that reside clearly within the boundaries of a single NSF core program are outside of the scope of this solicitation. Specifically, projects centered around the exploration of individual stages/mechanisms of differentiation in isolation or production of engineered cells, tissues, organ-on-a-chip systems, or organoids without developing an understanding of differentiation rules are not responsive to this solicitation.

Updates and announcements

Program contacts

Stephanie George
stgeorge@nsf.gov (703) 292-7825 ENG/OAD
Evan Balaban
ebalaban@nsf.gov (703) 292-8421
Laurel C. Kuxhaus
lkuxhaus@nsf.gov (703) 292-4465
Steven W. Peretti
ENG/CBET
speretti@nsf.gov (703) 292-7029 ENG/CBET
David Rockcliffe
drockcli@nsf.gov (703) 292-7123 BIO/MCB
Aleksandr L. Simonian
asimonia@nsf.gov (703) 292-2191 ENG/CBET
Steven M. Zehnder
szehnder@nsf.gov (703) 292-7014 ENG/CBET

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