Led by the Directorate for Biological Sciences (BIO), URoL goals are to better understand the “rules” of how life functions; to develop research tools and infrastructure to advance this field; to train the next generation of researchers; and to foster convergent research across NSF. Researchers who have not previously engaged on URoL are encouraged to participate.
The goal of the URoL: Building a Synthetic Cell Ideas Lab is to facilitate new transformative research proposals that bring together multidisciplinary expertise to work towards “designing, fabricating, and validating synthetic cells that express specified phenotypes.” The Ideas Lab mechanism is an intensive process that aims to leverage advances in “biophysics, chemistry, computer science, geosciences, materials, soft condensed matter, and biology with progress in engineering and social sciences.” Proposals that address education in existing and future technologies, as well as bioethics, are also important considerations for NSF.
NSF welcomes preliminary proposals from a range of disciplines including mathematics, physics, biology, chemistry, geosciences, ethics and statistics, engineering, and graduate and undergraduate education.
- Deadlines: Preliminary proposals are due December 28, 2018. Participation in the Ideas Lab requires an invitation in response to a preliminary proposal. Submission of a full proposal derived from the Ideas Lab requires both participation in the Ideas Lab and an invitation to submit a full proposal.
- Full proposals (by invitation only) are due May 13, 2019.
The Ideas Lab will take place from Monday, February 25th to Friday, March 1, 2019, at a location close to NSF headquarters in Northern Virginia.
Total Funding and Award Size: NSF anticipates approximately $10 million in available funding to support between four and six new awards in FY 2019.
Program URL: https://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2018/nsf18599/nsf18599.htm?WT.mc_id=USNSF_25&WT.mc_ev=click
Filed Under: Funding Opportunities