all competitions

The Biotechnology, Biochemical, and Biomass Engineering (BBBE) program supports fundamental engineering research that advances the understanding of cellular and biomolecular processes (in vivo, in vitro, and/or ex vivo) and eventually leads to the development of enabling technology and/or applications in support of the biopharmaceutical, biotechnology, and bioenergy industries, or with applications in health or the environment. Quantitative assessments of bioprocesses are considered vital to successful research projects in the BBBE program.

Fundamental to many research projects in this area is the understanding of how biomolecules and cells interact in their environment, and how those molecular level interactions lead to changes in structure, function, phenotype, and/or behavior. The program encourages proposals that address emerging research areas and technologies that effectively integrate knowledge and practices from different disciplines, and effectively incorporate ongoing research into educational activities.

Research projects of particular interest in BBBE include, but are not limited to:

* Metabolic engineering and synthetic biology

* Quantitative systems biotechnology

* Tissue engineering and stem cell culture technologies

* Protein engineering/protein design

* Development of novel "omics" tools for biotechnology applications

The duration of unsolicited awards is generally one to three years. The average annual award size for the program is $100,000 for individual investigators and $200,000 for multiple investigators. Proposals requesting a substantially higher amount than this, without prior consultation with the Program Director, may be returned without review.

Proposals in the areas of nanobiotechnology, fermentation, cell culture, recombinant DNA, and enzyme technology will still be accepted, given that they represent highly innovative and potentially transformative research in these areas. Proposals outside of these specific interest areas will be considered; however, the PI should contact the Program Director prior to submission to avoid the possibility of the proposal being returned without review.

website: http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=501024&org=NSF&sel_org=NSF&from=fund