The goal of this solicitation is to support the establishment of BioFoundries that focus on the innovation pipeline and research, while ensuring broad access to the research resources, training, education, and outreach to catalyze our understanding of biological or bio-engineered systems and to support the design-build-test-learn pipeline for rapid translation of basic discoveries into applications. The research must aim to integrate advances in modern biology, chemical biology, biotechnology, and related fields with innovations in automation, high-end measurement infrastructure, nanotechnology, micro-fabrication, integrated testing and data acquisition, and AI-enabled analysis and automation of the scientific discovery process. The user-facing activities of the BioFoundry must ensure that these advances are accessible to the widest possible scientific community. A desirable outcome of the BioFoundry is to establish the standardization of instrumentation, data, and scientific practices that will make possible the integration of data from multiple sources/databases and allow the construction of data analysis pipelines using heterogeneous software data analysis and AI tools that communicate through standard data structures. Ultimately the BioFoundries should aspire to support open collaborations among scientists.
BioFoundries are expected to include mechanisms and resources to ensure reproducibility of results and the ability to share data in both human- and machine-usable formats. BioFoundries should address the issue of reproducibility through verifiable algorithmic approaches to build trust and confidence of the research as well as user community and by providing repositories of data, tools, and algorithms that would allow outside groups to reproduce the scientific results obtained.
The research supported by BioFoundries may follow from the work supported by previous or existing NSF programs, or it could represent an entirely new direction. A key feature of the BioFoundries should be the deep integration of advanced discovery, technological innovation, knowledge sharing, and collaborations to open new avenues for translating results from basic research to societally beneficial outcomes. Additional information on the research and technology components of the BioFoundries can be found in the Proposal Preparation section of this solicitation.
BioFoundries are envisioned to combine characteristics of user facilities and research centers in a scientific ecosystem that includes:
- A user facility that provides strategic technical capacity and infrastructure, resources, samples, workflows, and data, in a manner that is open and responsive to a diverse community of external researchers at various institutions and that fosters the creation of standards for the above;
- Multidisciplinary research teams and technology development teams that conduct in-house research on a focused topic central to the BioFoundry theme, while simultaneously pushing the technical state of the art to develop next-generation instrumentation, experimental and computational methods, standardization and validation processes, workflows and automations, and advancing the capabilities of existing tools in concert with the in-house research teams and the external user community. Such research and technology development may span any aspect of biological and biotechnology domains supported by the NSF.
- Programs for training the next generation of researchers; and
- Activities that permit the BioFoundries to serve as nexus points for academic/industry collaborations and partnerships to enable pathways to translation.
Organization and Management: It is expected that the management of the BioFoundry will have the necessary intellectual vision, leadership and entrepreneurial experience and the ability to communicate and engage diverse stakeholders (including researchers, industry partners, and the public). The leadership model should empower all team members to contribute, regardless of status and power differences, while establishing a culture of collaboration and inclusion. It is expected that the team should build consensus around goals and activities and facilitate communication among all stakeholders, to build trust and effectively resolve conflicts. Each BioFoundry will have a lead Project PI with demonstrated vision, experience, and capacity to manage a complex, multi-faceted, and innovative enterprise that integrates research, technology development, user facility operations, training, and knowledge transfer. The PI will assemble an effective executive leadership team, with individuals that have clear responsibility for each aspect of the BioFoundry. At the minimum, the leadership team should be comprised of:
- A Managing Director (distinct from the lead PI), whose responsibilities include ongoing operations, financial management, reporting and oversight as well as coordination between the different aspects of the BioFoundry
- A User Facility Coordinator, who will lead the operations of the user facility, coordinate the engagement with the user community and manage the user proposal submission, review and selection process; staffing, instrument time/resource allocation, user training, safety, and user fee structure and other related aspects.
- An External Advisory Board is required for all BioFoundries. (Potential Advisory Board members should not be approached or identified until the BioFoundry is funded.)
Interested applicants should upload the following documents in sequence in one PDF file (File name: [Last name]_BioFoundry-2023) no later than 4:00 p.m. on the internal submission deadline:
1. Cover Letter (1 page, pdf):
- Descriptive title of proposed activity
- PI name, departmental affiliations(s) and contact information
- Co-PI's names and departmental affiliation(s)
- Names of other key personnel
- Participating institution(s)
- Number and title of this funding opportunity
2. Project Description (no more than three pages, pdf) Should address the following key points. References may be included on an additional page.
- A user facility that provides strategic technical capacity and infrastructure, resources, samples, workflows, and data, in a manner that is open and responsive to a diverse community of external researchers at various institutions.
- Multidisciplinary research teams and technology development teams that conduct in-house research on a focused topic central to the BioFoundry theme.
- Programs for training the next generation of researchers.
- Activities that permit this project to serve as nexus points for academic/industry collaborations and partnerships to enable pathways to translation.
3. Estimated Budget (1 page, including cost share details, if applicable)
4. 2-page CV's of Investigators
Formatting Guidelines:
Font/size: Times New Roman (12 pt.)
Document margins: 1.0” (top, bottom, left and right)
Standard paper size (8 ½” x 11)
Questions concerning the limited submissions process may be submitted to limitedsubs@psu.edu.