Dear Research Deans:

 

NSF 23-585  BioFoundries to Enable Access to Infrastructure and Resources for Advancing Modern Biology and Biotechnology (BioFoundries)

 

The OVPR will conduct a review of proposals from teams across the campus. 

Proposals are due on June 15, 2023.

 

Program website:  https://new.nsf.gov/funding/opportunities/biofoundries-enable-access-infrastructure

Guidelines:  https://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?WT.z_pims_id=506172&ods_key=nsf23585 (also attached to this message)

 

SUMMARY:

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 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.

 

Opportunity Highlights:

• Penn may submit one (1) proposal.  A letter of Intent is required on August 1.
• Individuals may appear as Senior Personnel (PI, co-PI, and other collaborators) on only one proposal.
• Awards are anticipated to range from $15,000,000 to $24,000,000 over a six-year period.
• Ensure that the leadership and management of the project includes robust participation of individuals from groups who have remained underrepresented and/or under- served in their involvement in such endeavors. Proposals must clearly articulate specific steps, both in the short and long term, that will be undertaken to demonstrate the principles of diversity and equity along with commitments to inclusiveness and accessibility.

 

Office of the Vice Provost for Research review process:

The OVPR will conduct a review of proposals from teams across the campus. 

Proposals are due on June 15, 2023.  Proposals must include the following:

1.  Cover page with the following information:

          a) Project title

          b) PI and Co-PIs: Names, titles, departments, addresses and email addresses

         c) List of collaborators if multiple organizations are proposed.  Include areas of                expertise.

2.  Project Summary (page limit is 2 pages, references and images not included).

Must include the following:

• A summary of the proposed project
• Research activities envisioned and impact on biosciences, biotechnology, and bioengineering.
• Description of the user-facility envisioned.
• Broader Impacts - Including impact on research and training Infrastructure as well as plans to demonstrate the principles of diversity and equity along with commitments to inclusiveness and accessibility.

 

OVPR Review Criteria

• How well does the science focus of the proposed BioFoundry address one or more grand challenge questions in biology, biotechnology, bioengineering or a related field?
• To what extent will the vision for the BioFoundry have a transformative impact upon the biosciences, biotechnology, and bioengineering and society as a whole?
• How well is the research focused and targeted to addressing a critical scientific challenge, and how well-conceived are the plans are for user facility operation?
• To what extent will the project serve as an educational focal point for training the next generation of researchers, technology developers, and users?
• How well is the project likely to meet the stated goals of participation by a diverse group of users?

 

*****

 

Please submit a single PDF document using 12-point font to vprgrant@upenn.edu by June 15, 2023.