NSF DAYS

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• NSF DAYS
• at
• Binghamton University
• Directorate for Biological Sciences
• National Science Foundation
• Diane M. Witt, PhD.
• www.NSF.gov

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Biological Sciences Directorate
Vision Inspiring research and education at the
frontiers of the life sciences
Mission To enable the discoveries for
understanding life
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Directorate for Biological Sciences
Division of Biological Infrastructure (DBI)
Integrative Organismal Systems (IOS)
Divisions
HumanResources
Neural Systems
Research Resources
Developmental Systems
Clusters
BehavioralSystems
Physiological Structural Systems
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Division of Biological Infrastructure (DBI)

• Supports varied activities that provide the
  infrastructure for contemporary research in
  biology
• Research Resources
• Databases
• Curatorial improvement, computerization of
  research collections
• Living stock collections
• Major items of multi-user instrumentation
• Development of new instrumentation
• Research facilities at biological field
  stations, marine labs
• Human Resources
• Undergraduate research and mentoring in biology
• Postdoctoral research fellowships in biology

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Integrative Organismal SystemsIOS

• Supports research focusing on an integrative
  understanding of organisms.
• Understand why organisms are structured the way
  they are and function the way they do.
• Innovative applications of systems biology
  approaches (i.e., combined experimentation,
  computation, modeling)
• New conceptual and theoretical insights and
  predictions that may be experimentally verified

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Integrative Organismal Systems IOS

• Neural Systems Cluster
• Organization
• How do genetics, developmental processes, and
  experience/environment interact to produce
  structure and function?
• Activation
• Information extraction from the environment and
  integration within the organism to form a
  decision, perception, or action
• Modulation
• Robust emergent properties that underlie adaptive
  behavior, learning, and complex social
  interactions

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Integrative Organismal Systems IOS

• Developmental Systems Cluster
• Plant, Fungal, and Microbial Developmental
  Mechanisms
• Animal Developmental Mechanisms
• Understanding how interacting developmental
  processes lead to emergent properties and complex
  phenotypes
• Evolution of Developmental Systems
• Discovering the developmental processes shared by
  all organisms and those singular ones that
  produce diversity

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Integrative Organismal Systems IOS

• Behavioral Systems Cluster
• Animal Behavior
• Social and reproductive behavior
• Behavioral ecology and physiology
• Neural and hormonal mechanisms
• Development, function, and mechanisms
• Evolutionary history

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Integrative Organismal Systems IOS

• Physiological Structural Systems
• Symbiosis, Defense and Self-recognition
• Processes and structures that mediate intimate
  interactions between two or more organisms
• Organism Environment Interactions
• Structures and processes that affect organismal
  performance under routine, changing, or stressful
  environmental conditions
• Processes, Structures and Integrity
• Structural and functional properties and
  interactions that orchestrate daily existence

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Division of Environmental Biology (DEB)

• DEB supports fundamental research on
• origins, functions, relationships, interactions,
  and evolutionary history of populations, species,
  communities, and ecosystems.
• Scientific emphases include systematic biology,
  biotic surveys inventories, molecular genetic
  and genomic evolution, mesoscale ecology,
  conservation biology, global change, and
  restoration ecology.

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Environmental Sciences (DEB)

• Ecological Biology
• Ecosystem Science
• Population Evolutionary Processes
• Systematic Biology Biodiversity Inventories

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Molecular Cellular Biosciences (MCB)

• Biomolecular Systems
• Structure, function, dynamics, interactions, and
  interconversions of biological molecules
• Individual macromolecules to the large-scale
  integration of metabolic and energetic processes
• Development of cutting-edge technologies
• Mechanistic studies of the regulation and
  catalysis of enzymes and RNA
• Higher-order characterization of the biochemical
  processes by which all organisms acquire,
  transform, and utilize energy from substrates

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Cellular Systems (MCB)

• Cellular Systems Cluster focuses on the
  structure, function, and regulation of plant,
  animal and microbial cells, and their
  interactions with the environment and with one
  another.
• Areas supported include studies of the structure,
  function, and assembly of cellular elements, such
  as the cytoskeleton, membranes, organelles,
  intracellular compartments, intranuclear
  structures, and extracellular matrix, including
  eukaryotic and prokaryotic cell walls and
  envelopes.

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Genes Genomes Systems (MCB)

• Genomes and genetic mechanisms in all organisms,
  whether prokaryote, eukaryote, phage, or virus.
• The structure, maintenance, expression, transfer,
  and stability of genetic information in DNA, RNA,
  and proteins and how those processes are
  regulated.
• Genome organization, molecular and cellular
  evolution, replication, recombination, repair,
  and vertical and lateral transmission of
  heritable information.
• Processes that mediate and regulate gene
  expression, such as chromatin structure,
  epigenetic phenomena, transcription, RNA
  processing, editing and degradation, and
  translation.

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Directorate for Biological Sciences
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BIO 2009 Priorities
Life in Transition Microbial Systems Synthetic
Biology Adaptive Systems Technology
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Funding Opportunities in BIO
Life in Transition (LiT)
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OriginsHow, where and when did life on Earth
begin?
Open system chemistry
Self-replication
DNA World
RNA World
H2 CO2 gt HCO n
Self-sustaining biochemistry
How did the biological complexity of life emerge
from pre-biotic chemistry and geochemistry?
Basic elements
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Energy How is energy obtained and used by living
systems to sustain life?
Understanding natural energy transduction systems
will inspire the development of biology-based
technologies capable of delivering sustainable,
renewable, efficient energy.
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Adaptation Transformations and Transitions in
the Story of Life
What will survive, and how?
Diversity
Understanding lifes resilience and adaptation
will reduce uncertainty about the future of life
on Earth in response to global climate change.
Changes
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Life Sciences In Transition
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Funding Opportunities in BIO
Microbial Systems in the Biosphere (MSB)
Replaces Microbial Observatories and Microbial
Interactions and Processes (MO/MIP) Solicitation
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Synthetic BiologyWhat are the indispensable
requirements for life?

• What are
• The physical rules for cell membrane assembly?
• The minimum gene set required to sustain life?
• The fundamental requirements for genome stability?

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Synthetic Biology
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Adaptive Systems Technology Closing the Loop of
Theory, Observation, Experimentation, and
Technology
D. E. Koditschek, ESE Department, University of
Pennsylvania
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Funding Opportunities in BIO
Solicitations
Special programs with specific guidelines, deadlin
es, cycles (annual, biennial), etc.
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Selected Solicitations

• Assembling the Tree of Life (AToL)
• Constructing a universal Tree of Life for all
  1.7 million named species of organisms on earth
• Due Date March (new solicitation forthcoming)

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Selected Solicitations
2010 Project (will be phased out as a separate
solicitation)

• Determine the function of all genes in
  Arabidopsis thaliana by the year 2010
• Due Date Feb. 19, 2009 (09-514)

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Selected Solicitations
Research Coordination Networks in Biological
Sciences (RCN)

• Encourage and foster interactions among
  scientists. Create new research directions or
  advance a field.
• Due Date June 29, 2009 (06-567)

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Selected Solicitations
Research Coordination Networks- Undergraduate
Biology Education (RCN-UBE)

• Similar to RCN but focuses on improving Biology
  Education
• Due Date June 29, 2009 (06-567)

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Selected Solicitations
Research Coordination Networks- Undergraduate
Biology Education (RCN-UBE)

• Similar to RCN but focuses on improving Biology
  Education
• Due Date June 29, 2009 (06-567)

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Selected Multidisciplinary Programs
Ecology of Infectious Diseases (BIO, GEO, SBE,
NIH)

• Discovery of predictive models and principles
  governing the transmission dynamics of disease
  agents.
• Due Date Dec. 10, 2008 (08-601)

Interdisciplinary Training for Undergraduates in
Biological and Mathematical Sciences (BIO,EHR,MPS)

• Enhancing undergraduate education and training at
  the intersection of the biological and
  mathematical sciences.
• Due Date Feb. 12, 2009 (08-510)

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Developing Expertise and Broadening Participation
Funding Opportunities in NSF/BIO
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Developing Expertise andBroadening Participation
High School Students
Research Assistantships to High School Students
(RAHSS) Supplement (06-027)
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Developing Expertise andBroadening Participation
Undergraduates
Research at Undergraduate Institutions (RUI) Same
target date as core programs (announcement 00-144)
Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU)
Sites (June 5, 2009) and Supplements (contact
PD) (07-569)
Undergraduate Research and Mentoring in
the Biological Sciences (URM) Due Date March 3,
2009 (06-591) Alan Savitzky (asavitzk_at_nsf.gov)
Interdisciplinary Training for Undergraduates
in Biological and Mathematical Sciences (UBM) Due
Date Feb. 12, 2009 (08-510) Nancy Huntly
(nhuntly_at_nsf.gov)
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Graduate Students
Developing Expertise andBroadening Participation

• Graduate Research Fellowships (GRFP)
• (08-593). Due date Nov. 7, 2008
• Education and Human Resources Directorate.
  NSF-wide program
• Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grants (DDIG)
• (08-564). Due date Third Friday in November.
• DEB and Behavioral Cluster in IOS
• (ddig-deb_at_nsf.gov ddig-ios_at_nsf.gov)
• Integrative Graduate Education and Research
  Traineeship (IGERT)
• (new solicitation soon). Due date April, 2009
• Education and Human Resources Directorate.
  NSF-wide program

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Postdoctoral Fellows
Developing Expertise andBroadening Participation

• Postdoctoral Research Fellowships in Biology
  (GRFP)
• (07-580). Due date Nov. 2, 2009
• Division of Biological Infrastructure
• Broadening Participation of Under-represented
  Groups in Biology
• Carter Kimsey (ckimsey_at_nsf.gov)
• Biological Informatics
• Peter McCartney (pmccartn_at_nsf.gov)

Minority Postdoctoral Research Fellowships and
Supporting Activities (06-586). Due date First
Monday in November BIO and SBE BIO Carter Kimsey
(ckimsey_at_nsf.gov)
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Faculty and Teachers
Developing Expertise andBroadening Participation

• Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER)
• (08-557). Deadline July 21, 2009
• Untenured Assistant Professors
• Mary Chamberlin (mchamber_at_nsf.gov)
• Research Initiation Grants to Broaden
  Participation in Biology (RIG BP)
• (09-501) Deadline Jan. 12, 2009
• New investigator, new faculty
• Carter Kimsey (ckimsey_at_nsf.gov)
• Research Opportunity Awards (ROA)
• (07-041) Supplement
• Research Experience for Teachers (RET)
• (05-524) Supplement

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Realities
Funding Realities
2009 Request
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Call Your PROGRAM DIRECTOR
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Summary and Advice
Read the Grant Proposal Guide
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National Institutes of Health NIH
______________________

• Improve the health of the Nation by conducting
  and supporting research
• in the cause, diagnosis, prevention, and cure of
  human disease.

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Mission To promote the progress of science to
advance the national health, prosperity and
welfare to secure national defense (NSF Act 0f
1950). Vision Advancing discovery,
innovation, and education beyond the frontiers of
current knowledge, and empowering future
generations in science and engineering.
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Proposal Submission
FASTLANE

• NIH
• Grants.gov
• 25 Pages
• 3 Deadlines
• eCommons

• NSF
• Online FastLane
• 15 Pages
• Target Dates,deadlines
• Suggested Reviewers
• FASTLANE

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Review System________________________

• NSF
• Advisory Panels
• Ad Hoc Reviews

• NIH
• Study Sections

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Review System________________________

• NSF
• All proposals discussed
• High Priority
• Medium Priority
• Low Priority
• Non-competitive

• NIH
• Streamlined
• Priority score
• Percentile
• Funding line

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Merit Review Criteria
Best ideas from the most capable people,
determined by competitivemerit review.

• Intellectual merit
• Broader impacts

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Discoveries
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Discoveries
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Questions?
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