BIO Programs

Funding in the Directorate for Biological Sciences (BIO) is awarded through core research programs housed in its divisions and offices and through focused programs managed by one or more division. Contact the program director(s) listed on any program webpage to ask questions or get feedback on whether the program is a good fit for your research. 

You can also visit the Funding at NSF page to learn more about opportunities aimed at students and researchers based on career stage and information about preparing and submitting a proposal. Visit the Funding Search page to explore all NSF funding opportunities.

Proposals are evaluated through the merit review process outlined in the Proposal Award Policies and Procedures Guide.

On this page

Directorate-wide and interdisciplinary programs

Program

Biodiversity on a Changing Planet (BoCP)

Posted May 16, 2024
Program

Biology Integration Institutes (BII)

Posted October 27, 2022
Program

Building Synthetic Microbial Communities for Biology, Mitigating Climate Change, Sustainability and Biotechnology (Synthetic Communities)

Posted October 4, 2024
Program

Ecology and Evolution of Infectious Diseases (EEID)

Posted July 29, 2024
Dear Colleague Letter

Leveraging Innovations From Evolution (LIFE)

Next Required Due Date: See letter for details
Posted January 17, 2024
Program

Partnership to Advance Conservation Science and Practice (PACSP)

Posted December 17, 2024
Search for more BIO-related opportunities

DBI core programs

Division of Biological Infrastructure

Program

BIO Research Experience for Undergraduates Sites (BIO REU Sites)

Posted July 31, 2019
Program

Infrastructure Innovation for Biological Research (Innovation)

Next Required Due Date: Proposals Accepted Anytime
Posted April 18, 2023
Program

Infrastructure Capacity for Biological Research (Capacity)

Next Required Due Date: Proposals Accepted Anytime
Posted April 20, 2023
Program

Sustaining Infrastructure for Biological Research (Sustaining)

Posted October 2, 2020
Program

Mid-scale Research Infrastructure-1 (Mid-scale RI-1)

Posted August 16, 2024
Program

Mid-scale Research Infrastructure-2 (Mid-scale RI-2)

Posted March 20, 2023

DEB core programs

Division of Environmental Biology 

Program

Ecosystem Science Cluster

Posted June 15, 2011
Program

Evolutionary Processes Cluster

Posted June 15, 2011
Program

Population and Community Ecology Cluster

Posted June 15, 2011
Program

Systematics and Biodiversity Science Cluster (SBS)

Posted June 15, 2011

IOS core programs

Division of Integrative Organismal Systems

Program

Behavioral Systems

Posted August 15, 2011
Program

Developmental Systems

Posted August 15, 2011
Program

Neural Systems

Posted August 15, 2011
Program

Physiological and Structural Systems (PSS)

Posted August 15, 2011
Program

Plant Genome Research Program (PGRP)

Next Required Due Date: Proposals Accepted Anytime
Posted February 16, 2024

MCB core programs

Division of Molecular and Cellular Biosciences

Program

Cellular Dynamics and Function

Posted October 9, 2012
Program

Genetic Mechanisms

Posted October 10, 2012
Program

Molecular Biophysics

Posted October 10, 2012
Program

Systems and Synthetic Biology

Posted October 10, 2012

Other programs

Program

Accelerating Innovations in Biomanufacturing Approaches through Collaboration Between NSF and the DOE BETO funded Agile BioFoundry (NSF-DOE/ABF Collaboration)

Posted January 3, 2022
Program

Designing Synthetic Cells Beyond the Bounds of Evolution (Designer Cells)

Next Required Due Date: February 2, 2026
Posted November 2, 2023
Program

Enabling Discovery through GEnomics (EDGE)

Posted December 16, 2020
Program

Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER)

Posted December 14, 2023
Program

Long Term Research in Environmental Biology (LTREB)

Next Required Due Date: Proposals Accepted Anytime
Posted December 9, 2020
Program

Mid-Career Advancement (MCA)

Next Required Due Date: March 2, 2026
Supports opportunities for scientists and engineers at the associate professor rank (or equivalent) to substantively enhance and advance their research program through synergistic partnerships.
Posted June 10, 2022
Program

Plant Biotic Interactions

Next Required Due Date: Proposals Accepted Anytime
Posted May 13, 2020
Program

Transitions to Excellence in Molecular and Cellular Biosciences Research (Transitions)

Next Required Due Date: Proposals Accepted Anytime
Posted October 6, 2020

Lead agency opportunities and international collaborations

Note that several of the above programs also support international collaborations.

Dear Colleague Letter

Special Guidelines for Submitting Collaborative Proposals under U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) of India Collaborative Research Opportunities

Next Required Due Date: See letter for details
Posted February 8, 2024
Dear Colleague Letter

NSF-Swiss NSF Lead Agency Opportunity

Next Required Due Date: See letter for details
Posted January 27, 2023
Dear Colleague Letter

NSF-French National Research Agency (ANR) Quantum Information Science and Engineering Lead Agency Opportunity

Next Required Due Date: See letter for details
Posted September 26, 2023
Dear Colleague Letter

ANR - NSF/MCB/PHY Lead Agency Opportunity at the Molecular and Cellular Biosciences - Physics Interface

Next Required Due Date: See letter for details
Posted October 23, 2023
Dear Colleague Letter

UKRI/BBSRC- NSF/BIO Lead Agency Opportunity in Biological Informatics, Systems Understanding of Host-Microbe Interactions, Synthetic Cells and Cellular Systems, and Synthetic Microbial Communities

Next Required Due Date: See letter for details
Posted July 31, 2024
Dear Colleague Letter

Special Guidelines for Submitting Collaborative Proposals under National Science Foundation (NSF) and US-Israel Binational Science Foundation (BSF) Collaborative Research Opportunities

Next Required Due Date: See letter for details
Posted June 9, 2020
Dear Colleague Letter

NSF-DFG Lead Agency Opportunity in Molecular and Cellular Biology

Next Required Due Date: See letter for details
Posted November 15, 2021
Search for more BIO-related opportunities
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