NSF Day

Biological Sciences Directorate

National Science Foundation

September 15, 2009

George W. Gilchrist, Ph.D.

Program Director

Division of Environmental Biology

Biological Sciences Directorate

Mission

To enable the discoveries for

understanding life

Vision

Inspiring research and education at

the frontiers of the life sciences

Biology is the narrative of life on Earth

and the story of the unexpected…

Life in TransitionLife put Earth under New Management

Anoxic World

Pu'u 'Ō'ō Crater, Hawaii

Cyanobacteria

Photosynthesis

Whisk fern on lava

Life on Land

O2 Rich World

Dear Colleague Letters

Life in Transition (LIT)

Origins

How, where and when did life on Earth begin?

How did the complexity of life

emerge from pre-biotic

chemistry and geochemistry?

Open system

chemistry

Self-sustaining

biochemistry

Basic

elements

DNA WorldRNA

WorldH2 + CO2 => [ HCO ]n

Self-

replication

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?

?

Membrane

Encapsulation

Are There Alternative

Routes to Life?

Microfluidic

System RNA

Evolution

Brian Paegel and Gerald

Joyce Scripps Research

Inst.

Genome Stability

Evolution of Life

Horizontal Gene Transfer

What we thought we knew:

Genetic information flowed

from parent to offspring,

generation to generation

Darwin’s tree of life

rooted to a universal

common ancestor…

Sequencing of whole genomes revealed that genetic

information has been transferred horizontally between

organisms, including some distantly related

Adaptation

Transformations and Transitions in the Story of Life

Understanding life’s

resilience and adaptation

will reduce uncertainty

about the future of life on

Earth in response to global

climate change.

Changes

Diversity

What will survive,

and how?

EnergyHow 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.

ChloroplastsAssemble the

basics

PS IAu Ag

-/+

e-

e-

e-

e-

Applied

Photosynthesis

Barry Bruce (UTN)

Transdisciplinary

Interdisciplinary

Multi-disciplinary

Disciplinary

Life Sciences In Transition

The Role of Theory in Advancing 21st-Century Biology

Catalyzing Transformative Research

National Research Council

of the National Academies

2008

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CollaborationsSingle PI vs. Multiple Investigator Awards

Directorate for Biological Sciences

Research

Resources

Human

Resources

Division of

Biological

Infrastructure

(DBI)

Neural Systems

Developmental

Systems

Behavioral

Systems

Physiological &

Structural Systems

Integrative

Organismal

Systems

(IOS)

Divisions

Clusters

Molecular &

Cellular

Biosciences

(MCB)

Biomolecular

Systems

Cellular Systems

Genes & Genome

Systems

Population & Community

Ecology

Division of

Environmental

Biology

(DEB)

Evolutionary Processes

Ecosystem

Science

Systematic Biology &

Biodiversity Inventories

Emerging Frontiers (EF)

Division

Molecular & Cellular Biosciences

(MCB)

Supports fundamental research on the dynamic underpinnings of complex living systems at the molecular, subcellular and cellular levels

• The origin, organization and properties of macromolecular

structures, and subcellular and cellular components

• The nature of basic life processes

• Molecular evolution

• Theoretical and computational aspects of molecular and

cellular studies

• Genome-wide approaches are encouraged in all areas

Integrative Organismal Systems

(IOS)

Supports research on 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

Division of Environmental Biology

(DEB)Supports fundamental research on populations, species,

communities, and ecosystems

• Biodiversity, Phylogenetic Systematics

• Evolutionary and Population genetics, Evolutionary

Ecology, Life History Evolution

• Population and Community Ecology, Macroecology and

Conservation Biology

• Ecosystem Ecology, Global Change Biology and

Biogeochemisty

• Long Term Ecological Research

Division of Biological Infrastructure

(DBI)Supports activities that provide the infrastructure for

contemporary research in biology

Research Resources

• Biological informatics

• Curatorial improvement to research collections

• Living stock collections

• Major items of multi-user instrumentation

• Development of new instrumentation

• Research facilities at biological field stations and

marine labs

Human Resources

• Undergraduate research and mentoring in biology

• Postdoctoral research fellowships in biology

Emerging Frontiers (EF)

“The Emerging Frontiers (EF) Division is an

incubator for 21st Century Biology. EF supports

multidisciplinary research opportunities and

networking activities that arise from advances in

disciplinary research. By encouraging synergy

between disciplines, EF provides a mechanism

by which new initiatives will be fostered and

subsequently integrated into core programs.”

• Dynamics of Coupled Natural and Human Systems

(BIO, GEO, SBE and USFS)

• Interdisciplinary Training Undergraduates in Biological and Mathematical Sciences

(BIO,EHR,MPS)

Interdisciplinary Programs

• Ecology of Infectious Disease (EID)(BIO, GEO, SBE and NIH)

• Science, Technology, and Society (STS)(BIO, SBE)

Interdisciplinary Programs

America COMPETES Act

• Signed into law on August 9, 2007

Authorizes doubling of NSF Funding from $5.6

billion in FY2006 to $11.2 billion in FY2011

• Focused on three primary areas of importance:

• Increasing research investment

• Strengthening educational opportunities in science,

technology, engineering, and mathematics from

elementary through graduate school

• Developing an innovation infrastructure

FY2010 Budget Request to Congress

Source: NSF FY2010 Budget Request to Congress

$400

$500

$600

$700

$800

$900

$1,000

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

Actual Funding Funding in 2001 Constant Dollars ARRA

FY 2009 Current Plan

FY 2010 Request

FY 2009 Current Plan + ARRA Funding

MillionMillions

Recent Funding History of

BIO Directorate FY 2001-2009

BIO Support for Basic Research

Federal Support for Basic

Research in Non-Medical

Biological Sciences at Academic

Institutions

Federal Support for Basic

Research in Environmental

Biology at Academic Institutions

NSF 69%

Other federal spending 31%

NSF

63%

Other federal spending 37%

Source: NSF FY2010 Budget Request to Congress

FY 2010 BIO Priorities

1. Climate Research ($46M)

2. Innovation (+$20M)

3. Disciplinary Research: Enhancing the Core

(+$38M)

4. Research Resources (+$20M)

5. National Ecological Observatory Network

(+$200K)

6. Education & Learning (+$11.5M)

1. Climate Research ($46M)

• Modeling • Enhance scalability from global ↔ regional ↔ local

• Improve multiscalar predictability to inform decision makers

• Fundamental research• Carbon cycling, biodiversity, & ecological systems

• Expand the Nation’s workforce to address complex environmental

challenges

• Environmental observation• Improve, upgrade, & deploy critical observing platforms & systems

such as LTER & NEON

• USDA partnership to establish Urban Long Term Research Areas

(ULTRA)

Adaptation: Life in a Time of

Planetary Change

… We are only now beginning to explore

the biological consequences of climate change.

CO2

CH4

Joint BIO-GEO activity in

Environmental Modeling

Joint BIO-GEO activity in

Biogeochemical Cycles

Urban Long-Term Research area

Awards (ULTRA/ULTRA-Ex)

2. Innovation (+$20M)

• Stimulating interdisciplinary research

• Exploring novel processes for problem solving

• Establishing collaborations

• Capitalizing on developing priorities

Synthesis Centers

NESCent:National Evolutionary

Synthesis Center

National Institute for

Mathematical and Biological

Synthesis (NIMBioS)

• Partnership between BIO and MPS (NSF), DHS

and USDA to stimulate research at the interface of

the mathematical and biological sciences.

• Goal: To foster synthetic, collaborative, cross-

disciplinary studies; enable plant and animal

infectious disease modeling; and generate

knowledge for policy makers, government

agencies, and society.

The Sandpit Process Synthetic Biology

Research Coordination Networks in

Biological Sciences (RCN)

• Encourage and foster interactions among scientists. Create new

research directions or advance a field.

• Due Date: July 5, 2010

“Plant Biology Jets Into Cyberspace”- Science Magazine

“Just as Google Earth lets you zoom in on

individual buildings from space, researchers

may one day be able to toggle between

whole-ecosystem views of plants and the

molecules that make them up with just a few

clicks of the mouse.”

-Elizabeth PennisiScience Magazine (2008)

iPlant CollaborativeA Look into the Future

BREAD: Basic Research Enabling Agricultural Development (BIO + Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation)

High Risk Interagency Partnerships

“The objective of the BREAD Program is to support innovative scientific research designed to address key constraints to smallholder agriculture in the developing world.

“The Program's focus is on novel, transformative research at the proof-of-concept stage rather than its application or development. Especially encouraged are original proposals that address major constraints to the productivity of crops important to smallholder farmers, or on the development of novel and efficient production practices.”

High Risk/Rapid Response Awards

• Early-concept Grants for Exploratory Research

(EAGER)

• Exploratory work in its early stages on untested, but

potentially transformative, ideas or approaches

• Radically different approaches, new expertise, or

novel disciplinary or interdisciplinary perspectives

• Budget consistent with project scope and existing

programmatic activities (up to $300K for 2 years

• Grants for Rapid Response Research (RAPID)

• Rapid release of funds, expedited merit review

3. Disciplinary Research:

Enhancing the Core (+$38M)

• BIO investments support integrative

fundamental research across the biological

scales, from intracellular macromolecules to

the biosphere and results in the discoveries

and new knowledge needed to address

issues of national importance.

Supporting Core Programs

Microbial Systems in the Biosphere (MSB)

4. Research Resources (+$20M)

• Scientific collections

• Continue efforts to digitize & network U.S. specimen-

based research collections

• Enhanced support for research resources

• Advances in Biological Informatics (ABI)

• Instrument Development for Biological Research (IDBR)

Assembling the Tree of Life (AToL)Constructing a universal Tree of Life for all 1.7 million named species of organisms on earth

5. National Ecological Observatory

Network (NEON) (+$200K)

• Increased investment in project planning

• Sustain project design & development activities

• Preliminary design review completed in June 2009

• Final design review scheduled for early FY2010

• Confirmation of baseline estimates for

construction will inform FY2011 budget request

NEON

(National Ecological Observatory Network)

Biosphere, Geosphere, Atmosphere

6. Education & Learning (+$11.5M)

• Climate science partnerships with EHR, GEO, &

OPP

• Innovative formal and informal education activities

• BIO/EHR partnership activities:

• Vision & Change in Undergraduate Biology Education

Conference (July 2009) with AAAS

• Proposed incubation grants to build upon themes

• Research Coordination Networks (RCNs)

• Join biology & education researchers & practitioners

www.visionandchange.org

Research Coordination Networks-

Undergraduate Biology Education

(RCN-UBE)

• A special flavor of RCN that focuses on improving Biology Education

• Due Date: July 5, 2010

Developing Expertise and

Broadening Participation

Research at Undergraduate Institutions (RUI)Same target date as core programs

Research Experience for Undergraduates

(REU) Sites (October 22, 2009)

Undergraduate Research and Mentoring in the

Biological Sciences (URM)

Interdisciplinary Training for Undergraduates in

Biological and Mathematical Sciences (UBM)

Undergraduates

Graduate Students

Graduate Research Fellowships (GRFP)Due date: Nov. 2, 2009Education and Human Resources Directorate. NSF-wide program

Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grants (DDIG)Due date: Third Friday in November. DEB and Behavioral Systems Cluster in IOS

Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT)

Due date: Sept. 14, 2009, by invitation onlyEducation and Human Resources Directorate. NSF-wide program

Developing Expertise and

Broadening Participation

Postdoctoral Fellows

Developing Expertise and

Broadening Participation

Postdoctoral Research Fellowships in

Biology (PRFB) Due date: Oct. 14, 2009

1.Broadening Participation in Biology

2.Biological Informatics

Early Career Faculty

Faculty Early Career Development Program

(CAREER)Untenured Assistant Professors

Submit to core programs

Research Initiation Grants to Broaden

Participation in Biology (RIG BP)New investigator, new faculty

Developing Expertise and

Broadening Participation

• Research Opportunity Awards (ROA)

• Research Experience for Teachers (RET)

• Research Experiences for Undergraduates

(REU)

• Research Assistantships to High School

Students (RAHSS)

Supplements to Active Awards

Developing Expertise and

Broadening Participation

Summary and Advice

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Summary and Advice

Read the Grant Proposal Guide!

Summary and Advice

Look at recent awards in the program to which

you’re thinking about submitting a proposal

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Questions

Physical model

Explores the behavioral

consequences of a

hypothetical neural property

operating in the animal’s

natural environment

Computational model

Explores the logical

consequences of the

hypothetical descriptions

Mathematical model Describes hypothetical

relationships between a

selected subset of

observations

Animal model

The primary source of data

and behavioral phenomena

Adaptive Systems Technology

Closing the Loop of Theory, Observation,

Experimentation, and Technology

D. E. Koditschek, University of

Pennsylvania