Bioimaging Research to Develop Imaging Instrumentation and Approaches | DE FOA 0002393

Opportunity Information: Apply for DE FOA 0002393

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science, through its Biological and Environmental Research (BER) Bioimaging Research program, offered this funding opportunity to push forward the next generation of bioimaging tools for plants and microorganisms. The central aim is to build a versatile "tool box" of imaging instrumentation and approaches that can visualize and measure biological processes as they happen within cells and across groups of cells in living systems. By improving the ability to observe how plant and microbial biology functions in real time and in realistic settings, the program is seeking advances that support DOE energy and environmental missions, including bioenergy-related research and other BER-supported areas.

This particular opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number DE FOA 0002393) is a discretionary grant program in the science and technology/research and development category (CFDA 81.049). The focus is on fundamental research that enables new imaging capabilities, meaning proposals are expected to concentrate on instrumentation development and methodological innovation rather than only applying existing imaging tools to a biological question. The biological targets of interest are explicitly plant and microbial systems, reflecting BER priorities where understanding cellular and multicellular behavior can translate to improvements in bioenergy feedstocks, microbial processes relevant to energy systems, and broader environmental biology questions.

Eligibility is broadly open to domestic applicants as prime (lead) applicants, with one notable exclusion: nonprofit organizations classified under section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code that engaged in lobbying activities after December 31, 1995 are not eligible to apply as the prime. The announcement also lays out special rules for federally affiliated entities. DOE/NNSA National Laboratories cannot apply as the prime recipient, but they may participate as subawardees under another organization’s application. If a national lab is recommended for funding in that subaward role, the lab portion may be separated from the prime award and provided to the laboratory through DOE’s Field-Work Proposal System, with additional authorization steps handled via the cognizant Contracting Officer as described in the FOA. Non-DOE/NNSA Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs) similarly cannot apply as primes, but they can be included as subawardees; if selected, their funding may be issued through an inter-agency award to the sponsoring federal agency. Other federal agencies have a different pathway: they are only eligible if they are part of a multi-institutional team, they cannot be included as a subaward under another applicant, and if funded their support would be provided through an inter-agency award with appropriate statutory authorization.

In terms of funding scale and competitiveness, the opportunity listed an award ceiling of $2,250,000 per award and anticipated making about 8 awards. The FOA was created on November 16, 2020, with an original closing date of March 25, 2021. Overall, the solicitation is geared toward teams capable of delivering enabling bioimaging advances, especially new instrumentation and approaches that broaden what researchers can see and quantify in living plant and microbial cells, ultimately strengthening the experimental toolkit needed for BER-relevant energy and environmental science.

• The Office of Science in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Bioimaging Research to Develop Imaging Instrumentation and Approaches" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 81.049.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2020-11-16.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2021-03-25. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $2,250,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 8 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Unrestricted.

Apply for DE FOA 0002393

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