Across millennia, life on Earth has solved challenges to innumerable biotic and abiotic pressures. In some cases, similar adaptations and innovations have arisen independently in separate lineages (i.e., convergent evolution). However, despite the remarkable proliferation of genomic resources, organismal and phylogenetic knowledge, and computational capabilities, most of life’s functional solutions remain poorly understood for the vast majority of species. Through this new DCL, NSF BIO is encouraging proposals that use comparative approaches to identify convergent adaptations to life’s challenges and the mechanisms that underlie them.

NSF BIO seeks to speed discovery and understanding of biological innovations that hold significant potential for applications in the bioeconomy, including industrial processes, pharmaceuticals, agriculture, energy production, nature-based solutions to climate change, and planetary sustainability and resilience. Proposals should include relevance of the proposed work to inform applications towards a sustainable global bioeconomy, interpreted broadly.

Read the full DCL on www.nsf.gov for further information and points of contact.

Process for Submitting Proposals relevant to LIFE

Proposals responsive to this DCL should be submitted to one of the following programs, and Principal Investigators (PIs) are strongly encouraged to reach out to a cognizant Program Officer (PO) (see the points of contact in the DCL linked above) to discuss the topic before submission.

• Core Programs in any of the following divisions, including as part of the Integrative Research in Biology (IntBIO) track:
  • Division of Environmental Biology (currently NSF 23-549)
  • Division of Molecular and Cellular Biosciences (currently NSF 23-548)
  • Division of Integrative Organismal Systems (currently NSF 23-547)
• Infrastructure Innovation for Biological Research program (currently NSF 23-578)