Engineering Biological and Biomedical Systems (EBBS)
Funds engineering of biology — biosensing, tissue and organ function, biomanufacturing — and lists plainly what it will not fund.
This programme funds the engineering side of biology, at every scale from sensing a biomarker to making a protein to restoring a function of the body. NSF's framing is that US leadership in biotechnology needs engineering at all of those scales.
The method is combination: fundamental mechanistic insight together with experimental and computational technique, producing platforms, devices, organism…
Engineering of biological and biomedical systems — mechanisms of microbial, cell and tissue behaviour, bioreactor response, biosensing platforms, optical imaging and modulation, designed biological systems, tissue injury and organ-imitating or restoring systems, rehabilitation engineering, and biomanufacturing. Drug design and delivery, animal model development, therapy validation and clinical trials are out of scope.
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Guides for this application
All guides →NSF Biosketch Guide: SciENcv, Format, and Examples
Learn how the NSF biosketch works, what SciENcv is used for, how it differs from current and pending support, and what startup teams should prepare.
DocumentsNSF Data Management Plan Example and Writing Guide
Learn how to write an NSF data management plan, what the plan should include, how it differs from NIH data sharing plans, and how startup applicants should handle data.
Where to applyGrants for Biotech Startups: NIH, NSF, SBIR/STTR, and Non-Dilutive Funding
A practical guide to grants for biotech startups, including NIH SBIR/STTR, NSF, translational funding, evidence, regulatory readiness, and budgets.
Write proposalHow to Write a Grant Proposal Reviewers Can Score
Learn how to write a grant proposal around reviewer criteria, evidence, work packages, budget logic, and commercialization for deeptech and R&D funding.
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