Biomaterials Program

Biomaterials Program is sponsored by National Science Foundation (NSF). Supports fundamental research and engineering of biomaterials inspired by biological systems, including structural designs mimicking natural materials for advanced applications. This program should be reviewed carefully against your organization's mission, staffing capacity, timeline, and compliance readiness before you commit resources to a full application. Strong submissions usually translate sponsor priorities into concrete objectives, clear implementation milestones, and measurable public benefit.

For planning purposes, treat rolling deadlines or periodic funding windows as your working submission target unless the sponsor publishes an updated notice. A competitive project plan should include a documented need statement, implementation approach, evaluation framework, risk controls, and a realistic budget narrative. Even when a grant allows broad program design, reviewers still expect credible evidence that the proposed work can be executed within the grant period and with appropriate accountability.

Current published award information indicates $300,000 - $1,200,000 Organizations should verify the final funding range, matching requirements, and allowability rules directly in the official opportunity materials before preparing a budget. Finance and program teams should align early so direct costs, indirect costs, staffing assumptions, procurement timelines, and reporting obligations all remain consistent throughout drafting and post-award administration.

Eligibility guidance for this opportunity is: Universities, colleges, nonprofits with research focus If your organization has partnerships, subrecipients, or collaborators, define responsibilities and compliance ownership before submission. Reviewers often look for implementation credibility, so letters of commitment, prior performance evidence, and a clear governance model can materially strengthen the application narrative and reduce concerns about delivery risk.

A practical approach is to begin with a focused readiness review, then build a workback schedule from the sponsor deadline. Confirm required attachments, registration dependencies, and internal approval checkpoints early. This reduces last-minute issues and improves submission quality. For the most accurate requirements, always rely on the official notice and primary source links associated with Biomaterials Program.

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These terms and conditions are consistent with the revised guidance specified in the OMB Guidance for Federal Financial Assistance published in the Federal Register on April 22, 2024.

Important information for proposers All proposals must be submitted in accordance with the requirements specified in this funding opportunity and in the NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG) that is in effect for the relevant due date to which the proposal is being submitted. It is the responsibility of the proposer to ensure that the proposal meets these requirements.

Submitting a proposal prior to a specified deadline does not negate this requirement.

Updates to NSF Research Security Policies On July 10, 2025, NSF issued an Important Notice providing updates to the agency's research security policies, including a research security training requirement, Malign Foreign Talent Recruitment Program annual certification requirement, prohibition on Confucius institutes and an updated FFDR reporting and submission timeline.

Supports research and education on biological, biomimetic, bioinspired and bioenabled materials, and on synthetic materials intended for applications where they will be in contact with biological systems. Supports research and education on biological, biomimetic, bioinspired and bioenabled materials, and on synthetic materials intended for applications where they will be in contact with biological systems.

All proposals submitted to this Program that are not governed by another solicitation (such as CAREER) must be submitted to the solicitation: Division of Materials Research: Topical Materials Research Programs (DMR:TMRP) (NSF 22-609) . Proposals under this solicitation are accepted any time. Proposers should be aware that there is no change expected in the average time to decision and release of reviews.

Considering that NSF’s fiscal year begins on October 1 st and ends on September 30 th , proposals submitted between February and August are more likely to be awarded in the following fiscal year.

The Biomaterials program supports fundamental materials research related to 1) biological materials, 2) biomimetic, bioinspired, and bioenabled materials, 3) synthetic materials intended for applications in contact with biological systems, and 4) the processes through which nature produces biological materials. Projects are typically interdisciplinary and may encompass scales from the nanoscopic to the bulk.

They may involve characterization, design, preparation, and modification; studies of structure-property relationships and interfacial behavior; and combinations of experiment, theory, and/or simulation.

Proposals involving biomaterials realized through synthetic biology; fueled biomaterials; stimuli-responsive biomaterials; antimicrobial or antiviral biomaterials; biodegradable, renewable, and sustainable materials; and plant- or fungal- based biomaterials are also encouraged. The emphasis is on novel materials design and development, and discovery of new phenomena.

Projects involving in vitro demonstration of biological compatibility and efficacy are appropriate, but the program can support only limited in vivo studies. Tissue engineering and drug/gene delivery projects must have a specific focus on fundamental materials development and characterization.

Studies of the mechanical behavior of hard and soft biological materials and tissues, and projects in molecular biophysics may be more appropriate for one or more of the NSF programs listed below under Related Programs. Projects with an emphasis on device design and fabrication are generally more appropriate for a program in the NSF Engineering Directorate.

Additional program resources Semiconductor Synthetic Biology Circuits and Communications for Information Storage (SemiSynBio-III) 2013 NSF Biomaterials Workshop Report: Important Areas for Future Investment 2010 NRC Report: Research at the Intersection of the Physical and Life Sciences 2008 NRC Report: Inspired by Biology-From Molecules to Materials to Machines Recently Funded BMAT Awards Designing Materials to Revolutionize and Engineer our Future (DMREF) Facilitating Research at Primarily Undergraduate Institutions: Research in Undergraduate Institutions (RUI) and Research Opportunity Awards (ROA) Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER) Dear Colleague Letter: Critical Aspects of Sustainability (CAS): Micro- and Nanoplastics (MNP) NSF/FDA Scholar-in-Residence at FDA Historically Black Colleges and Universities - Excellence in Research (HBCU- EiR) Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Sites and Supplements Awards made through this program Browse projects funded by this program Map of recent awards made through this program Engineering Biology and Health Cluster Biomechanics and Mechanobiology (BMMB) Advanced Manufacturing (AM) Mind, Machine and Motor Nexus (M3X) Cellular Dynamics and Function Systems and Synthetic Biology Physiological and Structural Systems (PSS) Chemistry of Life Processes (CLP) Macromolecular, Supramolecular, and Nanochemistry (MSN) Physics of Living Systems (PoLS) Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences (MPS) Division of Materials Research (MPS/DMR) Review full program guidelines and learn how to submit a proposal in the latest solicitation.

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