NSF Use-Inspired Acceleration of Protein Design (USPRD)

NSF Use-Inspired Acceleration of Protein Design (USPRD) is sponsored by National Science Foundation (NSF). This initiative aims to accelerate the translation of artificial intelligence-based approaches to protein design and enable new applications of importance to the U.S. bioeconomy.

This includes the design and use of enzymes and families of enzymes with enhanced enzymatic activity, processivity, catalytic cycles, and stability, or with novel functions, directly supporting enzymatic protein modification.

NSF 24-550: Ideas Lab: Use-Inspired Acceleration of Protein Design (USPRD) | NSF - U.S. National Science Foundation Archived funding opportunity This solicitation is archived. Important information for proposers and award recipients All proposals must be submitted in accordance with the requirements specified in the funding opportunity and in the Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG) and its supplements .

All NSF grants and cooperative agreements are subject to the applicable set of NSF award terms and conditions . NSF has updated its research security policies for NSF funded projects. NSF 24-550: Ideas Lab: Use-Inspired Acceleration of Protein Design Posted: February 21, 2024 Download the solicitation (PDF, 0.

9mb) National Science Foundation Directorate for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships Innovation and Technology Ecosystems Preliminary Proposal Due Date(s) (required) (due by 5 p. m. submitter's local time): Full Proposal Deadline(s) (due by 5 p.

m. submitter's local time): Important Information And Revision Notes Any proposal submitted in response to this solicitation should be submitted in accordance with the NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG) that is in effect for the relevant due date to which the proposal is being submitted.

The NSF PAPPG is regularly revised and it is the responsibility of the proposer to ensure that the proposal meets the requirements specified in this solicitation and the applicable version of the PAPPG. Submitting a proposal prior to a specified deadline does not negate this requirement.

Summary Of Program Requirements Ideas Lab: Use-Inspired Acceleration of Protein Design (USPRD) The U.S. National Science Foundation’s Directorate for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships (TIP) is charged with accelerating use-inspired and translational research and development (R&D) to advance U.S. competitiveness in key technology focus area s.

The Use-Inspired Acceleration of Protein Design (USPRD) initiative will accelerate the translation of novel approaches to protein design and enable new applications of importance to the U.S. bioeconomy. Significant advances have been made in the ability of researchers to predict the three-dimensional (3D) structure of proteins from primary sequence, and to use that information to design proteins with desired characteristics.

These advances have been enabled by: macromolecular modeling; training data available in repositories such as the Protein Data Bank (PDB); the application of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning; and high-throughput protein characterization. The improved accuracy of in-silico design has reduced the number of constructs that need to be validated in costly and time-consuming “wet lab” experiments.

USPRD aims to advance protein design and its applications to the next level by: A. Accelerating the use of protein design technologies to enable applications beyond human therapeutics, e.g., applications to advanced materials, biomanufacturing, agriculture and food security, environmental remediation, sustainability, and climate-related challenges. B.

Extending the range of accurate prediction models to enable the design of enzymes and families of enzymes. This will require models and tools that account for the dynamic nature of protein structures.

USPRD seeks significant breakthroughs in the application of protein design through: a) Use-driven activities that design novel proteins with specific characteristics and demonstrate their application, e.g., the design and characterization of specific enzymes or enzyme families that promote sustainability by degrading specific bio-contaminants.

b) Infrastructure components, such as software tools, datasets, and characterization services that can readily be accessed by protein designers. c) Designer-facing components that will ensure the accessibility of the infrastructure components and collaboration with protein designers engaged in the third-party use-driven activities.

d) Ecosystem components, such as standards and roadmaps, that help coordinate the actions of multiple parties within the emerging ecosystem. This may also include open-source software and/or data repositories. e) Workforce components focused on the training of translational talent with the skills and passion to engage in use-driven protein design activities.

USPRD will use the Ideas Lab process (see PAPPG Chapter II. F. 6), starting with an intensive meeting that brings together multiple diverse perspectives.

A key aim of this Ideas Lab workshop will be to identify an aggressive (but attainable) set of use-driven activities together with the infrastructure component breakthroughs, designer-facing components, and ecosystem components required to realize them. USPRD includes two tracks: Track I. Use-driven application for small binders.

Track II. The design and use of enzymes and families of enzymes. Cognizant Program Officer(s): Please note that the following information is current at the time of publishing.

See program website for any updates to the points of contact.

Applicable Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number(s): --- NSF Technology, Innovation and Partnerships Anticipated Type of Award: Standard Grant or Cooperative Agreement Estimated Number of Awards: 2 to 8 Up to 8 awards are anticipated depending upon availability of funds and the quality, scale, transformative-potential, and diversity of project ideas developed at the Ideas Lab.

Awards will be funded up to $3,750,000 per year for up to 3 years, commensurate with the complexity of the proposed research and development plan and the final maturity level and translational impact of the results. Anticipated Funding Amount: $40,000,000 The total funding available for this activity is up to $40,000,000 over 3 years.

Estimated program budget, number of awards and average award size/duration are subject to the availability of funds. Who May Submit Proposals: Proposals may only be submitted by the following: Institutions of Higher Education (IHEs) - Two- and four-year IHEs (including community colleges) accredited in, and having a campus located in the US, acting on behalf of their faculty members.

Special Instructions for International Branch Campuses of US IHEs: If the proposal includes funding to be provided to an international branch campus of a US institution of higher education (including through use of subawards and consultant arrangements), the proposer must explain the benefit(s) to the project of performance at the international branch campus, and justify why the project activities cannot be performed at the US campus.

Non-profit, non-academic organizations: Independent museums, observatories, research laboratories, professional societies and similar organizations located in the U.S. that are directly associated with educational or research activities. For-profit organizations: U.S.-based commercial organizations, including small businesses, with strong capabilities in scientific or engineering research or education and a passion for innovation.

Tribal Nations: An American Indian or Alaska Native tribe, band, nation, pueblo, village, or community that the Secretary of the Interior acknowledges as a federally recognized tribe pursuant to the Federally Recognized Indian Tribe List Act of 1994, 25 U.S.C. §§ 5130-5131. Foreign organizations: For cooperative projects involving U.S. and foreign organizations, support will only be provided for the U.S. portion.

Other Federal Agencies and Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs): Contact the appropriate program before preparing a proposal for submission. There are no restrictions or limits. Limit on Number of Proposals per Organization: There are no restrictions or limits.

Limit on Number of Proposals per PI or co-PI: 1 An individual may serve as PI or co-PI on only one Ideas Lab proposal in this competition but may serve as Other Senior/Key Personnel on any number of Ideas Lab proposals in this competition. Proposal Preparation and Submission Instructions A. Proposal Preparation Instructions Letters of Intent: Not required Preliminary Proposals: Submission of Preliminary Proposals is required.

Please see the full text of this solicitation for further information. Full Proposals submitted via Research. gov: NSF Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide (PAPPG) guidelines apply.

The complete text of the PAPPG is available electronically on the NSF website at: https://www. nsf. gov/publications/pub_summ.

jsp? ods_key=pappg . Full Proposals submitted via Grants.

gov: NSF Grants. gov Application Guide: A Guide for the Preparation and Submission of NSF Applications via Grants. gov guidelines apply (Note: The NSF Grants.

gov Application Guide is available on the Grants. gov website and on the NSF website at: https://www. nsf.

gov/publications/pub_summ. jsp? ods_key=grantsgovguide ).

Cost Sharing Requirements: Inclusion of voluntary committed cost sharing is prohibited. Indirect Cost (F&A) Limitations: Other Budgetary Limitations: Preliminary Proposal Due Date(s) (required) (due by 5 p. m.

submitter's local time): Full Proposal Deadline(s) (due by 5 p. m. submitter's local time): Proposal Review Information Criteria National Science Board approved criteria.

Additional merit review criteria apply. Please see the full text of this solicitation for further information. Award Administration Information Additional award conditions apply.

Please see the full text of this solicitation for further information. Standard NSF reporting requirements apply. The U.S. National Science Foundation’s Directorate for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships (TIP) is charged with accelerating use-inspired and translational research and development (R&D) to advance U.S. competitiveness in key technology focus areas .

The Use-Inspired Acceleration of Protein Design (USPRD) initiative will accelerate the translation of novel approaches to protein design and enable new applications of importance to the U.S. bioeconomy. Significant advances have been made in the ability of researchers to predict the three-dimensional (3D) structure of proteins from primary sequence, and to use that information to design proteins with desired characteristics.

These advances have been enabled by: macromolecular modeling; training data available in repositories such as the Protein Data Bank (PDB); the application of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML); and high throughput protein characterization. Most recently, AI/ML models, such as Alphafold and RoseTTafold, have accelerated this transformation in protein design.

Structure prediction from a linear amino acid sequence as well as accurate design of binding motifs has accelerated the design of functional proteins that are variations on natural proteins and the design of small de novo proteins. This accuracy of in-silico design has reduced the number of constructs that need to be validated in costly and time-consuming wet lab experiments.

To build on these research advances, there is an opportunity for academia and industry to jointly address the significant barriers to the translation of this work into widespread utilization within the U. S bioeconomy. USPRD aims to advance protein design and its applications to the next level by: A.

Accelerating the use of protein design technologies to enable applications beyond human therapeutics, e.g., applications to plants, soil characteristics, advanced materials, sustainability, and climate-related challenges. B. Extending the range of accurate prediction models to enable the design of enzymes and families of enzymes.

This will require models and tools that account for the dynamic nature of protein structures. USPRD seeks significant breakthroughs in the application of protein design through: (a) Use-driven activities that design novel proteins with specific characteristics and demonstrate their application, e.g., the design and characterization of specific enzymes or enzyme families that promote sustainability by degrading specific bio-contaminants.

(b) Infrastructure components, such as software tools, datasets, and characterization services that can readily be accessed by protein designers. (c) Designer-facing component that will ensure the accessibility of the infrastructure components and collaboration with protein designers engaged in the third-party use-driven activities.

(d) Ecosystem components, such as standards and roadmaps, that help coordinate the actions of multiple parties within the emerging ecosystem. This might also include open-source software and/or data repositories. (e) Workforce components focused on the training of translational talent with the skills and passion to engage in use-driven protein design activities.

USPRD includes two tracks: Track I. Use-driven application for small binders. Track II.

The design and use of enzymes and families of enzymes. USPRD will use the Ideas Lab process (see PAPPG Chapter II. F.

6), starting with an intensive meeting that brings together multiple diverse perspectives. A key aim of this Ideas Lab workshop will be to identify an aggressive (but attainable) set of use-driven activities together with the infrastructure component breakthroughs, designer-facing components, and ecosystem components required to realize them.

The two tracks of this solicitation, which will be further discussed in the Ideas Lab workshop, are detailed below. Track I. Use-driven application for small binders.

Most of the recent progress in protein design has centered around rigid protein elements, as dictated by the current databases of protein structures. As a result, significant research progress had been made in the ability to design small proteins with high specificity and high binding affinity to biomolecules.

Proposals in this track will leverage the progress in the design of small protein molecules to advance use-driven applications of: (a) molecular recognition to enable biosensors; and (b) cargo delivery systems.

a) Molecular recognition to enable biosensors: Small binders with specificity to a particular target can be coupled/conjugated to a reporter assay to create biosensors that detect and/or quantify the concentration of specific molecules.

Proposals in this sub-track will advance translational research in the bio-instrumentations space, with specific applications that promote manufacturing, environmental, agricultural, and climate related advances. For example, molecular instruments that detect environmental toxins, or that monitor soil health.

Alternatively, the focus could be on biosensors that play a role in manufacturing, such as quantifying products in multi-step biochemical reactions as a quality control (QC) measure, or for process optimization in cell-free or cell-based systems.

Of interest as well are more generic approaches to biosensors in which libraries of small protein binders are designed and can readily be conjugated to reporter molecules in order to match a specific application. Work on such generic approaches must include demonstrations of the customization of the generic biosensors to specific applications.

b) Cargo delivery systems: Proposals in this sub-track will create cargo delivery systems suited to other types of applications, e.g., those with agricultural and environmental benefits, such as cargo delivery to specific plant organelles to enhance targeted cellular processes, or drug delivery to specific organisms in the environment to inhibit the synthesis of undesired biomolecules.

Proposals in this track must include use-driven applications for molecular recognition and/or cargo delivery systems beyond human therapeutics. Proposals in this track may also include designer-facing components that make existing infrastructure, such as software tools and characterization services accessible to third party use-driven protein designers, both internal and external to the proposing team.

Proposals may also include: an ecosystem component focused on the coordination of multiple parties in the emerging ecosystems; and/or a workforce component focused on the training of translational talent with the skills and passion to engage in use-driven and/or designer-facing activities.

The Ideas Lab workshop will forge a consensus on the specific applications, challenges, and goals for molecular recognition and cargo delivery systems. The workshop will establish the metrics through which progress will be measured. Specific sub-goals for the use-driven, designer-facing, ecosystem and workforce components will be identified.

It will also make suggestions as to how the work should be organized. Track II. The design and use of enzymes and families of enzymes.

Enzymes play a critical role in biochemical reactions. It would be highly beneficial if scientists could efficiently design enzymes with enhanced enzymatic activity, processivity, catalytic cycles until replacement (CCR) and stability – or design enzymes with novel functions, e.g., enzymes or enzyme families that can catalyze the production of new / rare materials, or enzymes that contribute to sustainability.

Proposals in this track will focus on the design and application of enzymes and families of enzymes. One main goal is to accelerate the design of novel enzymes that have agricultural, environmental and/or industrial benefits, e.g., scaling up the bio-production of materials using cell-free and/or cell-based systems.

Additional examples are enzymes that can catalyze the degradation of environmental biomass/ bio-contaminants, or enzymes that can catalyze the sequestration of biomolecules to promote sustainability, or enzymes that can catalyze the production of new materials.

Progress in reliable enzyme design will accelerate downstream translational applications, for example, designing enzymes with prolonged enzymatic activity and cost-efficient energy input, or enzymes that have reduced dependency on costly co-factors. Proposals in this track must include use-driven activities that design novel proteins with specific characteristics and demonstrate their application.

These activities may leverage the de-novo design of enzymes, or they may be based on the significant optimization/modification of natural enzymes. In addition to working on individual enzymes, proposals should consider approaches that can be generalized to families of enzymes, such as optimizing the stability and activity of every enzyme in that family.

Proposals in this track may also include infrastructure components, such as software tools and characterization services that can be accessed by use-driven protein designers, both internal and external to the proposing team.

For example, it might be necessary to create training datasets required for large machine learning models that can account for the dynamic nature of protein structure, confirmational changes, poly-specific binding sites, and transient interactions.

Proposals that include infrastructure components must also include a designer-facing component, i.e., a sub-team and set of activities that will ensure the accessibility of the infrastructure components and collaboration with protein designers engaged in the third-party use-driven activities described above.

Proposals may also include: ecosystem components focused on the coordination of multiple parties in the emerging ecosystems; and/or a workforce component focused on the training of translational talent with the skills and passion to engage in use-driven activities and/or the provision of shared infrastructure components to third party designers. Standalone proposals that only address ecosystem components may also be considered.

The Ideas Lab workshop will forge a consensus on the specific enzyme applications, challenges, goals, and the metrics through which the progress towards these goals will be measured. Specific sub-goals for the use-driven, infrastructure, designer-facing, ecosystem and workforce components will be identified. It will also make suggestions as to how the work should be organized.

An Ideas Lab is an interactive workshop of experts and stakeholders, from academia and industry, interested in collaboratively developing solutions to a specific topic/problem. The workshop typically involves approximately 30-40 participants. The intensive and focused Ideas Lab workshop will run for up to five days starting mid-morning on Day One and finishing mid-afternoon on the Final Day.

At the workshop, the participants will work collaboratively to identify an aggressive (but attainable) set of use-driven activities together with the infrastructure component breakthroughs, designer-facing components, and ecosystem components required to realize them. Following the Ideas Lab workshop, proposals may be submitted by teams invited to submit a full proposal.

The participants are drawn from diverse backgrounds and a broad range of expertise areas relevant to the posed topic/problem of interest. The goal is to facilitate a brainstorming effort among a team of experts who may not otherwise come together. Hence, the participants are not necessarily expected to have had significant prior research or technology development interactions amongst themselves.

Participants will be expected to engage constructively in dialogue with one another, the facilitators, and the Director and Mentors to develop collaborative proposals. Collaboration is an integral aspect of the activity. How will the Ideas Lab Work?

The Ideas Lab is an intensive, interactive, and free-thinking environment, where a diverse group of participants from a range of disciplines and backgrounds gets together for up to five days – away from their everyday worlds – to immerse themselves in collaborative thinking and come up with innovative approaches.

The in-person workshop may be preceded and followed by a set of virtual meetings to allow the participants to get to know each other and assemble teams to further exchange and develop their ideas. The nature of the Ideas Lab requires a high degree of trust among participants. This trust extends to allowing the free and frank exchange of scientific and other pre-competitive ideas.

It is expected that these ideas would be shared within the Ideas Lab, but their confidentiality would be respected outside the Ideas Lab. The Ideas Lab may be led by a Workshop Director (or Directors) whose role will be to assist in defining the topics and help facilitate discussions at the event. The workshop will be joined by a small number of mentors and a team of professional facilitators.

The mentors will be selected by NSF based on their intellectual standing, their impartiality and objectivity, and their broad understanding of, and enthusiasm for, the subject area. The Workshop Director(s) and mentors will take full part in the Ideas Lab but will not be eligible to receive research funding under this collaborative activity.

Some or all of them, therefore, will act as impartial peer reviewers in the process, providing a function analogous to that of an NSF review panel.

The workshop process can be broken down into several stages: Defining the scope of the challenges; Evolving common languages and terminologies amongst people from academia, industry, vertical markets, and technology translation; Sharing perspectives and understanding of the challenges, as well as the diverse expertise brought by the participants to the Ideas Lab; Taking part in break-out sessions focused on the challenges, using creative thinking and collaborative problem-solving techniques; Capturing the outputs in the form of innovative potential solutions; and Using "real-time" peer review to revise and refine proposed solutions.

The Ideas Lab will be an intensive event. For the well-being of participants, the venue offers opportunities for relaxation, and the timetable will include networking and other activities as a break from the detailed technical discussions.

This Ideas Lab program will consist of the following three stages: 1) Preliminary Proposal: Any individual (not an organization) interested in participating in this Ideas Lab should respond to this solicitation by submitting a preliminary, 2-page, proposal (see Section V). The preliminary proposals will be reviewed by NSF and a subset of respondents will be invited to participate in the Ideas Lab Workshop.

Participants will be selected on the basis of their interests, expertise, experience and other relevant characteristics described in the submitted preliminary proposals. Submission of a preliminary proposal will be considered an indication of availability to attend and participate in the full course of the Ideas Lab Workshop described below.

2) Ideas Lab Workshop: The Ideas Lab workshop will be held to allow the invited experts to exchange ideas and form collaborative teams formulating comprehensive solutions to the problems/challenges posed in this solicitation.

At the end of the workshop, the self-assembled collaborative teams will pitch proposed projects that include their integrated R&D approach to use-driven applications, infrastructure components, designer-facing components, and ecosystem components to the NSF Program Officer(s). 3) Full proposal: Collaborative teams from the Ideas Lab may be invited to submit full proposals to NSF by the full proposal deadline.

Additional expertise needed for the success of the proposed activities can be added after the ideas Lab Workshop. These full proposals must reflect the outline developed and pitched to NSF at the Ideas Lab workshop. The full proposals will undergo merit review, and a subset of the full proposals will be selected for awards.

Who Should Apply to Participate? The ability to develop and pursue a new approach will also be crucial. Applicants should not feel limited by conventional perceptions, the Ideas Lab approach is about bringing together people who would not normally interact.

We actively encourage applications from people who are experts in their own domains but have not yet applied it to this challenge. This is an opportunity to share ideas and develop future collaborations. Participants at any stage of their career are welcomed.

This Ideas Lab will take place in person at a location to be determined, in the vicinity of NSF headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia from June 10 to 14, 2024. The environment will encourage free and open-minded thinking, which are vital for the success of such an event. Additional information about the venue and meeting logistics will be provided to the selected participants.

All travel to the Ideas Lab, accommodation, refreshments, breakfast, lunch and dinner costs will be covered by NSF. However, all incidental costs incurred while at the event will be borne by the participant. Applications for this Activity Any individual interested in participating in the Ideas Lab should respond to this solicitation by submitting a preliminary proposal.

Participation in the Ideas Lab is by invitation only from the pool of applicants who submitted a preliminary proposal. Submission of the preliminary proposal will be considered an indication of availability to attend and participate through the full course of up to five days of the residential workshop and the preceding and follow-up virtual meetings.

Participants will be selected on the basis of their interests, expertise, experience and other relevant characteristics described in the submitted preliminary proposals. The participants should be willing to engage in frank disclosure and assessment of ideas in a collegial, professional, and responsible fashion. An independent selection committee will recommend a list of potential participants from all applicants.

NSF Staff will select the final list of participants from the submitted preliminary proposals. Following the Ideas Lab workshop, some or all of the teams formed in the Ideas Lab workshop will be invited to submit full proposals to NSF, based on the outline developed at the workshop, by the August 30, 2024, deadline. Proposals may be reviewed as they are received.

Anticipated Type of Award: Standard Grant or Cooperative Agreement Estimated Number of Awards: 2 to 8 Up to 8 awards are anticipated depending upon availability of funds and the quality, scale, transformative-potential, and diversity of project ideas developed at the Ideas Lab.

Awards will be funded up to $3,750,000 per year for up to 3 years, commensurate with the complexity of the proposed research and development plan and the final maturity level and translational impact of the results. Anticipated Funding Amount: $40,000,000 The total funding available for this activity is up to $40,000,000 over 3 years.

Estimated program budget, number of awards and average award size/duration are subject to the availability of funds. IV. Eligibility Information Who May Submit Proposals: Proposals may only be submitted by the following: Institutions of Higher Education (IHEs) - Two- and four-year IHEs (including community colleges) accredited in, and having a campus located in the US, acting on behalf of their faculty members.

Special Instructions for International Branch Campuses of US IHEs: If the proposal includes funding to be provided to an international branch campus of a US institution of higher education (including through use of subawards and consultant arrangements), the proposer must explain the benefit(s) to the project of performance at the international branch campus, and justify why the project activities cannot be performed at the US campus.

Non-profit, non-academic organizations: Independent museums, observatories, research laboratories, professional societies and similar organizations located in the U.S. that are directly associated with educational or research activities. For-profit organizations: U.S.-based commercial organizations, including small businesses, with strong capabilities in scientific or engineering research or education and a passion for innovation.

Tribal Nations: An American Indian or Alaska Native tribe, band, nation, pueblo, village, or community that the Secretary of the Interior acknowledges as a federally recognized tribe pursuant to the Federally Recognized Indian Tribe List Act of 1994, 25 U.S.C. §§ 5130-5131. Foreign organizations: For cooperative projects involving U.S. and foreign organizations, support will only be provided for the U.S. portion.

Other Federal Agencies and Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs): Contact the appropriate program before preparing a proposal for submission. There are no restrictions or limits. Limit on Number of Proposals per Organization: There are no restrictions or limits.

Limit on Number of Proposals per PI or co-PI: 1 An individual may serve as PI or co-PI on only one Ideas Lab proposal in this competition but may serve as Other Senior/Key Personnel on any number of Ideas Lab proposals in this competition. V. Proposal Preparation And Submission Instructions A.

Proposal Preparation Instructions Preliminary Proposals (required) : Preliminary proposals are required and must be submitted via Research. gov, even if full proposals will be submitted via Grants. gov. Submission of Preliminary Proposals is required for participation in the Ideas Lab.

Please note, the preliminary proposal must come from one individual and cannot include co-PIs or collaborators. Participants in the Idea Lab will be selected on the basis of information submitted in the preliminary proposal. Preliminary Proposal Set-Up: Select “Prepare New Preliminary Proposal” in Research.

gov. Search for and select this solicitation title in Step 1 of the Preliminary Proposal wizard. The information in Step 2 is pre-populated by the system. Title : The title format is “Ideas Lab: USPRD Preliminary Proposal:” followed by a descriptive title.

Please note that Research. gov will automatically prepend the title with “Ideas Lab:”. As described in the PAPPG Chapter II.

F. 6, the Project Description section of the preliminary proposal is limited to two pages and should conform to the following guidelines: Please include the sentence, "I am available June 10 to 14, 2024, and can commit to attend all 5 days of the event". If you cannot commit to attend all 5 days of the event, please explain.

Provide a brief summary about your professional background (Limit: 200 words). Please include any relevant technical, R&D, technology development, translation, and commercialization experience related to the Ideas Lab topic. Please note, if you are selected as a participant, information provided in answer to this question will be made available to the other participants to facilitate networking at the Ideas Lab workshop.

How do you see your expertise and interests contributing to realizing the goal of this workshop? (Limit: 200 words) Briefly summarize your suggested approach or other contribution towards the challenges posed in this Ideas Lab. (limit: 200 words) The total should not exceed one page.

Please spend some time considering your answers to the following questions. Your responses (no more than 150 words each) will help assess your suitability (unrelated to your research track record) for the innovative and collaborative setting of this intensive, interactive, fast-paced event. What is your approach to teamwork?

What strengths do you bring to a team effort? How would you explain your area of interest to individuals with different expertise to your own? This workshop is especially suited to individuals who enjoy stepping outside their areas of expertise or interest, are positively driven, enjoy creative activity, and can think innovatively.

It is an intensive setting requiring you to develop novel approaches with individuals you may not know. How do you consider yourself suited to this type of environment? What do you hope to gain from participating in this workshop, personally and professionally?

The total should not exceed one page. Applicants must include a Biographical Sketch and a Current and Pending (Other) Support document (prepared in accordance with standard NSF formatting guidelines) using SciENcv at https://www. ncbi.

nlm. nih. gov/sciencv/ .

FAQs on using SciENcv can be found at https://resources. research. gov/common/attachment/Desktop/SciENcv-FAQs.

pdf . No appendices or supplementary documents may be submitted. Selected participants will be notified, and logistics arranged for travel to, and participation in, the Ideas Lab.

Following the conclusion of the Ideas Lab workshop, NSF program staff will invite the submission of full proposals related to one or