Biomaterials (BMAT)

The Biomaterials program supports foundational materials research that emphasizes novel biomaterials design, development, and discovery of new phenomena. The program supports research in the following topic areas:

• Ideas and platforms that improve efficiency and accelerate discovery.

• Integration of experiments and theory to discover, design, and characterize biomaterials.

• Tailoring biomaterials towards biotechnology advancements.

Within the key topics above, the program supports research involving the following biomaterials:

• Engineered living materials.

• Dynamic, responsive and smart biomaterial systems that incorporate functionality over time and length scales.

• Biological, biomimetic, bioinspired and bio-enabled materials.

• Synthetic materials intended for applications where they will interact with biological systems and the interactions inform scientific advances.

• Fungal, plant-based and biomineralized materials.

• Biomaterials with targeted properties.

The program also supports foundational materials research that provides platforms and pipelines for biotechnology developments.

The program supports projects that are usually interdisciplinary. Supported projects may encompass scales from the nanoscopic to the bulk scale. Supported projects may involve the following:

• Design, preparation, characterization, and modification.

• Studies of structure-property relationships and interfacial behavior.

• Combinations of experiment, theory, machine learning, and artificial intelligence to advance biomaterials development.

Supported projects may include in vitro demonstrations of biological compatibility and efficacy. However, the program can support only limited in vivo studies.

Tissue engineering and drug/gene delivery projects must focus on foundational materials development and characterization. The program does not encourage projects focused on cell biology for material design since such projects are not rooted in materials properties.