Systems and Synthetic Biology

NSF BIO supports proposals that use systems and/or synthetic biology to understand molecular or cellular mechanisms. It also seeks projects that advance systems or synthetic biology as disciplines. A high priority is given to research that reveals the molecular or cellular underpinnings of complex behavior and emergent properties. Projects that synergistically combine experimental investigations with computational approaches or mathematical modeling are encouraged.

The following are research areas of interest:

• Molecular to system-wide events that drive the assembly, function, and emergent properties of natural and synthetic microbial communities
• Synthetic cells, synthetic cell components, and cell-like systems that mimic biological functions
• Origins of life and the minimal cell
• Synthetic systems that explore biological diversity beyond that encountered in nature
• Synthetic systems that make use of epigenetic regulation
• Biological information storage and processing
• Integration of multi-omics data sets to obtain mechanistic insights
• Mechanistic modeling of all levels of gene regulatory control, signaling and metabolic networks, and interactions among networks
• Development of novel experimental, computational, or mathematical tools to discover and explore fundamental molecular-scale mechanisms