NSF Day Biological Sciences Directorate

Vision Inspiring research and education at the frontiers of the life sciences Biological Sciences Directorate Mission To enable the discoveries for understanding life

BIO Support for Basic Research NSF 67% Other federal spending 33% NSF 62% Other federal spending 38% Federal Support for Basic Research in Non-Medical Biological Sciences at Academic Institutions Federal Support for Basic Research in Environmental Biology at Academic Institutions

Effective April, 2008 Division of Environmental Biology (DEB ) Division of Environmental Biology (DEB ) Ecological Biology Ecosystem Science Division of Integrative Organismal Systems (IOS) Division of Integrative Organismal Systems (IOS) Research Resources Human Resources Division of Biological Infrastructure (DBI) Division of Biological Infrastructure (DBI) Division of Molecular and Cellular Biosciences (MCB) Division of Molecular and Cellular Biosciences (MCB) Biomolecular Systems Cellular Systems Genes and Genome Systems Genes and Genome Systems Emerging Frontiers (EF) Plant Genome Research Program Plant Genome Research Program Population and Evolutionary Processes Population and Evolutionary Processes Systematic Biology and Biodiversity Inventories Behavioral Systems Developmental Systems Neural Systems Physiological and Structural Systems Physiological and Structural Systems Directorate for Biological Sciences (BIO)

Division of Environmental Biology (DEB) Supports fundamental research on populations, species, communities, and ecosystems. Biodiversity discovery, phylogenetic systematics Molecular evolution, life history evolution, natural selection Ecology, biogeography Ecosystem services, conservation biology Global change, biogeochemical cycles Long Term Ecological Research (LTER)

Integrative Organismal Systems (IOS) Supports research on integrative understanding of organisms. Understand why organisms are structured the way they are and function the way they do. Innovative systems biology approaches (i.e., combined experimentation, computation, modeling) New conceptual insights and predictions that are experimentally verified

Molecular & Cellular Biosciences (MCB) Supports fundamental understanding of life processes at the molecular, sub-cellular, and cellular levels. Technological innovation Theoretical and computational aspects of molecular and cellular studies Molecular evolution Genomic approaches are encouraged in all areas

Division of Biological Infrastructure (DBI) Empowering biological discovery Support for enabling research activities such as advances in informatics, development of new instrumentation, and improvement of research collections and field stations Providing the expertise for the future of research through undergraduate research opportunities, early career opportunities to broaden participation and diversity within the biological sciences and improving the computational expertise for future biological researchers

Realities: 2008 Estimate 2009 Request

BIO Priorities Life in Transition – Strengthening Core Programs –Origins –Energy –Adaptation Adaptive Systems Technology Dynamics of Water Processes in the Environment NEON The Life Sciences in Transition –Multidisciplinary Programs –Multidisciplinary Centers Plant Science Cyberinfrastructure Collaborative Centers for Environmental Implications of Nanotechnology National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis

Life in Transition Biology is the narrative of life on Earth and the story of the unexpected…

Origins: How, where and when did life on Earth begin? How did the biological complexity of life emerge from pre-biotic chemistry and geochemistry? Self-contained – The Cell Self-sustaining - Energy Self-replicating – RNA, DNA Evolving - Biodiversity Open system chemistry Self-sustaining biochemistry Basic elements DNA World RNA World H 2 + CO 2 => [ HCO ] n Self-replication

Ancestry of Life Horizontal Gene Transfer What we thought we knew: Genetic information flowed from parent to offspring, generation to generation Darwin’s tree of life rooted to a universal common ancestor… Sequencing of whole genomes revealed that genetic information has been transferred horizontally between organisms, some distantly related

Synthetic Biology What are the indispensable requirements for life? ? What are: The physical rules for cell membrane assembly? The minimum gene set required to sustain life? The fundamental requirements for genome stability? Membrane Encapsulation Genome Stability Are There Alternative Routes to Life? Microfluidic System RNA Evolution Brian Paegel and Gerald Joyce Scripps Research Inst.

Chloroplasts How is energy obtained and used by living systems to sustain life? Understanding natural energy transduction systems will inspire the development of biology- based technologies capable of delivering sustainable, renewable, efficient energy. Assemble the basics PS IAuAg -/+ photon e-e- e-e- e-e- e-e- Applied Photosynthesis Barry Bruce (UTN), NSF/EF

Diverse Chemical Sources of Energy for Living Systems: Microbial Research to Enhance Our Understanding of Novel Energy Systems Anna-Louise Reysenbach, Portand State Univ. Everett Schock, Washington Univ. St. Louis Arsenate (AsO 4 3- ) Iron (Fe 3+ ) Manganese (Mn 4+ ) Nitrate (NO 3- ) Selenate (SeO 4 3- ) Sulfate (SO 4 2- ) Uranyl oxide (UO 2 2+ )

Adaptation Transformations and Transitions in the Story of Life Understanding life’s resilience and adaptation will reduce uncertainty about the future of life on Earth in response to global climate change: Adaptive Systems Technology Dynamics of Water Processes in the Environment NEON Changes Diversity What will survive, and how?

Sensing the Environment Complex Nervous System Hydra vulgaris Platynereis dumerilii Eurycea lucifuga Evolving Complexity Movement

Animal model The primary source of data and behavioral phenomena Mathematical model Describes hypothetical relationships between a selected subset of observations Computational model Explores the logical consequences of the hypothetical descriptions Physical model Explores the behavioral consequences of a hypothetical neural property operating in the animal’s natural environment Adaptive Systems Technology Closing the Loop of Theory, Observation, Experimentation, and Technology Four domains of neuroscience D. E. Koditschek, ESE Department, University of Pennsylvania

Adaptation: Life in a Time of Planetary Change … We are only now beginning to explore the biological drivers of climate change. CO 2 CH 4

GOAL: Support research on the resilience that is conferred by the presence of living organisms in freshwater ecological systems. Dynamics of Water Processes in the Environment

NEON Biosphere, Geosphere, Atmosphere

Answering continental-scale questions: e.g. Will changing climate increase or decrease the biological carbon uptake or emission of the US and by how much? Requires measuring the drivers (climate, biological processes, land use change) and the phenomena (CO2 uptake or emission) over regional to continental scales over long time periods As well as conducting controlled experiments to understand the mechanisms involved in observed changes And Existing infrastructure is neither optimally configured geographically nor operationally standardized to do this Why NEON ?

Transdisciplinary Interdisciplinary Multi-disciplinary Disciplinary Life Sciences In Transition The Role of Theory in Advancing 21 st - Century Biology Catalyzing Transformative Research National Research Council of the National Academies 2008

Multidisciplinary Programs Dynamics of Coupled Natural and Human Systems (BIO, GEO, SBE and USFS) Interdisciplinary Training for Undergraduates in Biological and Mathematical Sciences (BIO,EHR,MPS) Ecology of Infectious Disease (BIO, GEO, SBE and NIH)

“Plant Biology Jets Into Cyberspace” - Science Magazine “Just as Google Earth lets you zoom in on individual buildings from space, researchers may one day be able to toggle between whole-ecosystem views of plants and the molecules that make them up with just a few clicks of the mouse.” -Elizabeth Pennisi Science Magazine (2008) iPlant Collaborative A Look into the Future

Partnership between multiple NSF Directorates and EPA. Goals: Support research on the interactions of nanomaterials with organisms, cellular constituents, metabolic networks and living tissues; Understand environmental exposure and bioaccumulation and their effects on living systems; Determine the biological impacts of nanomaterials dispersed in the environment. Centers for Environmental Implications of Nanotechnology

National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis Partnership between BIO and MPS (NSF), DHS and USDA to stimulate research at the interface of the mathematical and biological sciences Goal: To provide mechanisms to foster synthetic, collaborative, cross-disciplinary studies; enable plant and animal infectious disease modeling; and generate knowledge for policy makers, government agencies, and society.

For new opportunities look for current information on the web ( BIO Program Directors can help you find the most appropriate program(s) Read program solicitations and the new Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide – NSF Summary Points