This initiative falls under DARPA’s Biological Technologies Office (BTO) Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) and is designed to solicit innovative, proof-of-concept technologies capable of creating and removing new-to-nature epigenetic modifications on DNA bases. The goal is to go beyond the known epigentic modifications, by developing new classes of chemical modifications that can alter DNA-protein interactions without changing the underlying genetic sequence. Successful outcomes are expected to expand the possibilities of epigenetic engineering and reduce technical risks for future applications.

The D-PECHE study will be a high-intensity, 4-month period of performance with monthly milestone reviews. Selected teams will be expected to demonstrate feasibility through program tracking and experimental validation. DARPA anticipates making multiple awards with total funding levels depending on the quality of submissions received and funding availability. DARPA will use an accelerated award process with awards expected within 30 days of selection notification.

Abstracts due by: May 27 

Georgia Tech and Shepherd have committed funds for a seed grant program with the goal to grow Georgia Tech -Shepherd collaborations by supporting investigator teams whose ideas or research have not yet led to major funding (e.g., research or venture capital), providing researchers, technology developers, and clinicians with the opportunity to gather preliminary data and establish relationships toward future external funding. 

Seed Grant Amount: $50,000

Apply by: May 31

The Warren Alpert Foundation Distinguished Scholar Award in Neuroscience supports individual postdoctoral scientists of exceptional creativity in the field of neurosciences.

These transitional awards are to enable a postdoctoral researcher to advance to become a full-time faculty member at the Assistant Professor level or higher and to promote the development of a laboratory program that will lead to independent funding. 

Submit internally by: June 23

The Simons Foundation’s Life Sciences division is now accepting applications for its Simons Graduate Fellowships in Ecology and Evolution. The purpose of these awards is to provide support for students entering U.S.-based Ph.D. programs with a plan to perform research in ecology and evolution. While the foundation will consider all projects in ecology and evolution, it is particularly interested in interdisciplinary research that jointly considers processes on both ecological and evolutionary timescales, or that links studies of ecology and evolution to other STEM fields, including physics, computer science, mathematics, chemistry and other areas of biology, especially genetics.

Apply by: June 30