Physiological and Structural Systems
CONTACTS
PROGRAM GUIDELINES
Apply to PD 07-1141 in FastLane.
(standard Grant Proposal Guidelines) apply.)
As announced on May 21st, proposers must prepare and submit proposals to the National
Science Foundation (NSF) using the NSF FastLane system at
http://www.fastlane.nsf.gov/.
This approach is being taken to support efficient Grants.gov operations during this busy
workload period and in response to OMB direction guidance issued March 9, 2009. NSF will
continue to post information about available funding opportunities to Grants.gov FIND and
will continue to collaborate with institutions who have invested in system-to-system
submission functionality as their preferred proposal submission method. NSF remains
committed to the long-standing goal of streamlined grants processing and plans to
provide a web services interface for those institutions that want to use their
existing grants management systems to directly submit proposals to NSF.
Please be advised that the NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG) includes
revised guidelines to implement the mentoring provisions of the America COMPETES Act (ACA)
(Pub. L. No. 110-69, Aug. 9, 2007.) As specified in the ACA, each proposal that requests
funding to support postdoctoral researchers must include a description of the mentoring
activities that will be provided for such individuals. Proposals that do not comply
with this requirement will be returned without review (see the PAPP Guide Part I:
Grant Proposal Guide Chapter II for further information about the implementation of
this new requirement).
DUE DATES
Full Proposal Target Date: January 12, 2010
January 12, Annually Thereafter
Full Proposal Target Date: July 12, 2010
July 12, Annually Thereafter
SYNOPSIS
The Physiological and Structural Systems Cluster supports research aimed at furthering the understanding of organisms as integrated units of biological organization. The Cluster considers proposals focused on interacting physiological and structural systems, their environmental and evolutionary contexts, and how these components are constrained by their integration into the whole organism. Projects that use systems approaches to understand why particular patterns of architecture and regulatory control have emerged as general organismal properties are particularly encouraged. Understanding how and why emergent organismal properties such as robustness, adaptability and resilience arise in the context of environmental, genetic, biochemical and morphological variation are of interest. The Cluster encourages model building to augment traditional experimental approaches in order to guide research on complex functional networks. Multidisciplinary approaches to the study of organismal systems including research at the interfaces of biology, physics, chemistry, mathematics, computer science and engineering are encouraged in each of the following areas. Symbiosis, Defense and Self-recognition - This programmatic area supports research on the processes and structures that mediate intimate interactions between two or more organisms. Proposals are encouraged that focus on the dynamics of initiation, dissolution and stability of these complex associations through studies of underlying processes of communication, immunological recognition and signaling, feedbacks, and reciprocal responses between interactors. All aspects of symbiosis, including commensalisms, mutualisms, parasitism and host-pathogen interactions are included. Processes, Structures and Integrity - The focus of this programmatic area is on understanding the unity of organisms as complex systems through studies of coherent, structural and functional properties and interactions. Systems approaches that predict or reveal the nature of coordination among functional processes and/or structural components as a means to further the understanding of organismal integrity and emergent properties are particularly encouraged. Organism-Environment Interactions - The focus of this programmatic area is on the structures and processes that affect organismal performance and interactions during routine, changing, or stressful environmental conditions. The program seeks proposals aimed at understanding how interactions among genetic, biochemical, morphological and physiological processes result in integrated organismal responses. Increasing emphasis is placed on understanding how and why such interactions result in emergent properties such as adaptability, plasticity, and robustness (i.e., both resistance and resilience). Special emphasis is placed on projects that adopt systems approaches, including quantitative and qualitative analysis, theoretical models and prediction to understand the dynamics and control of organismal responses to the environment from near term to evolutionary time frames. Summary Award Information - In FY 2008, the Division of Integrative Organismal Systems funded 16% of submitted proposals, and the mean annual award was $144,326. Program Directors: Michael Mishkind. Processes, Structures & Integrity; Symbiosis, Defense & Self-recognition Mark R. Brodl. Processes, Structures & Integrity; Symbiosis, Defense & Self-recognition Mary Chamberlin. Processes, Structures & Integrity Clay Cook. Symbiosis, Defense & Self-recognition Stephen Tonsor. Organism-Environment Interactions Richard Zimmer. Organism-Environment Interactions; Processes, Structures & Integrity
Abstracts of Recent Awards Made Through This Program
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