Apply Biological Complexity at Scale

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is soliciting innovative research proposals of interest to the Biological Technologies Office (BTO). Proposed research should investigate leading edge approaches that enable revolutionary advances in science, technologies, or systems at the intersection of biology with engineering and the physical and computer sciences. Specifically excluded is research that primarily results in evolutionary improvements to the existing state of the art. BTO seeks unconventional approaches that are outside the mainstream, challenge assumptions, and have the potential to radically change established practice, lead to extraordinary outcomes, and create entirely new fields.

DARPA is soliciting innovative research proposals to generate and evaluate novel biological tools and countermeasures that facilitate the safe pursuit of advanced genome editing applications, while reducing the risk of, and providing new protections against, potential engineered genetic threats. Proposed research should investigate radically different approaches to integrate biosafety and biosecurity features into new genome editing biotechnologies and their derivative applications at their inception.