Engineering of Biomedical Systems

The Engineering of Biomedical Systems (EBMS) program offers funding for research projects bridging engineering and life sciences to combat biomedical problems. The EBMS program falls under the Engineering Biology and Health cluster, which includes four other programs: Biophotonics, Biosensing, Cellular and Biochemical Engineering, and Disability and Rehabilitation Engineering.

The EBMS program aims to support transformative research that integrates engineering techniques, such as design or modeling, to enhance our understanding of healthy and pathological physiological processes. All projects should seek to advance both engineering and biomedical sciences. Examples of suitable projects include those exploring long-term health management systems that integrate living and non-living components, breakthroughs in deriving data from biological systems like cells and organs, and applying engineering tools to control living systems better.

Research areas supported by the EBMS program include:

- Developing models of healthy and pathological cells and organs.

- Designing systems integrating living and non-living components for better disease diagnosis, monitoring, and treatment.

- Developing technologies and tools to investigate physiological and pathophysiological processes.

- Advanced bio-manufacturing of tissues and organs.

- Applying engineering tools and principles to study and control the immune response to threats like infections, cancer, and autoimmune disorders.

Projects that are largely focused on drug design and delivery and those not including a living biological component are not under the EBMS program's purview. Similarly, projects mainly focused on device design, material development, or algorithm optimization which do not explore new fundamental biomedical science are not suitable for the EBMS program.

For research proposals concerning protein engineering, cellular biomanufacturing, biomaterials, cellular biomechanics, manufacturing systems, signal-processing techniques, or dynamic biosensing systems, prospective applicants should consider other related NSF programs.

Investigators should explicitly state the novelty and potential transformative nature of their proposed work in comparison to previous work in the Project Summary of each proposal. These proposals should also explain why the proposed work is vital in engineering science and project the potential impact on society and/or industry.

Support is generally provided for up to three years for single-investigator award budgets. However, larger budgets for multi-investigator projects can be discussed with the program director prior to submission. Faculty Early Career Development program proposals, Conferences, Workshops, Supplements, Rapid Response Research grants, and Early-concept Grants for Exploratory Research are also encouraged.

All applications must comply with the Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide, or they will be returned without review. Investigators are strongly advised to reach out to the program director before submitting their proposals.