Core Research in Biological Sciences (BIO Core)
NSF BIO Core funds foundational and interdisciplinary research in all areas of biology, supporting projects of various sizes and durations, from molecules to ecosystems.
Funder: U.S. National Science Foundation
Due Dates: October 5, 2076 (Application deadline) | Rolling (Proposals accepted anytime)
Funding Amounts: $500,000 award floor; $280 million estimated program funding; requests of up to five years encouraged
Summary: Supports foundational and interdisciplinary biological research across all levels of organization, from molecules to biomes.
Key Information: Routine application of established methods, product or drug development, and later-stage deployment are outside scope.
Description
NSF’s Directorate for Biological Sciences administers BIO Core to advance fundamental understanding of living systems, from molecules and cells through organisms, populations, communities, ecosystems, and biomes. It supports single investigators, groups, and consortia pursuing established biological research topics or new areas, including work spanning biological subdisciplines or connecting biology with other sciences.
The program welcomes both incremental advances and bold, potentially transformative inquiries. Priorities include challenging prevailing paradigms, developing theories and methods, and creating tools or datasets that enable further discovery. NSF particularly encourages interdisciplinary connections, opportunities for early-career investigators, and scientifically justified use of AI, advanced computation, and automation. Research may be curiosity-driven or inspired by potential uses, without promising a near-term product or commercial outcome.
