Stanford Synthetic Biology Postdoctoral Support (2026-2027) Call for Research Proposals

The Stanford Synthetic Biology Postdoctoral Support program is supported by the Dean of the School of Medicine. This opportunity funds research projects that aim to apply synthetic biology in the context of clinical or basic science seed projects to generate data for funding applications, manuscripts, or translation.

Scope:
Projects may contribute to synthetic biology in a number of ways: for example,

• Research tools: create tools to improve and accelerate our capacity to design, build, and systemically study increasingly complex biological systems of health relevance.
• Fundamental discovery: develop basic and/or mechanistic understanding of biological processes that underpin genomic medicine, human physiology, and therapeutics.
• Human health: enable innovations in disease screening, treatment, and improvement of human health from discovery to translation.

Ideas can be at any scale from molecular, to cellular (and cell-free), to whole organs, etc. Ideas can involve fundamental science and tools, medicine, technology development, or applications, among others.

The Stanford Synthetic Biology Postdoc Support program will provide small seed funding grants to initiate collaborative projects among trainees, focused on leveraging synthesis to transform discovery. We aim to foster collaboration among research teams to grow the synthetic biology community.

Priority will be given to proposals involving a postdoc involved in research that connects multiple departments or disparate research areas. A requirement is that the project is developed by postdocs and is not already supported in or proposed as a faculty research grant.

Award Amount & Duration:
Projects are expected to span 6 months to 1 year, with a maximum funding amount of $50,000 per project (inclusive of postdoc salaries and indirect costs).

Submission Guidelines:
Proposals are due on November 14, 2025
 

**Please include proposal elements #1-4 listed below as a single document in the submission portal**

Proposals must include the following elements:

1) Cover page: Stanford Synthetic Biology Postdoctoral Support

• Proposal title
• Name of each team member, their position, contact information (email, phone number), each member's laboratory affiliation.
• A three-sentence summary should describe the overall goal of the project

 2) Proposal maximum of 2 pages

This two-page limit includes references and illustrations
(format: single-spaced, 1/2-inch margins, Arial or Helvetica size 11 or larger)

 3) An NIH-style biosketch for each member of the team

4) Letter signed by the PI of each team member addressed to the Stanford Synthetic Biology review committee members. The letter should state that they support the application of their team member.

Evaluation Criteria:

• Developed by postdocs and is not already supported in a faculty research grant
• Scientific merit and innovation using synthetic biology
• Potential for positive impacts in medicine or fundamental discovery
• Interdisciplinary collaboration and expertise
• Clarity and feasibility of project plan
• Budget and resource efficiency
• Potential to lead to external funding opportunities

Timeline:
Submission deadline: Friday, November 14, 2025 11:59 PM PST
Award notification: January 30, 2026
Anticipated award start date: February 1, 2026 
Award end date: January 31, 2027