Stanford Synthetic Biology for Sustainability (2025-2027) Call For Proposals

The Stanford Synthetic Biology for Sustainability grant program is supported by the Deans of the School of Medicine, the School of Engineering, and the Doerr School of Sustainability. This opportunity funds research projects that aim to use synthetic biology to make life on Earth more sustainable, broadly defined.  

Projects may contribute to sustainability in a number of ways: for example, how one can model nature, make/build/perturb a living system, or measure key parameters related to these areas. Ideas can be at any scale from molecular, to cellular (and cell-free), organismal, to ecological, to planetary. Ideas can involve fundamental science and tools, technology development, humanities and arts, or applications, among others.

The Stanford Synthetic Biology for Sustainability grant program will fund interdisciplinary seed grant projects, particularly those characterized by high risk and high impact. We aim to foster collaboration among faculty and their research teams to grow the synthetic biology community.

This opportunity is open to all PI-eligible faculty lines. Priority will be given to proposals involving diverse teams of researchers, with Stanford faculty PIs from at least two departments or disparate research areas.  We strongly encourage applications that include faculty from different schools within Stanford.

Award Amount & Duration

Projects are expected to span 6 months to 2 years, with a maximum funding amount of $200,000 per project (inclusive of 8% indirect costs).

Submission Guidelines

Proposals are due on Friday, January 31 using this link.

Proposals must include the following elements: 

Description (500 words)

• What problem are you trying to solve? 
• What is the central idea of your project?
• What are the existing methods for addressing this issue, and what challenges or limitations do they face?
• What elements of synthetic biology does your approach use, and what makes you confident in its potential for success?

Impact (250 words)

• If you are successful, what difference will it make?  Who will be impacted?
• If your project will create a platform/technology, please indicate how it could enable a broader community of researchers and create an inflection point to accelerate progress.

 Methodology, Timeline and Budget (500 words)

• What is the total budget required for the project, and how will it be allocated?
• Are there any alternative funding sources or cost-saving measures you plan to incorporate?
• What is the projected timeline for each phase of the project, including milestones?
• What potential risks or challenges do you foresee in this project? How will your team mitigate these risks?

• What are the mid-term and final progress measures that would indicate success?

   

Evaluation Criteria

• Scientific merit and innovation using synthetic biology
• Potential for positive sustainability impact
• Interdisciplinary collaboration and expertise
• Clarity and feasibility of project plan
• Budget and resource efficiency
• Potential to lead to external funding opportunities

Timeline

• Proposal submission deadline: January 31, 2025

• Anticipated project funding start date: May 1, 2025

   

The Synthetic Biology for Sustainability Symposium will be hosted on May 7, 2025, from 12:00 to 6:30 PM. RVSP here. All selected PI teams will be asked to present their project at the symposium. 

Please reach out to Helen Dang (hhdang@stanford.edu) with questions related to this opportunity.