The U.S. National Science Foundation is an independent federal agency that supports science and engineering in all 50 states and U.S. territories. NSF was established in 1950 by Congress to promote the progress of science, advance the national health, prosperity and welfare, and secure the national defense.
The Biosensing program under the Engineering Biology and Health cluster supports fundamental engineering research on devices and methods for the measurement and quantification of biological analytes. This includes a wide array of biosensors such as electrochemical/electrical, optical, plasmonic, paper-based, and nanopore-based biosensors. The program encourages proposals that contribute to the advancement of biosensor technology with potential applications in biomedical research, public health, food safety, agriculture, forensic, environmental protection, and homeland security. Areas of interest highlighted include the development of multiplex biosensing platforms, novel sensor designs for measuring in practical contexts without sample preparation, biosensors enabling the measurement of biomolecular interactions in their native states, miniaturization of biosensors for lab-on-a-chip applications, integration of artificial intelligence and machine learning with biosensing systems, and more. The program discourages proposals focused on surface functionalization, basic chemical mechanisms, circuit design for signal processing, computational modeling, and microfluidics, among others. It encourages proposals for novel ideas and advises potential applicants to contact the Program Director before submission to ensure alignment with program goals.