Designing Synthetic Cells and Cellular Components (Designer Cells)
National Science Foundation
Who can apply
US-based academic institutions. Non-profit research organizations. Qualified researchers (typically requires US citizenship or permanent residency)
About this opportunity
Designer Cells seeks projects that use the tools of synthetic biology to better understand how the systems and components of cells are built. This includes what is required for the components and systems to function properly, and to explore molecular and cellular diversity beyond what exists in nature. The synthetic cell components or systems that may be generated and analyzed include ribosomes, mitochondria, membranes, regulatory modules, sensory systems, and molecular machines. These may be integrated into synthetic cells or cell-like systems, and they may be designed with novel molecular building blocks to study the design spaces evolution has not sampled or selected. Projects that aim to identify systems or components that are required for cells to function properly, or those that are ...