With this Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) the Directorate for Biological Sciences (BIO) announces plans for modifying one of the competitive areas in the Postdoctoral Research Fellowships in Biology (PRFB) Program solicitation. This would be a replacement for Competitive Area 2: Integrative Research Investigating the Rules of Life Governing Interactions Between Genomes, Environment and Phenotypes that will have a final deadline on November 7, 2024. The new competitive area will support Fellows that leverage large data, such as those from the National Ecological Observation Network (NEON), and innovative approaches, including Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), and modeling to advance biological research and solutions for a Resilient Planet.

The first deadline for proposals to be submitted to this new competitive area will be sometime in the Fall or Winter of 2025. This DCL is being released early to allow future proposers sufficient time to explore project ideas with prospective mentors. Read more.