Joint DMS/NIGMS Initiative to Support Research at the Interface of the Biological and Mathematical Sciences

The Joint DMS/NIGMS Initiative to Support Research at the Interface of the Biological and Mathematical Sciences is a collaborative funding opportunity between the National Science Foundation’s Division of Mathematical Sciences and the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of General Medical Sciences. This program is designed to advance fundamental mathematics and statistics research that is essential for answering critical questions in the biological and biomedical sciences. The partnership reflects the shared commitment of both agencies to promote innovative research that integrates mathematical, statistical, and computational approaches with biological and biomedical applications. The program is motivated by the rapid growth of available data and the opportunities this presents for transformative research. It seeks to support proposals that not only address well-defined biological or biomedical questions but also advance the development of novel mathematical or statistical methods. Proposals are expected to articulate how the mathematical or computational components will directly drive biological or biomedical discovery. The solicitation strongly encourages new collaborations, particularly high-risk, high-reward projects, while also supporting established teams pursuing projects of larger scope. Two submission tracks are available under this initiative. Track 1 supports projects with a maximum budget of $600,000 for up to three years and is intended for exploratory projects, new teams, or high-risk, high-reward efforts. Track 2 supports projects with a maximum budget of $1,200,000 over three to four years and is intended for established teams undertaking larger and more comprehensive projects. The agencies anticipate making 15 to 25 awards per year, contingent on proposal quality and funding availability, with approximately $5 million allocated annually, including up to $2 million from NSF and up to $3 million from NIGMS. Eligible applicants include the categories identified in the NSF Proposal and Award Policies & Procedures Guide, such as U.S.-based higher education institutions, nonprofit organizations, and certain other research entities. Unaffiliated individuals and foreign institutions are not eligible to apply, although international collaborators may participate if they secure their own funding. Proposals from single investigators must demonstrate expertise across both life sciences and mathematical/statistical sciences, while multi-investigator projects require a project management plan outlining roles, governance, and resource distribution. Applications must be submitted through Research.gov or Grants.gov in accordance with NSF guidelines, and submissions via FastLane are no longer accepted. Proposals must include a 15-page project description divided into two sections: up to 12 pages on intellectual merit and up to 3 pages on broader impacts. Supplementary documents such as a project management plan and letters of collaboration may also be required. Projects involving human subjects or vertebrate animals must meet both NSF and NIH requirements for protections. Letters of intent are not required. Proposals will be reviewed jointly by NSF and NIH staff through a merit review process based on intellectual merit, broader impacts, and additional criteria specific to this solicitation. Reviewers will consider factors such as significance, investigator qualifications, innovation, approach, and environment. NIH criteria also apply, and in some cases, proposals may be subject to review by the National Advisory General Medical Sciences Council. Final funding decisions will be made jointly, with grants administered either by NSF or NIH depending on allocation. The deadline for the current cycle is September 19, 2025, by 5:00 p.m. submitter’s local time. The solicitation operates annually, with a recurring submission window of September 1 to September 18 in subsequent years. Interested applicants are strongly encouraged to contact program staff to discuss project relevance before submission. Program officers include Zhilan Feng, Vu Dinh, John Kolassa, and Tapabrata Maiti from NSF, and Peggy Wang and Han Nguyen from NIGMS. Contact details, including phone numbers and email addresses, are provided in the solicitation. :contentReference[oaicite:0]{index=0}

Applicants strongly encouraged to contact program staff before submission to confirm project relevance. Proposals not conforming to requirements will be returned without review.