Smart Health and Biomedical Research in the Era of Artificial Intelligence and Advanced Data Science

The Smart Health and Biomedical Research in the Era of Artificial Intelligence and Advanced Data Science (SCH) program is an interagency initiative funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) in partnership with various institutes and centers of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). This program seeks to foster transformative, high-risk, high-reward interdisciplinary research at the intersection of computer and information sciences, engineering, mathematical sciences, and biomedical and public health research. The program encourages the development of innovative technologies and methodologies to intuitively and intelligently collect, analyze, and interpret complex biomedical data, ultimately advancing fundamental understanding and addressing key health challenges. The SCH program aims to generate disruptive advancements by funding interdisciplinary teams that integrate expertise across computer science, engineering, behavioral and cognitive sciences, and health-related fields. The scope of acceptable spending includes developing novel data collection systems, creating advanced analytics and modeling approaches, improving fairness and trustworthiness in AI/ML applications, building next-generation multimodal sensing systems, designing cyber-physical systems for healthcare, advancing biomedical imaging interpretation, and addressing health disparities and promoting health equity. Projects must demonstrate strong collaboration across disciplines and a well-structured collaboration plan is required as part of the submission. Eligibility is open to two- and four-year institutions of higher education (IHEs), including community colleges, as well as non-profit, non-academic organizations such as independent museums, research laboratories, and professional societies located in the United States. There are no restrictions on who may serve as a principal investigator (PI), but each investigator may participate in no more than two proposals per annual cycle. Proposals must be original and not substantially similar to any other proposal concurrently under consideration by NSF or NIH. Submission requirements include a full proposal prepared according to NSF’s Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG) and submitted via Research.gov or Grants.gov. Proposals must include a project summary, project description (with an evaluation plan), detailed budget, collaboration plan, human subjects or vertebrate animals plan if applicable, data management and sharing plan, and a list of project personnel and partner institutions. Specific application questions and detailed instructions are outlined in the solicitation document. An annual PI meeting is expected for funded projects, and budgets should include travel funds to accommodate this requirement. Evaluation criteria for proposals include intellectual merit and broader impacts as approved by the National Science Board, as well as specific solicitation criteria such as the strength and quality of collaboration and management plans. NIH will also apply its standard review criteria, including significance, innovation, approach, investigator qualifications, and environment. Projects are expected to contribute to fundamental scientific or engineering knowledge and have potential for broad societal impact. The next proposal deadlines are October 3, 2024, and annually thereafter on October 3. The anticipated award type is a standard grant, continuing grant, or cooperative agreement, with funding of up to $300,000 per year for four years, and total program funding ranging from $15 million to $20 million annually. Approximately 10 to 16 awards are expected each year, contingent on funding availability and proposal quality. For additional information, prospective applicants may contact the program officers listed in the solicitation or email sch-correspondence@nsf.gov.