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Bioengineering Research Partnership Guidelines for the NIBIB

Applicants planning to submit a Bioengineering Research Partnership (BRP) application to the NIBIB with direct costs of $500,000 or more are reminded that they must seek written agreement from the NIBIB staff at least 6 weeks prior to the application receipt date. Applicants are encouraged to contact the NIBIB staff well in advance of the 6 week deadline to discuss their planned application.

Due to the large number of BRP applications that the NIBIB receives, effective immediately, the NIBIB will only accept new or competing renewal BRP applications with direct costs less than $750,000 unless prior approval has been obtained from a subcommittee of senior staff. NIBIB will consider only applications that are directly relevant to the NIBIB mission (http://nibib.nih.gov/About/MissionHistory).

Areas of high programmatic interest include:

• intelligent systems design and smart modeling
• enabling nanotechnologies for designed drug and gene delivery vehicles
• in vivo optical imaging
• activatable imaging agents
• multiscale modeling in biomedical systems
• sensor and lab-on-a-chip devices for point-of-care testing
• imaging informatics
• development of engineered 3D human tissue model systems for drug discovery and development
• image-guided interventions
• in vivo microimaging of internal organs
• techniques for characterization and modification of biomaterial interfacial properties
• high-field and high speed (parallel) MRI
• high-frequency and very high-frequency ultrasound imaging and other applications
• novel sensing technologies
• enabling technologies for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine
• high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) therapies or interventions
• computational analysis and simulation methods

Although the NIBIB will continue to accept BRP applications on all three yearly receipt dates referenced in the PAR, the Institute will consider funding only extremely meritorious proposals at the October and January Advisory Council meetings. Final funding decisions for all other meritorious applications will be made after the May Advisory Council meeting.