Abstract:

The Division of Integrative Organismal Systems (IOS) supports research aimed at understanding why organisms are structured the way they are and function as they do. Proposals should focus on organisms as a fundamental… more » unit of biological organization. Principal Investigators (PIs) are encouraged to apply systems approaches that will lead to conceptual and theoretical insights and predictions about emergent organismal properties. Areas of inquiry include, but are not limited to, developmental biology and the evolution of developmental processes, nervous system development, structure, and function, physiological processes, functional morphology, symbioses, interactions of organisms with biotic and abiotic environments, and animal behavior.

The core scientific programs in IOS are organized into four clusters:
1. Behavioral Systems Cluster: The Behavioral Systems Cluster consists of the Animal Behavior Program and the Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant program (DDIG). Only the Animal Behavior Program is part of the IOS Core Programs Solicitation.

2.Developmental Systems Cluster:
Programs within the Developmental Systems Cluster are: the Plant, Fungal and Microbial Developmental Mechanisms Program, the Animal Developmental Mechanisms Program and the Evolution of Developmental Mechanisms Program.

3. Neural Systems Cluster:
Programs within the Neural Systems Cluster are the Organization Program, the Activation Program and the Modulation Program.

4. Physiological and Structural Systems Cluster:
Programs within the Physiological and Structural Systems Cluster are: the Symbiosis, Defense and Self-recognition Program (SDS), the Physiological Mechanisms and Biomechanics Program (PMB), and the Integrative Ecological Physiology Program (IEP). Substantial changes have been made to the description of the SDS Program. Proposers to the SDS Program are advised to examine those changes carefully and to be aware of the relevant changes to this Core Programs solicitation.

Proposals are welcomed in all of the core scientific program areas supported by the Division of Integrative Organismal Systems. Proposals may be submitted to the two tracks described in this solicitation.

This solicitation includes two tracks for proposal submission. The newly-named Core track remains essentially unchanged from the description in the previous IOS Core Programs Solicitation (NSF 13-600), except that plant-microbial symbiosis proposals previously submitted to the Symbiosis, Defense, and Self-recognition (SDS) Program in the Physiological and Structural Systems Cluster of IOS are excluded from the Core track.

A new track, Enabling Discovery through Genomic Tools (EDGE), is being introduced in this solicitation.

The EDGE track is designed for research addressing current impediments to progress in our understanding of a range of important questions in organismal biology and in particular our understanding of the genomes-to-phenomes relationship. EDGE projects should focus on development of functional genomic tools, approaches and associated infrastructure to enable genome manipulation in diverse, emerging model organisms. EDGE proposals must additionally include training and rapid dissemination plans enabling larger communities of investigators to utilize the newly-developed tools, thereby catalyzing an increase in the capacity of research communities to test cause-and-effect hypotheses about genes and phenotypes in organisms presently lacking such tools.