/Office for Research and Innovation
Proposal Development

 

NSF X-Labs - From Sequence to Function

NSF X-Labs Sequence to Function Portal

All applications for this internal competition must be submitted via InfoReady. You can sign in using your Net-ID and your @stonybrook.edu email address. Please allow sufficient time to familiarize yourself with the portal prior to submitting your pre-application. Pre-application requirements are listed in the announcement below.

The Office for Research and Innovation invites applications for the NSF X-Labs From Sequence to Function OTASO, which seeks to reliably link protein sequence and structure to biological function to unlock a new era of biological engineering. Stony Brook University can submit TWO applications to this program. 

Please see below for details. If you are interested in applying, you must submit a pre-application via the NSF X-Labs From Sequence to Function Portal in InfoReady by Friday, November 20, 2026 at 9 am. Pre-applications for internal review and selection must be uploaded to the portal as a single PDF document.

KEYWORDS: Biotechnology, Biological Engineering, Biomanufacturing, Chemical Engineering

WHAT DOES IT FUND: The X-Labs Initiative is designed to build sector-defining platforms and offer sustained, multi-year support to innovative, institutionally independent organizational structures to fill a vital gap in the innovation ecosystem. Awards will support dedicated NSF X-Labs teams with substantial operational independence and the flexibility to adapt quickly to an evolving technology landscape. Teams must consider their own operational needs and organizational readiness prior to requesting Phase 0 funding. See main OTASO section 6 and 7 for expected new organizational entity/team structure, autonomy assessment, and expected outcomes.

Topic Description: The program seeks to reliably link protein sequence and structure to biological function, opening the door to entirely new products and processes that use engineered biological components and outputs, such as enzymes. The program seeks to create platform technologies to design individual proteins or entire genomes that are predictable and/or controllable. Teams will pioneer and integrate advances in protein design/synthesis, genome assembly, synthetic cells, or experimental functional discovery and validation. NSF X-Labs might use super intelligence (SI) to dramatically accelerate our ability to engineer the behavior of designed proteins or synthetic cells, including their metabolic requirements, stability, functional outputs, by-products, or system-level interactions. 

     Examples of relevant Missions include, but are not limited to: the creation of models that enable the prediction of protein–molecule interactions, including novel approaches to the collection or integration of SI training data; the design and application of nanoscale protein-based molecular motors; an enzyme function platform to discover and engineer enzyme pathways that have specific molecular behaviors; and a synthetic cell/genome platform to design and instantiate genomes with predictable and controllable biological function. Successful teams will demonstrate measurable impact on the U.S. biotechnology landscape and position their technologies for widespread use by overcoming technical barriers that limit implementation and investment. 

THIS PROGRAM DOES NOT FUND: Narrow impact/deployment technologies; fundamental research without potential for application in platform technologies; incremental advancement of the state of the art; standalone predictive models that do not generate or integrate new experimental data; technologies already developed or supported by existing public or private R&D investments; testbed or data center development, non-technical challenges.

APPLICANT REQUIREMENTS: Senior/Key personnel (anyone who contributes in a substantive, meaningful way to the development and execution of the proposed NSF X-Lab) may be listed on a maximum of one proposal per Topic Announcement. Senior/Key personnel and/or members of an NSF X-Lab’s core leadership team must be dedicated full-time to the team by the beginning of Phase 1, unless otherwise approved by NSF.

AWARD: Phase 0: Up to $1.5M for 9 months with a Go/No Go selection period beginning after 7 months. Phase 1: up to $50M per year for 2-3 years with potential Phase 2 renewal. By the end of a Phase 2, a successful NSF X-Labs team might be sustained by external support and/or have accomplished their core Mission and transformed into a different organizational structure. Possible Phase 3 in cases where continuation is in the best interests of the nation.

COST SHARE: Not required

SPONSOR DEADLINE: Register for Q&A Webinar November 18, 2026 from 2-3 pm; Questions due December 14, 2026. Written Proposals due February 8, 2027. 

 

PRE-APPLICATION: A complete pre-application should include the following:

  • Statement from the PI's SBU Chair, which confirms that the PI has discussed this proposal with their chair and that they both understand that, if funded, the PI will be dedicated full-time to the X-Labs team by the beginning of Phase 1, unless otherwise approved by NSF.
  • Project Narrative (no more than 3 pages) that includes:
  • Mission: Describe one or more novel platform technologies that the proposed X-Lab is uniquely suited to advance. Successful teams will have a clear vision statement of how their work will result in an end-state that reshapes an entire field of scientific inquiry or a sector of technology, and how their Mission is currently unmet by existing organizational structures and funding mechanisms.
  • Technology Landscape: Justify how the proposed platform technology would accelerate the emergence of new technologies and lines of research. Compare current state-of-the-art technology and provide a clear description of your goal to progress the technology and unlock fundamentally new capabilities. You may include a plot or other figure to quantitatively depict the current technology landscape and desired goal(s).
  • Outcomes: Describe how you will deliver ambitious, high-impact, measurable outcomes that advance a nascent platform technology, overcome critical bottlenecks, and realize the your vision to reshape an entire area of technology or field of scientific research over 5 to 7 years (see Section 7.0 for example outcomes). Identify 2-3 high-utility domains in which you will eventually establish projects, and a brief assessment of dangerous gain-of-function and plan to mitigate unintended consequences.
  • Senior/Key Personnel Qualifications: For for all Senior/Key Personnel, including team members not currently affiliated with the lead organization, include technical expertise, experience commercializing technology, past efforts, and other qualifications that will contribute to achieving the team’s Mission. 
  • Team Capabilities Statement: Describe how the Senior/Key Personnel on the proposed leadership team bring together complementary expertise in strategic leadership, technical expertise, and/or entrepreneurship, as applicable. Describe how, collectively, your team demonstrates the experience, adaptability, and collaborative approach necessary to execute the Mission. Briefly describe your intended governance structure and autonomy during Phase 0 and Phase 1. If applicable, include an overview of networks, partnerships, and capital resources your team currently has and how they will be deployed in support of the proposal.
  • PI's CV/Biosketch

REVIEW CRITERIA: Pre-applications will be reviewed based on scientific and technical merit, innovation, likelihood of achieving proposed outcomes, and team qualifications and capabilities.