The National Science Foundation’s Directorates for Mathematical and Physical Sciences (MPS) and Biological Sciences (BIO) and the Simons Foundation’s Division of Mathematics and the Physical Sciences and Division of Life Sciences have joined forces to sponsor up to three new research centers. These centers will facilitate collaborations among groups of mathematicians, statisticians, and biologists. Each center will be supported for up to 5-years and will have an expected budget of $2,000,000 per year depending on the availability of funds.

The purpose of the NSF-Simons Research Centers for Mathematics of Complex Biological Systems (MathBioSys) is to enable innovative collaborative research at the intersection of mathematics and molecular, cellular, and organismal biology. Our intent is to establish new connections between these disciplines and to promote interdisciplinary education and workforce training. Each center is expected to focus on a set of topics at the interface of the mathematical sciences with molecular, cellular, and organismal biology and provide education and training for students, and postdoctoral fellows. Each center is also expected to conduct convening activities, including short-term and/or long-term visitors’ programs, workshops, and/or outreach activities. These centers will have annual meetings of the Principal Investigators (PIs) and other principal researchers, held at the Simons Foundation in New York City.

Institutions interested in hosting a center must submit a letter of intent through Fastlane by 5:00 pm proposer’s local time on August 10^th, 2017, followed by a full proposal due September 29^th, 2017. More information can be found in the solicitation (NSF17-560) and its FAQs, through the webinar slides and audio, or by contacting the MathBioSys working group at: mathbiosys@nsf.gov