The slides are available here

The Division of Integrative Organismal Systems (IOS) held a Virtual Office Hour (VOH) on September 21^st, 2023 providing information on current solicitations and Dear Colleague Letters the community might wish to investigate before moving on to the topic of the month – Postdoctoral Research Fellowships in Biology (PRFB; NSF 23-620). 

Some general information about PRFB to keep in mind:  

• Applications are due November 29^th, 2023 (by 5 p.m. submitter’s local time). 
• There are three selected Competitive Areas in PRFB: (1) Broadening Participation of Groups Underrepresented in Biology; (2) Integrative Research Investigating the Rules of Life Governing Interactions Between Genomes, Environment and Phenotypes, and (3) Plant Genome Postdoctoral Research Fellowships. 
  • Questions about Competitive Areas 1 and 2 should be addressed to bio-dbi-prfb@nsf.gov. 
  • Questions about Competitive Area 3 should be addressed to dbipgr@nsf.gov. 
• As you prepare your application, please be sure to review the following documents: 
  • PRFB Solicitation (NSF 23-620) describes how to apply. 
  • PRFB Administrative Guide (NSF 23-137) outlines the administrative policies and procedures for Fellows and their host institutions. 

Question and Answer Recap: 

• Several audience members asked if they could submit multiple applications to different Competitive Areas or whether a single application submission could be considered for multiple Competitive Areas during the review process? – Applicants will need to choose a single Competitive Area to submit their application. Prospective applicants can contact Program Directors at the email addresses provided above for guidance on determining if their research and broader impacts plans are aligned with one of the three Competitive Areas. When sending an email, we encourage applicants to submit a one-page project summary, which includes an overview of the research, training goals, Intellectual Merit, and Broader Impacts, so Program Directors can provide helpful feedback.  
• Several questions were asked about mentors: Can an applicant have co-sponsors or an international sponsor? How would the mentoring letter/plan be developed in these cases? – Co-sponsoring and international sponsors are allowed. However, one sponsoring scientist will be designated as the lead mentor and have primary responsibility for ensuring that the training plan is fulfilled. All co-sponsors should collaborate to develop a single sponsoring scientist statement. For information on the sponsoring scientist statement, please see these instructions from the PRFB program page.  
• Questions about Broadening Participation (for Competitive Area 1) and questions about Broader Impacts (for all Competitive Areas) asked about whether efforts should focus on the postdoctoral level or any level of STEM research and education? – Every proposal is expected to include plans to broaden participation in science as part of the Broader Impacts. Competitive Area 1 requires that those Broader Impacts primarily focus on increasing diversity at the postdoctoral level. This could be achieved through multiple activities, such as but not limited to increasing the diversity of students prepared to transition into postdoctoral positions, improving professional development and training for those already in postdoctoral positions, or developing support for postdoctoral students from historically excluded groups in finding community. In any proposal, the applicant is responsible for identifying the group(s) that they will focus on, demonstrating the importance of that focus, and convincing reviewers of the importance and feasibility of their plans. Broader Impacts under Competitive Areas 2 and 3 do not share the same requirement to focus on diversity at the postdoctoral level.  
• Prior applicants applying for a second time to PRFB asked if they should they address prior reviewers’ comments? – Each application to NSF is considered a new application. Prior applicants should consider comments and advice provided by past reviewers and incorporate feasible adjustments to their research plans that will improve the quality of their proposal. However, because each application is considered as an independent submission, prior reviewer comments are not available to current reviewers and thus do not need to be directly addressed in the proposal itself. If an applicant chooses to respond to previous reviews, responses should be succinct and contained within the Project Description. 

Please join us on October 19^th, 2023 for our next IOS Virtual Office Hour where we will discuss funding opportunities of interest to investigators at Primarily Undergraduate Institutions (PUIs). If you or a collaborator are affiliated with a PUI, you do not want to miss this opportunity!