Our editorial team is keeping abreast of the current status of federally funded opportunities. Such opportunities advertised here, to our knowledge at time of publication, are active. However, please continue to check solicitation websites for updates to U.S. Government opportunities of interest.

What is a Limited Submission?

A limited submission solicitation places a cap on the number of proposals Auburn may submit to a sponsor. Auburn coordinates limited submissions with notifications via this newsletter and competitions created in the Auburn University Competition Space (InfoReady). To apply to any limited submission posted in this newsletter, click on the link within the announcement. Please refer to the Limited Submission Procedures page for a general list of requirements.

Found a Limited Submission opportunity that interests you?

If so, please contact the PSFS office sooner than later so that an internal competition can be created for a timely, university-wide, fair and equitable selection process that allows for ample time for review, feedback and revisions.

NSF: Integrated Data Systems & Services (IDSS) Category I & II

The IDSS program supports national-scale performant operational systems and services that broadly facilitate open, data-intensive and artificial intelligence-driven science and engineering research, innovation, and education. IDSS projects should be aimed to broadly impact the science and engineering research and education community in a transdisciplinary and demonstrably multi-disciplinary way, enabling researchers and educators from diverse domains and disciplines to utilize research data, integrate data, and connect data sources with other scientific resources such as computing resources, facilities, instrumentation and repositories.

IDSS offers the following three categories of proposals: 

• Category I. Development, deployment, and operation of novel national-scale integrated data systems and services, which may include interfacing with or leveraging other existing capabilities, systems and services as appropriate to the project. Between $10 million to $30 million for up to 5 years. Potentially renewable.

• Category II. Transition of established smaller scale, regional, pilot, or prototype data-focused systems and services to national-scale production/operational quality/level. This may also include enhancement and expansion of existing national-scale data-focused operational systems and services. Up to $9 million for up to 3 years. Potentially renewable.

• *Category III. Planning grants for future potential development/deployment or transition/enhancement IDSS projects. Up to $500,000 for up to 2 years. Not renewable.  (*No limit on number of propsals submitted)

**Please note: An individual may participate as PI, co-PI, or other Senior Personnel on at most one proposal across Categories I and II for each solicitation deadline. Thus, if an individual participates on a Category I proposal, the individual may not participate in a Category II proposal, or vice versa. 

Institutional Limit: Two (2) Proposals - One each for Category I and Category II

Internal Deadline: October 9, 2025, 4:45pm

Funder Deadline: December 4, 2025, 5:00pm CT

Machines & Methods: AI for Research

Thursday, October 9, 2025 
Ralph Brown Draughon (RBD) Library

Mell 2550 (Main Event) | Mell 3546 (Relaxation Room)

7:45 AM – 4:45 PM CST

The Biggio Center and the College of Forestry, Wildlife and Environment are excited to host this one-day, hybrid event designed to give Auburn & AUM faculty and researchers a practical understanding of artificial intelligence, its applications across disciplines, and its implications for research integrity and collaboration.

Breakfast and lunch will be provided for registered attendees.

About the Speaker

Dr. Jiaqi Gong - a recognized leader in artificial intelligence and machine learning - is the Director of the Alabama Center for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (ALAAI) and an Associate Professor of Computer Science at The University of Alabama. His contributions extend beyond academia, shaping the broader societal impact of AI and setting new standards for translational research and ethical innovation.

See the Agenda and Register Here for Machines & Methods: AI Research

Funding Opportunities

The Blue Dot Foundation: The Science of Perception

For this RFP, the Foundation is particularly, but not exclusively, interested in research related to mental health and wellness in pediatric populations aged 5-18 with broader relevance to adult populations. The Foundation seeks proposals that tackle neuroscience-based research on interventions like mindfulness, psychedelics, breathwork, AI, and VR to reshape mental constructs, reduce anxiety, and foster compassion.

LOIs Due: October 7, 2025

Simons Collaborations in Ecology and Evolution

The Simons Foundation’s Life Sciences division is now seeking vision statements to identify new, emerging breakthrough areas of ecology and evolution that are poised for high-impact funding by the Simons Foundation. Simons is interested in idea-generating research that focuses on basic principles of ecological and evolutionary dynamics, especially their interface that may be overlooked or too risky for other funding organizations. To enable bold, cutting-edge and innovative research, each collaboration will be funded for five years, with the potential of one renewal.

LOIs (Vision Statement) Due: October 16, 2025, 12:00noon ET

Howard Foundation Fellowships

The George A. and Eliza Gardner Howard Foundation is an independent foundation administered at Brown University. It awards a limited number of fellowships each year for independent projects in selected fields, targeting its support specifically to early mid-career individuals, who have completed at least one major project and demonstrate potential to be future leaders in their fields. Artists and scholars supported by the Howard Foundation are expected to devote a substantial portion of time during the fellowship year to advancing new work. Fellowship funds may be used in combination with sabbatical leaves or other sources of support, but this is not a requirement.

For this cycle the Foundation will fund fellowships in the fields of 1) Fiction & Poetry and

2) Literary Studies.

Applications Due: November 1, 2025, 5:00pm ET

NIH: Advancing Research on the Application of Digital Health Technology to the Management of Type 2 Diabetes (R01- Clinical Trail Required)

The increasing availability of FDA-cleared digital health technology (DHT) for type 2 diabetes (T2D) management holds great promise for addressing current barriers to care. Despite the promise of DHT applications in diabetes and prediabetes management, a rigorous evidenced-based foundation, particularly for multimodality digital health interventions, is lacking.

For this NOFO, digital health technology (DHT) includes but is not limited to continuous glucose monitoring (CGM), telemedicine with virtual coaching, connected digital devices (e.g., smartwatches, activity monitors, digital scales), mobile health (mHealth) applications for monitoring clinically relevant parameters such dietary intake, medication adherence, mood, behavior, and methods to facilitate bidirectional information exchange with the health care team, including directed text messaging and patient portals. The application of digital interventions utilizing peer support mechanisms to improve diabetes care also are applicable to this NOFO.

Applications Due: November 7, 2025, 5:00pm CT

Chan Zuckerberg Initiative Science Grants

Implementation of Synthetic Biology Principles in Immunology

This RFA invites applications proposing innovative strategies and methodologies that implement synthetic biology principles in the context of immunology. Areas of interest include, but are not limited to:

• Engineering immune cells with enhanced specificity, functionality, and controllability, including improved sensing, homing, and effector capabilities.
• Designing and developing synthetic bio-circuits to direct cell behavior, such as:
• Constructing artificial or semi-synthetic immune systems for disease modeling, mechanistic discovery, and therapeutic screening.
• Developing modular systems for immune surveillance and non-invasive reporting, allowing engineered cells to communicate what they’ve sensed or responded to in real time.

Advancing Technologies for Spatiotemporal Omics in Live Tissue

This RFA invites applications proposing to:

• Develop novel, minimally invasive technologies for real-time spatial profiling of proteomic and metabolomic landscapes in live tissues, including in vivo and complex immune-competent ex vivo systems.
• Engineer and validate “instrumented tissue” systems enabling dynamic proteomic and metabolomic sensing in live tissues for continuous molecular interrogation and mapping the immune dynamics in health and immune-mediated disorders.
• Advance integrated sampling and detection platforms capable of capturing dynamic molecular changes with high spatial and temporal resolution in intact, living biological systems. Ideally, platforms will enable spatial resolution of at least 10-100 microns and temporal resolution of 5-10 minutes for metabolomics and < 1 hour for proteomics.
• Enable serial and longitudinal analysis of tissue microenvironments to monitor immunological processes, including immune activation, progression, suppression, and physiological adaptation over time.
• Establish standardized performance metrics for evaluating spatial, temporal, and molecular resolution, sensitivity, biocompatibility, and longitudinal stability of new technologies.
• Incorporate advanced computational and data modeling approaches to support real-time data integration, spatial mapping, and systems-level interpretation of multi-omics data.

Proposals for Both Opportunities Due: November 13, 2025, 2:00pm PT

Important Updates

Reminder: Mandatory Completion of Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) Training, Research Security Training, ORCID Registration and Conflict of Interest Disclosure

by October 1, 2025

In accordance with federal mandates and Auburn University policy, all individuals engaged in research activities — faculty, staff and students — are required to complete the following by October 1, 2025:

• Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) Training (required since August 2022)
• Research Security Training (anticipated completion time – 1 hour)
• Registration for an ORCID ID (only required for individuals serving as Senior/Key Personnel)
• Completion or updating (if necessary) of the annual AU Conflict of Interest Disclosure (required for all full-time employees since October 2019, with submission through Endeavor required since January 2024.). If you filed a disclosure in 2025 and it is up-to-date, there is no need to update further until 2026.

Failure to complete these requirements by October 1 will result in a pause in the submission of any extramurally-funded proposal for those involved until these

requirements are met. The Official

OMB FY2027 Priorities Released

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has released "Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 Administration Research and Development Budget Priorities and Cross-Cutting Actions" to include five R & D budgetary priorities and five high-priority crosscutting actions.

Hanover Research Webinars

Cultivating Relationships with Foundations

Thursday, September 25, 2025

11:00am CT

Unlike most federal grantmakers, foundations can be mysterious and opaque – from the guidelines they publish to the decision making process. This session will delve into strategies and engagement practices to successfully develop relationships and partnerships with foundation funders.

Register Here.

• Upcoming Webinars in 2025
• Recently posted to the archives: Advanced Strategies for Enhancing Your Proposal Narrative

CCTS Tiers Webinar

How To Approach Conflict Resolution In Teams

October 10, 2025

12:00noon to 1:00pm

via ZOOM

Register

Hanover Research Queue Proposal Review Availability

Slots available after October 11

Auburn University has partnered with Hanover Research for a number of grant development solutions including Pre-proposal Support; Proposal Development; and Capacity Building. Hanover's full-service grant development solutions are available to set goals, build strategies to achieve key grant-seeking objectives, and develop grant proposals that are well-planned, researched, and written. 

For information regarding Hanover’s core capabilities and project timelines, click here. If you are interested in a slot in the queue, please e-mail Tony Ventimiglia.

Council on Government Relations (COGR) Resource Page

This resource page offers continually updated information concerning the 2025 Administration Transition in regards to federal funding.

Hanover GLC Modules for NIH, NSF-CAREER & Grant Development

The Hanover Research Grants Learning Center (GLC) on-demand grant development training portal offers faculty enrollees the unique opportunity to receive targeted training through self-paced, interactive modules with step-by-step guidance and templates for prospective applicants to develop compelling proposals. In addition to NIH and NSF-CAREER modules, AU faculty now have access to a variety of new modules on grant seeking, development and revisions.

Auburn faculty interested in signing up for this training should contact Christine Cline for registration information.

Free CITI Training Modules

Auburn subscribes to several training modules via the CITI Program website that may be of interest to researchers and research administrators. Each module is self-paced and can be finished in one or multiple sessions. Click on the link above to read descriptions.



• Essentials of Grant Proposal Development
• Essentials of Research Administration

The federal funding landscape is changing daily, necessitating extra due diligence on the part of funding seekers. When perusing a solicitation, 1) make sure you are viewing the latest version, 2) read all notes in the headers and margins, and 3) follow provided links to ensure a solicitation is still active and accepting applications.