FICUS Research Proposals Grant

FICUS Research Proposals Grant

Status: ACTIVE
Funder: Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory
Amount: Unspecified amount in in-kind support
Last Updated: March 13, 2026

Summary

The FICUS Research Grant, in collaboration with JGI and EMSL, invites innovative research proposals that leverage the capabilities of multiple DOE-supported user facilities. This initiative aims to facilitate high-risk, high-reward projects in areas such as biofuels, hydro-biogeochemistry, and inter-organismal interactions. Applicants are encouraged to submit proposals that address significant scientific challenges within 24 months, utilizing diverse resources and datasets that surpass individual project outputs. The program fosters collaboration and multidisciplinary approaches to advance environmental and biological research.

Overview

Proposal Call Overview The Facilities Integrating Collaborations for User Science (FICUS) program provides an exciting opportunity to advance collaborative science while utilizing the world-class experimental capabilities at U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)-supported Office of Science (SC) user facilities and collaborating institutions. The FICUS program is seeking collaborative research proposals that leverage and integrate capabilities in multiple facilities in a single project focused on advancing the knowledge and understanding of systems aligned with our focus areas. The FICUS program, established in 2014, is designed to encourage and enable ambitious multidisciplinary research projects by integrating the expertise, experimental capabilities, data, and samples of multiple DOE Office of Science user facilities and the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON). Proposals must request resources from at least two of the participating facilities, and principal investigators (PIs) will be limited to not more than two submissions per call. Focused Topic Areas Proposals submitted to this call should be responsive to one or more of the following focus area topics aligned to the Biological and Environmental Research (BER) program. Bioeconomy and Biomanufacturing – We are seeking proposals for research aimed at advancing the part of the economy that uses biological resources, such as plants, fungi, algae, bacteria, archaea, microbial communities, viruses, and their byproducts, along with biological knowledge, tools, and processes to produce goods, services, and energy. Such projects would accelerate discoveries that drive synthetic fuels, biomaterials, and bioproducts using the integrated approaches offered in the FICUS portfolio to characterize biochemical pathways important for conversion. Biological processes (including pathways generated by synthetic biology approaches) that are relevant to biofuel, biomaterial, and bioproduct production. Functional genomics and synthetic biology resources (mutant libraries, pathway optimization) to connect genotype to function for traits relevant to biomanufacturing. Structural and functional characterization of proteins of unknown function; use of omics and structural biology data to refine and constrain genome-scale metabolic models. Discovery, characterization, and engineering of enzymes and metabolic pathways for biomass decomposition and/or conversion to biofuels, biomaterials, and bioproducts. Multiomics data integration (metagenomics, metatranscriptomics, metaproteomics, metabolomics) to identify novel enzymes and biocatalysts for industrial applications. High-throughput single-cell and small sample size omics for accessing uncultivated microbial dark matter with potential for new biosynthetic capacities. Hydrobiogeochemistry – We seek proposals for research focused on understanding coupled biogeochemical processes and cycles in terrestrial systems and at terrestrial–aquatic interfaces, across spatial (molecular to kilometers) and temporal (milliseconds to decades) scales, that support the development of more secure and reliable energy systems. We solicit proposals that investigate naturally and anthropogenically driven interactions and feedbacks between biological, mineralogical, and geochemical components, and their associated uncertainties within Earth and environmental systems. Investigations of biotic–abiotic interactions are in scope. Proposals must clearly relate to the development of more secure and reliable energy systems. Community and functional profiling using large-scale metagenomes, metatranscriptomes, metaproteomes, metabolomes, and stable isotope probing (SIP) to connect microbial identity with active hydrobiogeochemical transformations. Hydrological, chemical, mineralogic, and metabolomic imaging of microbe–mineral–organic matter associations and hotspots to understand the molecular-to-pore-scale mechanisms by which hydrology, microbes, geochemical reactions, and viruses shape organic matter–mineral interactions. Impacts of major disturbances, such as wildfire, permafrost thaw, or extreme floods on hydrobiogeochemical processes. Microbial traits (e.g., dormancy, stress response, redox plasticity) and soil processes that confer resilience to ecosystem disturbance. Under what conditions do microbial interactions generate biogeochemical “hot spots and hot moments.” Critical Minerals and Materials – We are seeking proposals for research focused on plants, algae, fungi, bacteria, archaea, microbial communities, and hydrobiogeochemical processes involved in the liberation and recovery of critical minerals and materials (CMMs) including rare earth elements (REEs). Such projects can include using integrated approaches offered in the FICUS portfolio to accelerate research on biological and bio-inspired recovery, cycling, and processing of CMMs from various sources. Functional characterization of biomining microorganisms that mobilize or accumulate REEs and other critical minerals. Metagenome-resolved discovery and multiomics (metabolomics, metaproteomics) based the characterization of microbial pathways involved in REE cycling and biosorption. Identification of novel biomolecules (e.g., metallophores, nanomaterials, biopolymers) with potential applications in novel materials for CMM and REE recovery. Synthetic biology-enabled enzyme discovery and optimization for selective extraction, recovery, and valorization of critical minerals. Biological processes (including pathways generated by synthetic biology approaches) that are relevant to DOE-relevant CMMs. Biogeochemical processes in soils and sediments (including aboveground heaps) important to recovering CMMs from unconventional sources.

Eligibility

You can learn more about this opportunity by visiting the funder's website. The FICUS call is open to both domestic and international applicants from any institution type.

Ineligibility

The following topics are not within scope for this call for proposals: human health, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics; food, feed, animal agriculture or aquaculture, and related production systems (including coffee beans, wheat, and other crops); invasive plant species; and first-generation biofuel targets (i.e., corn).Also excluded are projects focused on environmental treatment, mitigation, or pollution, including biogas, greenhouse gas mitigation, climate change, wastewater treatment, sewage, solid or liquid waste, bioremediation of organic contaminants, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), and harmful algal blooms.  Projects focused on fundamental science of animal and insect microbiomes or non-bioenergy plant pathogens are also out of scopeMarine-focused projects (more than 185 km from land).