James P. Collins

Assistant Director forBiological Sciences

BIO QEM WorkshopMarch 31, 2006

Biology as a Bridge to the Future:Biology as a Bridge to the Future:Science at the FrontierScience at the Frontier

Outline

Biology in the 21st century Science policy shift: American

Competitiveness Initiative Consequences of the policy shift:

NSF benefits Science at the frontier

Biology is composed of four overarching theories

All living things are made from cells, the chemical factories of life: CELL BIOLOGY

All life is based on the same genetic code organized as DNA or RNA: GENETICS

All forms of life evolved by natural selection or genetic drift: EVOLUTION

All life is connected to form ecosystems: ECOLOGY

“… the 21st century is going to see a cohesion of the sciences and disappearance of their borders.”

- David Baltimore

21st Century Biology

21st Century Biology

Multidisciplinary Multiscale Multimodal Multidimensional Information-driven

& IT driven Education-oriented Internationally

engaged New curricula

Technological Convergence and theEvolution of Life Sciences R&D

big biology

big rewards

big dilemmas

big shifts in science policy….

Twodriversof sciencepolicy

ReleasedFeb. 23, 2006

AnnualS&Esnapshot

Academic R&D expenditures: 1990–2003

SOURCE: National Science Board, Science and Engineering Indicators 2006

..and thereare other changes…

Academic R&D as share of total R&D,by country/economy: Most recent year

SOURCE: National Science Board, Science and Engineering Indicators 2006

…as the worldgets flat…

Scientific and technical articles, by country/region: 1988–2003

SOURCE: National Science Board, Science and Engineering Indicators 2006

Share of U.S. articles among most-cited articles, total S&E: 1992–2003

SOURCE: National Science Board, Science and Engineering Indicators 2006

Composition of U.S. college-age cohort: 1990–2020

SOURCE: National Science Board, Science and Engineering Indicators 2006

S&Eworkforceis changing…

U.S. S&E bachelor’s degrees earnedby women and minorities: 1990, 1995, and 2001

SOURCE: National Science Board, Science and Engineering Indicators 2006

S&E doctorates conferred by citizenship status and race/ethnicity: 1990–2003

SOURCE: National Science Board, Science and Engineering Indicators 2006

Composition of academic doctoral S&E workforce by race/ethnicity, sex, and citizenship at degree

conferral: 1989–2003

SOURCE: National Science Board, Science and Engineering Indicators 2006

Faculty and tenure-track status of academic S&E doctorate holders 4–7 years after receipt of

doctorate: 1989–2003

SOURCE: National Science Board, Science and Engineering Indicators 2006

A policyresponse…

American Competitiveness Initiative

President Bush's 2006 education agenda, the American Competitiveness Initiative, aims to strengthen innovation and education in the U.S. by improving mathematics and science education, foreign language studies, and high schools.

300 grants for schools to implement research-based math curricula and interventions

10,000 more scientists, students, post-doctoral fellows, and technicians provided opportunities to contribute to the innovation enterprise

100,000 highly qualified math and science teachers by 2015

700,000 advanced placement tests passed by low-income students

800,000 workers getting the skills they need for jobs of the 21st century

American Competitiveness InitiativeGoals

Meeting the Challenge: President Bush's 2006 Education Agenda

The American Competitiveness Initiative•commits $5.9 billion in FY 2007•more than $136 billion over 10 years

increased investments in research & development

DOE, NIST, and NSF benefit…

Independent agency Established 1950

• To promote scientific progress

• To advance national health, prosperity and welfare

• To secure national defense

NSF benefits…

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

7000

FY2000

FY2001

FY2002

FY2003

FY2004

FY2005

FY2006

FY2007

Growth in NSF Budget FY 2000-2007(millions)

NationalAeronautic and Space

Administration

EnvironmentalProtection

Agency

Smithsonian Institution

Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Other agencies

Commerce

Science Advisor

Other boards, councils, etc.

U.S. President

Independent Agencies

Major Departments

Science AdvisorOffice of Science and

Technology Policy

Office of Management and Budget

Agriculture Health and Human Services

Interior Homeland Security

Defense Energy

Research Directorates

• Biological Sciences• Computer & Info. Science & Eng.• Education & Human Resources• Engineering• Geosciences• Mathematical & Physical Sciences• Social, Behaviorial & Econ. Sciences

Offices

• CyberInfrastructure

• Integrative Activities

• Polar Programs

• International Science and Engineering

National Science Foundation Director

Deputy Director

National Science Board

NSF is unique among federal agencies in supporting research not necessarily tied to resolving

specific societal issues or restricted to falling within the

purview of agency-specific missions.

Primary sponsor of competitively awarded “basic research” in the

U.S.

NSF Proposal Statistics

47,000 Proposals 70,000 Reviewers 10,000 Awards 23% Average funding rate Average duration: 3 years

Who receives awards?

Universities and colleges Academic consortia Nonprofit institutions Small businesses University and industry collaborations National research centers International research and education

efforts

Directorate for Biological Sciences

BIO Mission: To support the vitality of the

biological sciences.

Population & Evolutionary Processes

Population & Evolutionary Processes

Directorate for Biological Sciences(BIO)

Directorate for Biological Sciences(BIO) Information and Automation

Resources Unit (IAR)

Information and Automation Resources Unit (IAR)

Division of Environmental

Biology(DEB)

Division of Environmental

Biology(DEB)

Ecological BiologyEcological Biology

EcosystemScience

EcosystemScience

Division of Integrative

Organismal Biology(IOB)

Division of Integrative

Organismal Biology(IOB)

BehavioralSystems

BehavioralSystems

Developmental Systems

Developmental Systems

Environmental &Structural Systems

Environmental &Structural Systems

Division of Molecular and

Cellular Biosciences

(MCB)

Division of Molecular and

Cellular Biosciences

(MCB)

BiomolecularSystems

BiomolecularSystems

Cellular SystemsCellular Systems

Genes and GenomeSystems

Genes and GenomeSystems

Emerging Frontiers (EF)

Systematic Biology &Biodiversity Inventories

Systematic Biology &Biodiversity Inventories

Functional & Regulatory Systems

Functional & Regulatory Systems

ResearchResources

ResearchResources

HumanResources

HumanResources

Division ofBiological

Infrastructure(DBI)

Division ofBiological

Infrastructure(DBI)

Plant GenomeResearch Program

Plant GenomeResearch Program

National Ecological Observatory Network

National Ecological Observatory Network

How is BIO a distinctive model?

1) Working across "boundaries" (clusters, divisions, directorates, agencies).

2) One biology - ALL of biology within a single administrative unit with extensive cooperation and coordination.

3) Together, these allow us to focus on transformative research.

To Ecology… To Evolution…

From Genes…. To Cells…

Eyeless Cave Fish

Advancing the Frontier

• Frontiers in Integrative Biological Research program (+$5.0 million)

• Plant Genome Research Program (+$2.5 million)

• Long-Term Ecological Research Program (+$1.2 million)

• New Theoretical Biology program ($3.6 million)

• New Biology and Society program ($0.5 million)

• New Center for Microbial Oceanography at the University of Hawaii ($4.0 million)

• New “Life in the Cold and Dark” program as part of the International Polar Year ($2.0 million)

BIO FY 2007 Budget Priorities

Cross-Directorate Activities

Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) BIO and SBE Doctoral Dissertation Research

Improvement Grants (DDIG) Graduate Research Fellowships Graduate Teaching Fellows in K-12 Education (GK-12) Integrative Graduate Education and Research Training

Program (IGERT) BIO and SBE Minority Postdoctoral Research Fellowships Research Opportunity Awards (ROA) Faculty Early Career Development Awards (CAREER) ADVANCE: Increasing the Participation and Advancement

of Women in Academic Science and Engineering Careers Research in Undergraduate Institutions (RUI) Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research

Program (EPSCoR) Small Grants for Exploratory Research (SGER)

Supports undergraduate students in active research

Involve students in meaningful ways in ongoing research programs or in specially designed projects

Two mechanisms for support – sites and supplements

Research Experiences for Undergraduates

Announcement: NSF 05-592

www.nsf.gov

How can we transform biological research in the early 21st century?

Biology at the frontier: stimulating the development of research areas that the research community needs but has not yet imagined…

Textbook science

or

frontier science?

Science at the frontier

Outline

Biology in the 21st century Science policy shift: American

Competitiveness Initiative Consequences of the policy shift:

NSF benefits Science at the frontier