The Cellular and Biochemical Engineering (CBE) program is part of the Engineering Biology and Health cluster, which also includes: 1) the Biophotonics program; 2) the Biosensing program; 3) the Disability and Rehabilitation Engineering program; and 4) the Engineering of Biomedical Systems program.
The Cellular and Biochemical Engineering program supports fundamental engineering research that advances understanding of cellular and biomolecular processes. CBE-funded research may lead to the development of enabling technology for advanced biomanufacturing in support of the therapeutic cell, biochemical, biopharmaceutical, and biotechnology industries.
Fundamental to many research projects in this area is the understanding of how biomolecules, subcellular systems, cells, and cell populations interact, and how those interactions lead to changes in structure, function, and behavior. A quantitative treatment of problems related to biological processes is considered vital to successful research projects in the CBE program.
The program encourages highly innovative and potentially transformative engineering research leading to novel bioprocessing and biomanufacturing approaches. The CBE program also encourages proposals that effectively integrate knowledge and practices from different disciplines while incorporating ongoing research into educational activities.
Full Proposal Accepted Anytime
Proposals submitted to other program announcements and solicitations, including the Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER), must meet their respective deadlines; please refer to the deadline dates specified in the appropriate announcement or solicitation. Proposals for EArly-concept Grants for Exploratory Research (EAGER) or Rapid Response Research (RAPID) can be submitted at any time but Principal Investigators must contact the cognizant program director prior to submission. Proposals for supplements or workshops can be submitted at any time, and PIs are encouraged to contact the cognizant PD prior to submission.
Major areas of interest for the program include:
All proposals should include a description on the potential impact of proposed research on an associated biomanufacturing process.
Proposals whose core innovation involves tissue engineering, organ culture, development of models of healthy or diseased physiology, or design and application of technologies focused on the diagnosis or treatment of disease should be submitted to the Engineering of Biomedical Systems program (CBET 5345).
The duration of unsolicited proposal awards in CBET is generally up to three years. Single-investigator award budgets typically include support for one graduate student (or equivalent) and up to one month of principal investigator time per year (awards for multiple investigator projects are typically larger). Proposal budgets that are much larger than typical should be discussed with the Program Director prior to submission.
