Granting agencies to help with equipment Funding:
Below is a listing of opportunities to help fund lab equipment and instrumentation. Please contact the individual departments to discuss your funding needs.
If you are considering to work with more than one lab and other departments:
Multi-user Equipment and Instrumentation Resources for Biological Sciences
The MUE Program provides support to institutions to purchase expensive items of equipment that will be shared by a number of investigators having actively-funded research projects in areas supported by BIO. Applications are invited for instruments that cost at least $40,000 per instrument or integrated system. This program will provide funds up to$400,000 per application. MUE is not accepting proposals until further notice.
http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=9188&org=CHE
If you are considering to work on corneal epithelial or endothelial tissue:
National Eye Institute Core Grants for Vision Research
The primary objective of Core Grants for Vision Research is to provide groups of investigators who have obtained independent National Eye Institute (NEI) funding with additional, shared support to enhance their own and their institution's capability for conducting vision research. Secondary objectives of this program include facilitating collaborative studies and attracting other scientists to research on the visual system.
https://www.nei.nih.gov/
If you are considering to work with nanoparticles and investigating changes in endo or epithelia:
Bioengineering Nanotechnology Initiative
This initiative of the trans-NIH Bioengineering Consortium (BECON) invites Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) grant applications for developing and applying nanotechnology to biomedicine. This funding opportunity will be run in parallel with a FOA of identical scientific scope that will utilize the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant mechanism.
If you are considering to work with fish and study nutrition or other topics involving absorption across epithelia:
Improvements in Facilities, Communications, and Equipment at Biological Field Stations and Marine Laboratories (FSML)
FSMLs support biological research and education by preserving and providing access to study areas and organisms, by providing physical plant and equipment in close proximity to those study areas, and by fostering an atmosphere of mutual scientific interest and collaboration in research and education. The upper limit for funds that may be requested is now $350,000, except that requests for planning grants are limited to $25,000.
FSMLs are off-campus facilities for research and education conducted in the naturalhabitats of terrestrial, freshwater, and marine ecosystems. FSMLs support biological research and education by preserving and providing access to study areas and organisms, by providing physical plant and equipment in close proximity to those study areas, and by fostering an atmosphere of mutual scientific interest and collaboration in research and education.
http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=5449&org=OCE&sel_org=OCE&from=fund
If you are an undergraduate student working in a lab and need equipment to study diffusion potentials, permeability across biological membranes, epithelial barrier function and transport:
Course, Curriculum, and Laboratory Improvement (CCLI)
The Course, Curriculum, and Laboratory Improvement (CCLI) program seeks to improve the quality of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education for all undergraduate students. CCLI supports efforts to create new learning materials and teaching strategies, develop faculty expertise, implement educational innovations, assess learning and evaluate innovations, and conduct research on STEM teaching and learning. The program supports three types of projects representing three different phases of development, ranging from small, exploratory investigations to large, comprehensive projects.
http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=5741
If you are considering setting-up a student lab to understand diffusion potentials, permeability across biological membranes, epithelial transport:
Research in Undergraduate Institutions (RUI)
The RUI activity supports research by faculty members of predominantly undergraduate institutions through the funding of (1) individual and collaborative research projects, (2) the purchase of shared-use research instrumentation, and (3) Research Opportunity Awards for work with NSF-supported investigators at other institutions. RUI proposals are evaluated and funded by the NSF programs in the disciplinary areas of the proposed research. A Research Opportunity Award is usually funded as a supplement to the NSF grant of the host researcher, and the application is submitted by the host institution.
http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=5518&from=fund
If you are a graduate student and need funds for equipment for measuring drug permeability and transport, ion transport, and barrier function across biological membranes:
ONR's Young Investigator Program
ONR's Young Investigator Program (YIP) seeks to identify and support academic scientists and engineers who have received Ph.D. or equivalent degrees within the last five years. These funds may be budgeted against any reasonable costs related to the conduct of the proposed research, for example, salary for the Young Investigator, graduate student support, supplies, and operating expenses. Additional funds (beyond the basic $100,000 yearly amount) for capital equipment may be requested for the first budget period, based on the needs of the research. Requesting funds for capital equipment will not decrease the probability of receiving an award; additional support for equipment will be decided separately from award selections and will depend upon availability of funds.
Other potential grants:
| Sponsoring Organization & Program / Grant Name | Award Ceiling | Deadline | Description |
| NIH Shared Instrumentation Grant Program |
$600,000 |
05/29/2015 |
The objective of this Program is to make available to institutions expensive research instruments that can only be justified on a shared-use basis and that are needed for NIH-supported projects in basic, translational or clinical areas of biomedical/behavioral research. The Program provides funds to purchase or upgrade a single item of expensive, specialized, commercially available instrument or an integrated instrumentation system. |
| NSF National Facilities |
N/A | Rolling | The National Facilities program supports the operation of national user facilities: National Facilities are research facilities with specialized instrumentation available to the scientific research community in general and the materials research community in particular. These facilities provide unique research capabilities that can be located at only a few highly specialized laboratories in the Nation. They provide open user service for scientists and engineers from a broad range of disciplines including biology, chemistry, geosciences, materials research, and physics. |
| NSF Major Research Instrumentation |
$4,000,000 | 01/13/2016 | The MRI Program serves to increase access to shared instrumentation for scientific and engineering research and research training. This program especially seeks to improve the quality and expand the scope of research and research training in science and engineering, by supporting proposals for shared instrumentation that fosters the integration of research and education in research-intensive learning environments. |
| NSF Materials Research Science and Engineering Center |
$2,000,000 - 5,000,000 / year for up to 6 years | TBD April 2016 | Materials Research Science and Engineering Centers (MRSECs) provide sustained support of interdisciplinary materials research and education of the highest quality while addressing fundamental problems in science and engineering. MRSECs address research of a scope and complexity requiring the scale, synergy, and interdisciplinarity provided by a campus-based research center. A MRSEC may be located at a single institution, or may involve multiple institutions in partnership. |
