NSF Partners with NIST and Schmidt Sciences to Support Bioeconomy Scholars-in-Residence

The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), with significant backing from Schmidt Sciences, have announced five Scholars-in-Residence awards to establish critical standards and metrics for the bioeconomy. This initiative aims to accelerate engineering biology research by providing researchers with direct access to NIST’s advanced laboratory facilities and automation expertise. By focusing on the development of shareable standards for engineering microorganisms and cell-free systems, the program seeks to enhance scientific predictability and ensure the U.S. remains globally competitive in the synthetic biology sector.

The Scholars-in-Residence program is a strategic collaboration designed to bridge the gap between foundational research and commercialization through the development of robust measurement sciences. The five awardees will work within NIST laboratories, specifically utilizing the Living Measurement Systems Foundry, which features state-of-the-art integrated laboratory automation. This hands-on residency allows researchers to collaborate with NIST’s full-time staff to create metrics that are essential for the engineering of microorganisms, cell lines, and cell-free systems. These standards are intended to serve as the foundational enablers for scientific predictability and commerce within the broader synthetic biology market.

A primary objective of the initiative is to enable the curation of high-quality, AI-ready data sets. By standardizing workflows and metrics, the program aims to improve the accuracy of artificial intelligence models used to predict gene function from DNA sequences. This focus on data integrity and standardized frameworks is expected to accelerate the research and development cycle in engineering biology. According to Sheng Lin-Gibson, chief of the NIST Biosystems and Biomaterial Division, these frameworks will foster greater trust in biotechnology R&D and empower researchers to co-develop the metrics that will shape the industry's future.

The partnership also highlights the importance of infrastructure such as biofoundries and programmable cloud labs in achieving the full potential of the U.S. bioeconomy. Theresa Good, head of the NSF Biological Sciences Directorate, emphasized that shareable standards are vital for the success of these distributed research platforms. By investing in training and research infrastructure, the NSF and NIST aim to bolster national security and economic growth through biotechnology. The program represents a concerted effort to translate technological innovation into industrial competitiveness by involving industry stakeholders in the adoption of these new standards.