The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy is playing a leading role in focusing the power of artificial intelligence, high-performance computing and other high-tech tools on the fight against coronavirus. Now it’s laying out an array of funding opportunities worth billions of dollars to researchers and innovators.
“America’s vibrant innovation ecosystem has always brought outside-the-box ideas and technologies to the forefront to address great challenges. This time of crisis is no different,” Michael Kratsios, the White House’s chief technology officer, said in a statement. “Through a range of funding, grant and award opportunities, the Trump administration is committed to leveraging our country’s brilliant startups, entrepreneurs and technologists in the fight against COVID-19.”
Here are the highlights from today’s one-pager:
The National Institutes of Health is supporting $1.78 billion in research grants, contracts and intramural projects to combat COVID-19, with funding opportunities focused on immune response, viral infection and transmission, and diagnostic, therapeutic and vaccine development.
The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority is collaborating with industry on a comprehensive portfolio of vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics. Investments of $1.69 billion are supporting clinical trials, advanced development of therapeutics, rapid vaccine development and diagnostics as well as expansion of US-based production of medical countermeasures. Seven BARDA-supported diagnostics quickly received Emergency Use Authorization. (BARDA is collaborating with Moderna on further development of a coronavirus vaccine that is currently going through a clinical trial in Seattle.)
The National Science Foundation turbo-charged its Rapid Response Research (RAPID) funding mechanism, which allows the agency to fast-track grants up to $200,000 for urgent COVID-19 research research proposals. In recent weeks, NSF has granted 58 awards for RAPID research funding. NSF is also offering funding opportunities for small businesses that are developing new technologies, products, and services with potential to assist in coronavirus response.
The Department of Defense’s Basic Research Office announced the Newton Award for Transformative Ideas During the COVID-19 Pandemic, awarding up to $100,000 for innovative and outside-the-box proposals in a variety of fields during a time when researchers cannot work from their labs.
The Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology has opened a funding opportunity through its Manufacturing USA Institutes for rapid, high-impact manufacturing projects that support the nation’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
For still more information about the coronavirus outbreak, check out Coronavirus.gov.
