Office of Science

Description

The DOE SC Biological Systems Science Division (BSSD) in Biological and Environmental Research (BER) hereby announces its interest in receiving applications to support fundamental research towards enabling new bioimaging approaches to achieve an advanced understanding of plant and microbial systems relevant to bioenergy research. New quantum dot (QD)-based-imaging approaches including quantum probes and sensors, and complementary optical imaging instrumentation, are needed to allow the observation and characterization of multiple complex biological processes occurring within living plant and microbial systems, including rhizosphere and soil microbiomes. Processes of interest include, but are not limited to measuring enzyme function within cells, tracking metabolic pathways in vivo, monitoring the transport of materials within cells or across cellular membranes, monitoring signaling processes between cells within plant-microbe and microbe-microbe interactions. Development of probes and sensors with desirable optical properties functionalized with specific biologically active molecules to interact and bind with specific cellular targets of interest are encouraged. Proposed approaches should enable dynamic localization and imaging to facilitate testing and validation of hypothesized cellular processes. It is expected that applications will make use of quantum-dot enabled approaches for imaging of biological targets non-destructively and in real time, to dramatically enhance our ability to measure biological processes in and among living cells.

Who can apply

• Others

Contact

Prem Srivastava <br/>prem.srivastava@science.doe.gov <br/>301-903-4071
prem.srivastava@science.doe.gov