Our Science

The Functional and Systems Biology (FSB) Science Area focuses on elucidating and harnessing the biochemical pathways that connect gene functions to complex phenotypic responses through a deep understanding of interactions within cells, among cells in communities, and between cellular membrane surfaces and their environment for microbes (archaea, bacteria, algae), fungi, and plants. This understanding will encompass experimental observations, metabolic reconstruction, and modeling, leading to improved strategies for designing plants, fungi, and microbes for biofuels and bio-based products. It will unravel the complexities of carbon, nutrient, critical mineral, and elemental cycles within cells and their immediate environment.
 

The Environmental Transformations and Interactions (ETI) Science Area focuses on the mechanistic and predictive understanding of environmental (physiochemical, hydrological, and biogeochemical), microbial, plant, and ecological processes in above- and belowground ecosystems, the atmosphere, and their interfaces. EMSL provides the experimental, computational, and simulation expertise to investigate and model cycling, transformation, and transport of critical nutrients, elements, contaminants, and atmospheric aerosols. Experiment and modeling approaches will accelerate mechanistic understanding of coupled soil-microbe-plant-atmosphere molecular processes and their interdependencies, ultimately informing models of ecosystem processes and land-atmosphere interactions at larger scales.  
 

Fiscal Year 2027 Exploratory Research Proposal Call

Submissions aiming to advance scientific understanding in EMSL's ETI Science Area through the FY27 Exploratory Research proposal call should focus on capabilities in, or complementary to, baseline measurement techniques as listed on the two, current ETI Community Science Campaign proposal call pages: FY27 Rhizosphere Critical and FY27 Unconventional Critical. This includes chemical imaging methods, multiomics approaches, TerraForms micromodels, and/or the use of Molecular Observation Network (MONet) data for AI/ML-based analyses or data-model integration.

Important proposal call dates:

• FY27 Exploratory Research call opens June 1
• Letters of intent are due by 5 p.m. PDT on July 1

The Computing, Analytics, and Modeling (CAM) Science Area focuses on using state-of-the-art experimental data to develop a predictive understanding of biological and environmental systems through advanced data analytics, visualization, and computational modeling and simulation. Our cohesive approach to integrating experimental and computational methods advances predictive approaches to biodesign for biofuel and bioproduct production and accelerates research to understand the molecular mechanisms underlying biological and hydro-biogeochemical processes controlling the flux of materials, such as carbon, nutrients, and contaminants, in the environment.