Division of Molecular and Cellular Biosciences

The National Science Foundation Division of Molecular and Cellular Biosciences, a sub-agency within the civilian National Science Foundation, administers federal grants that fund research and education in molecular and cellular life sciences. The Division operates as a grant-making entity rather than a contracting office, funding investigator-led projects and workshops across academic and research institutions.

Since 2005, the Division has obligated $1.36 billion in federal grant funding across 1,958 total awards to 363 distinct recipients. Recent grant volume has held relatively steady at 166 awards in 2023, 184 in 2024, 137 in 2025, 159 in 2026, and 7 recorded awards so far in 2027. The grant portfolio consists almost entirely of Project Grants (1,957 awards); only one Cooperative Agreement has been awarded.

The grant-recipient base is highly fragmented. The top five recipients by award count—Gordon Research Conferences (45 awards), American Institute Of Chemical Engineers (20 awards), University Of California, Davis (18 awards), Michigan State University (18 awards), and University Of Wisconsin System (16 awards)—account for only 14 percent of recent awards. By federal dollars, concentration is even lighter: the top five recipients by dollars (University Of California, Davis at $14.6 million, The Johns Hopkins University at $11.9 million, University Of Wisconsin System at $11 million, Michigan State University at $9 million, and The Regents Of The University Of Colorado at $8.6 million) represent only 4 percent of recent federal dollars obligated. This distribution reflects the Division's mission of supporting broad-based research across the molecular and cellular sciences; individual awards remain modest in scale relative to the total portfolio, and no single institution or research organization commands material leverage within the funding stream.

Gordon Research Conferences emerges as the most-awarded recipient, reflecting the Division's support for specialized scientific workshops and conferences. Academic institutions—particularly large state universities—dominate the federal-dollars dimension, with mid-tier awards typical across the base. The absence of any Cooperative Agreements in the portfolio indicates the Division relies on Project Grant mechanisms for all substantive transactional activity.

Recent opportunities and closed solicitations are not reported in the available source data. Prospective applicants should reference the Division's website and NSF funding opportunity notices for current Project Grant solicitations and deadline information.

The Division of Molecular and Cellular Biosciences (MCB) supports fundamental research at the intersection of disciplines to uncover the emergent properties of complex living systems across the molecular, subcellular and cellular scale. The Division welcomes proposals that incorporate theories and concepts from physics, mathematics, chemistry, engineering and computer science in search of the most fundamental Rules of Life, as well as proposals that offer technological innovations to enable the multi-disciplinary research enterprise.