Cooperative Agreement DEEE0008490

This Project Grant award for $1,000,000 from the National Science Foundation (NSF) Biological Sciences program (CFDA 47.074) aims to develop a polyketide-based platform to produce a range of non-canonical amino acids (NCAAs) and demonstrate their incorporation into proteins expressed by the bacterium Bacillus subtilis. The key objectives of the 3-year project are to: 1) engineer a polyketide synthase (PKS) system to produce threonine and evolve it for increased productivity; 2) utilize...

This Cooperative Agreement award of $2,572,498.00 from the National Science Foundation (NSF) Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships (TIP) program, with a performance period from May 1, 2025 to Apr 30, 2028, aims to develop new bioplastics with diverse properties. The project will computationally design complex enzymes within engineered bacteria to produce novel, sturdy bioplastics that can withstand high temperatures and be easily recycled or biodegraded. This effort will strengthen supply...

The National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded a $500,000 Project Grant under the Engineering program (CFDA 47.041) to the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology. The primary objective of this 2-year award is to develop a cell-free method for producing biodegradable polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) polymers from agricultural feedstocks. Key anticipated research activities include: 1) engineering a microbial strain to synthesize PHA precursors from corn stover, 2) using thermostable enzymes...

This National Science Foundation Project Grant award of $510,734 supports research at the University of Wyoming to develop genetically engineered bacterial systems for enhanced biodiesel production from lignocellulosic feedstocks. The goal is to program bacterial cells to produce high quantities of triacylglycerol (TAG), a commodity chemical that can be converted to biodiesel and industrial solvents. Specifically, the award will fund work to transform Rhodococcus strains into multicellular...

Exopolymer, Inc. received a $648,366 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Project Grant from the Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture to develop new fermentation-derived biopolymer ingredients. Under this two-year award running from September 2021 to August 2023, Exopolymer will finalize the commercial development of one or more biopolymer products that outperform hyaluronic acid in moisture binding and skin penetration performance. Work will include...

The University of Georgia Research Foundation, Inc. received a $299,999 Project Grant award from the National Science Foundation Division of Molecular and Cellular Biosciences to support the BRITE FUTURE: BIOECONOMY RELEVANT INNOVATION THROUGH EASY project. The goal of this research is to develop techniques and bacterial strains that can produce industrially important aromatic compounds from renewable resources rather than fossil fuels. Specifically, the researchers will modify biosynthetic...

The National Science Foundation awarded Opera Bioscience, Inc. $275,000 under the Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships program (CFDA 47.084) to develop a low-cost bacterial production platform for manufacturing high purity recombinant proteins and growth factors. The award period runs from June 15, 2023 through May 31, 2024. Opera Bioscience will utilize this funding to demonstrate the ability of its innovative protein production platform to solve challenges in traditionally costly and...

This two-year, $200,000 Project Grant from the National Science Foundation's Division of Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental, and Transport Systems will fund research at the Long Beach Research Foundation to develop multi-activity proteins for improved carbohydrate deconstruction. Specifically, the Foundation will produce and test 85 engineered multi-activity proteins containing two catalytic domains each. These proteins aim to increase biomass conversion for alternative fuels and...

This Project Grant award from the National Science Foundation (NSF) under the Biological Sciences program (CFDA 47.074) provides $369,297 to San Francisco State University (SFSU) to develop a synthetic transhydrogenation module to enhance the production of valuable chemicals using engineered organisms. The key objectives are to: Elucidate the structural mechanisms underlying the autoregulation of the GltAB-GudB enzyme complex in Bacillus subtilis, which regulates glutamate metabolism and impacts...

This National Science Foundation (NSF) Convergence Accelerator Track M award of $649,990 to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) supports the development and commercialization of a family of sustainable bio-based plastics derived from hydroxy fatty acids. Key activities include scaling up monomer synthesis, conducting polymer characterization and recycling assessments, and performing techno-economic and life cycle analyses. RPI is collaborating with Danimer Scientific, a bioplastics...