Icbr: capacity: biological collections: provasoli-guillard national center for marine algae and microbiota (ncma)

The National Science Foundation's Division of Biological Infrastructure awarded $686,095 to Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences on September 15, 2025, to support the operational capacity and strategic development of the Provasoli-Guillard National Center for Marine Algae and Microbiota (NCMA). Under the Biological Sciences (CFDA 47.074) program, NCMA will curate and distribute globally-unique algal genetic resources, serving approximately 1,000 algae strains annually to academic researchers, educators, biotechnology companies, and high school students across the United States and internationally. The center's products and services include provision of validated algal cultures for fundamental biological research and biotechnology development, professional workforce training through two annual expert short courses on algal culturing techniques and harmful algae taxonomy, and educational enrichment materials supporting over 50,000 high school students annually in partnership with The Algae Foundation.

Through this award extending to August 31, 2028, NCMA will expand its core service offerings through five strategic initiatives: broadening biodiversity holdings to respond to national research needs; developing comprehensive biochemical datasets for algal strains; expanding cryopreservation capabilities to preserve irreplaceable strains; sequencing unresolved strains to strengthen national algal genetic reference libraries; and continuing workforce development training through university partnerships and professional courses. These deliverables will enhance NCMA's capacity to provide researchers with genomic and biochemical resources essential for discovering new medicines, developing bioenergy alternatives, improving agricultural practices, and supporting early-warning tools for harmful algal blooms.

Abstract

An award is made to bigelow laboratory for ocean sciences to support the strategic operation of the provasoli-guillard national center for marine algae and microbiota (ncma). The ncma curates a globally-unique algal genetic resource and distributes about 1,000 algae strains each year to students and educators, research communities, and companies worldwide. These users work with algae to investigate fundamental questions in biology and global processes, and to develop use-inspired biotechnology solutions for the blue economy and improved agricultural practices for societal benefit. Through its partnership with the educational non-profit the algae foundation, ncma?s cultures enrich the education and scientific literacy of more than 50,000 high school students in the U.S. Each year. Ncma offers two expert professional training short courses on algal culturing techniques and marine harmful algae taxonomy, training about 25 professionals in the algal workforce each year. Ncma, through the genetic diversity IT maintains, gives users a genomic and biochemical ?compass? To discover new medicines, develop new bioenergy alternatives, improve agricultural practices, and validate early-warning tools for harmful algal blooms. This project will: (1) broaden the biodiversity of ncma?s holdings in response to national research needs under NSF data-sharing rules; (2) develop a robust knowledge infrastructure comprised of detailed and validated biochemical datasets for ncma algal strains; (3) expand high-throughput cryopreservation techniques, protecting irreplaceable strains for future innovation; (4) sequence unresolved strains to strengthen national algal genetic reference libraries in support of biotechnology developments; and (5) continue to train the next generation of the algal workforce through university partnerships and short professional courses. Investing in ncma fortifies U.S. Leadership in marine science, accelerates breakthrough technologies for the blue economy, and delivers unmatched research infrastructure to universities, startups, and federal agencies. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.- subawards are not planned for this award.