Imaging of proteins, cells, and tissues is critical to understanding health and disease. On December 2nd, 2020, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) announced nearly $32 million in funding to support biomedical imaging researchers, technology development, and the BioImaging North America international network of bioimaging facilities and communities. CZI also opened a new Request for Applications (RFA) aimed at supporting technology development that will allow researchers to see the inner workings of cells, including proteins, at near-atomic resolution to better understand what causes disease and how to develop treatments.

Frontiers of Imaging: Visual Proteomics 

The Frontiers of Imaging initiative, part of CZI’s broader Imaging program, supports the development of disruptive imaging technologies that connect biological scales across organs, cells, and proteins, allowing researchers to directly visualize biological processes at the necessary resolution and context to obtain a mechanistic understanding of health and disease. As part of the Frontiers initiative, the new Visual Proteomics Imaging RFA supports technology development that will allow researchers to see the inner workings of cells, including proteins, at near-atomic resolution. CZI invites scientists to apply for this 2 1/2-year grant opportunity to support the development of hardware, software, and methods. Examples of research themes could include hardware and software development to enhance contrast and resolution for electron tomography, high-resolution correlated light and electron microscopy (CLEM), and FIB-SEM; sample preparation improvements for electron tomography; and development of software or new computational techniques and algorithms for identifying protein molecules inside cells and segmenting sub-cellular structures.

The Visual Proteomics Imaging RFA accept applications until February 17, 2021 at 5 p.m. Pacific Time.

For more information and application instructions, please visit CZI’s online grants management portal.

For administrative and programmatic inquiries, technical assistance, or other questions pertaining to this RFA, please contact: sciencegrants@chanzuckerberg.com.

Learn more about CZI’s Frontiers of Imaging effort.