Synthesis Center for Molecular and Cellular Sciences

NSF seeks to establish a Synthesis Center for Molecular and Cellular Sciences (SCMCS) that will advance our ability to explain and predict complex molecular and cellular phenomena through innovative synthesis and integration of available biological data and related scientific knowledge. The Center will provide the vision, infrastructure, and expertise to support communities in drawing together information, including data, methods, conceptual frameworks, theories, and models that are currently dispersed across different scientific domains, in order to address compelling, multi-scale questions and open new avenues of inquiry in the molecular and cellular biosciences. To accomplish this vision, the Center will adopt open science principles and team science approaches that enable data sharing and effective, inclusive collaborations among researchers across biological, chemical, computational, mathematical, and physical sciences and engineering disciplines. In addition to supporting information synthesis to enable research, the Center will develop training programs that empower new generations of researchers to solve challenging problems using data-intensive, cross-disciplinary, and collaborative science. The Center is also expected to serve as an exemplar in engaging diverse scientists from different types of institutions and across disciplinary, demographic, and geographic lines. By creating a rich environment for researchers to share and create new knowledge, the Center will help catalyze a revolution in understanding the molecular and cellular underpinnings of life. In doing so, the Center will shape the future of many scientific fields and have a profound impact on the progress of science and society.