Targeted Funding for Single Cell Analysis Technology

Development of Highly Innovative Tools and Technology for Analysis of Single Cells 

SBIR: PA-17-147

STTR: PA-17-148

Receipt dates: January 5, April 5, September 5

Expires on January 6, 2020

This targeted funding opportunity is for projects that focus on developing next-generation technologies and tools to better define cell heterogeneity and organization rules. The goal of the funding opportunity is to accelerate the edvelopment and translation of the cutting-edge single cell analysis approaches.

Applications can propose high-impact technologies that include but are not limited to:

• Devices and reagents to perform novel total (i.e., "-omic") molecular and/or functional analyses of a wide variety of cell types (e.g., imaging-based spatial “-omics”, microdroplet-based high throughput “-omics”).
• Combinations of tools for multiplex analysis and/or manipulation of single cells to maximize data content over many parameters (e.g., gene expression, protein interaction, metabolic states, electrochemical dynamics, signal secretion/reception/transduction, cell adhesive properties, intercellular communication, cytoarchitectonic or migratory changes).
• Tools that provide significant advances in assay sensitivity, selectivity, scalability, or spatiotemporal resolution of molecules/structures/activities of single cells in situ.
• Automated manipulation or precise perturbation for scalable analysis of single cells, including parallel readouts in multiple cells and/or speed of processing.
• Tools and technologies that enable and transform single cell analysis in clinical tissue biopsies.
• Systems-level single cell dataset analysis or modeling, including computational approaches, in the context of tissues or whole organisms.

Although applications will not be restricted to a particular type of technology, NIH is especially interested in applications to develop next-generation approaches that can or have the potential to distinguish heterogeneous states among cells in situ or in clinically relevant samples.

In addition, NCI is especially interested in applications for novel tools/technologies that enable the characterization of this heterogeneity among cells in situ or in clinically relevant samples and for clinically testing drug combinations and resistance with minimal invasiveness. These tools/technologies include but are not limited to multidimensional single cell imaging, single cell mass cytometry, high throughput technologies for isolation and characterization of DNA and RNA from individual cells either in situ or in clinically relevant samples.

For more information about this funding opportunity, please contact NCI SBIR Program Director Jian Lou (loux@mail.nih.gov).