PROGRAM AREA OVERVIEW

OFFICE OF BIOLOGICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH

The Biological and Environmental Research (BER) Program supports fundamental, peer-reviewed research in climate change, environmental remediation, genomics, systems biology, radiation biology, and medical sciences.  BER funds research at public and private research institutions and at DOE laboratories.  BER also supports leading edge research facilities used by public and private sector scientists across a range of disciplines:  structural biology, DNA sequencing, functional genomics, climate science, the global carbon cycle, and environmental molecular science.

BER has a particular interest in the following areas:

(1) Climate Change research aimed at the development of advanced climate models to describe and predict the roles of oceans, the atmosphere, ice and land masses on climate over time and research to understand how carbon dioxide moves through the environment, ways to increase its removal from the atmosphere, and its impacts on the Earth’s climate and ecosystems.

(2) Environmental Remediation research aimed at the development of advanced treatment options for nuclear waste, thereby extending the frontiers of methods for remediation, discovering the fundamental mechanisms of contaminant fate and transport in the environment and developing cutting edge molecular tools for investigating environmental processes will yield science-based strategies to reduce the costs, risks, and time for cleanup of DOE sites contaminated from years of weapons research.

(3) Medical Sciences research aimed at the development of advanced imaging and other medical technologies including highly sensitive radiotracer detectors, radiopharmaceuticals, and new technologies such as an artificial retina that will give vision to the blind.

(4) Life Sciences research aimed at the development of innovative solutions along unconventional paths to solve challenges in energy and the environment.  Research is focused on developing a predictive understanding of microbes and microbial communities that will lead to the development of biotechnology solutions for producing biofuels such as cellulosic ethanol or hydrogen, help control greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and help clean up environmental contamination.  This program also supports genomic DNA sequencing and research to understand the biological effects of low doses of radiation.

For additional information regarding the Office of Biological and Environmental Research priorities, click here.

TOPICS:

            7. Measurement/Monitoring and Characterization Technologies for the Subsurface Environment

a)  Mapping Hydrogeologic Processes in the Shallow Subsurface

b)  Real-Time, In Situ Biogeochemistry Measurements in Subsurface Sediments, Biofilms, or Groundwater

8. Genomes to Life and Related Biotechnologies

a)  Genome Scale Reagent Sets

b)  Proteomics

c)  Instrumentation and Products Needed for Single Macromolecule Analysis and Control

d)  Informatics 

9. Atmospheric Measurement Technology

a)  Measurements of the Chemical Composition of Carbonaceous Aerosols

b)  Instrumentation for Characterizing Atmospheric Aerosols

c)  Instrumentation for Characterizing UV Spectrum and Radiative Forcing of Aerosols

d)  UAV-Suitable Cloud Radar

10. Medical Sciences

a)  Development of Non-Photovoltaic Biological Power Sources for Implantable Devices

b)  Radiopharmaceutical Development for Radiotracer Diagnosis and Targeted Molecular Therapy

c)  Advanced Imaging Technologies

11. Carbon Cycle Measurements of the Atmosphere and the Biosphere

a)  Sensors and Techniques for Measuring Terrestrial Carbon Sinks and Sources

b)  Novel Measurements of Carbon, CO₂, and Trace Greenhouse Constituents of Terrestrial and Atmospheric Media

12. Biological Solutions for Reducing Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide and for Producing Fuels

a)  Sequestration of Carbon by Plant-Soil and Aquatic Systems

b)  Microbe-Based Carbon Sequestration in Harsh Environments

c)  Microbe-Based Hydrogen Production

d)  Application of Genome-to-Life (GTL) Concepts to Cellulosic Ethanol Production

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