This National Aeronautics and Space Administration NRA “Appendix B - Research Opportunities for Post-Doctoral Fellowships in Space Biology to Study the Microbiome of the ISS as a Built Environment:
Using the International Space Station (ISS) as a Microbiological Observatory” is an Appendix to

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the NASA Omnibus Research Announcement ROSBio-2016 (NNH16ZTT001N NRA).

NASA and the Sloan Foundation have agreed through a Space Act Agreement to work in parallel for a common purpose:
to sponsor studies designed to provide insight into the microbiome of the built environment of the ISS that will advance our knowledge and understanding of human-built habitats on Earth, to enhance ISS utilization, and to inform the development of future space exploration vehicles that are occupied by humans.

NASA is soliciting, through this Appendix, research applications for Postdoctoral Fellowships from early career scientists to design experiments that utilize a NASA collection of ISS microbial isolates collected over a decade or more to help understand better how microbial communities colonize, adapt, and evolve on the ISS.

All proposals must propose experiments that utilize these microbial isolates collected from the ISS that have been archived at the Johnson Space Center.

NASA anticipates that up to 2 awards will be made for the research requested in this NRA and that each grant will last 2 years for a total cost of $140K.

Appendix B, which will be released on or about September 15, 2016 can be found by opening the NASA Research Opportunities homepage at http://nspires.nasaprs.com/ and then linking through the menu listings "Solicitations" to "Open Solicitations." Mandatory notices of Intent (NOIs) are due October 31, 2016 at 5 PM Eastern Time.

NOIs are required to facilitate peer review planning.

Full proposals are due November 30, 2016 at 5 PM Eastern Time.

Announcement of selections will be made on or about March 1, 201 7. Proposals and NOIs must be submitted electronically by an authorized official of the proposing organization.

Proposers may use either NSPIRES (http://nspires.nasaprs.com/) or Grants.gov (http://www.grants.gov) for proposal submission.

However, NOIs must be submitted using NSPIRES.

NASA’s selection of research projects will be guided by recommendations of the National Research Council’s 2011 Decadal Survey Report, “Recapturing a Future for Space Exploration:
Life and Physical Sciences Research for a New Era” (http://www.nap.edu/catalog/1304 8. html) Proposals will be accepted from Graduate students in the final year of their PhD or equivalent doctoral degree program, from Postdoctoral fellows (PhD, MD, DDS, DVM or equivalent doctoral degree from an accredited domestic or foreign institution) or from applicants who received a doctoral degree within the past 2 years, but have not yet had post-doctoral training.

The solicitation is open to U. S. citizens, permanent residents, or persons with pre-existing visas obtained through their sponsoring institutions that permit postdoctoral training for the project’s duration.

Sponsoring institutions must be U. S. Academic, government, or commercial institutions that will provide appropriate postdoctoral mentors.

Successful applicants may collaborate with investigators from universities, Federal Government laboratories, the private sector, state and local government laboratories and other countries with the exception of China.

Every organization that intends to submit a proposal in response to Appendix B must be registered with NSPIRES, and such registration must identify the authorized organizational representative(s) who will submit electronic proposals.

Instructions on how to register in NSPIRES are described in the omnibus NRA (NNH16ZTT001N NRA).

Each electronic proposal requires the registration of postdoctoral applicants, their principal investigator mentors, and any other participants.

Potential proposers and proposing organizations are urged to access the system(s) well in advance of the proposal due date(s) to familiarize themselves with its structure and enter the requested information.

Questions about ROSBio-2016 (NNH16ZTT001N NRA) and this Appendix may be addressed to the contacts referenced in the full solicitation document.

This is a broad agency announcement as specified in FAR 6. 102 (d)(2).

All awards resulting from selections of proposals to this Appendix and future Appendices will be grants or cooperative agreements.

Programmatic information for this NRA is available from:
Dr. David L.

Tomko, Program Scientist for Space Biology Life and Physical Sciences Division, NASA Headquarters Phone:
202-358-2211 Email:
dtomko@nasa.gov NASA contracting information for this NRA is available from:
Benjamin S.

Benvenutti, Lead Contract Specialist NASA Shared Services Center Phone:
(228) 813-612 8. Email:
benjamin.s.benvenutti@nasa.gov