Ecology and Evolution of Infectious Diseases | Apply Online

NSF Ecology and Evolution of Infectious Diseases (EEID) Program FAQs

1) What is the NSF EEID program?

The National Science Foundation (NSF) Ecology and Evolution of Infectious Diseases (EEID) program is a discretionary research grant opportunity that supports projects explaining why infectious diseases spread the way they do, and how transmission changes across environments, hosts, and time. The program frames disease spread as the result of ecological and evolutionary forces, along with socio-ecological factors (the interactions between biology and human behavior, institutions, and economic and cultural conditions).

2) What is the central research focus of EEID?

EEID focuses on understanding infectious disease transmission dynamics as an interacting system. It emphasizes discovering general principles of transmission and building or evaluating models that clarify how real disease systems operate, rather than treating disease as an isolated, purely laboratory-based phenomenon.

3) What is the key requirement for the main contribution of a proposed project?

The main contribution of a proposed project must be quantitative or computational. Applicants are expected to develop, test, or refine mathematical, statistical, or simulation-based models that improve mechanistic understanding of pathogen transmission dynamics.

4) Are primarily descriptive or narrowly focused empirical studies a fit for this program?

The program description indicates that projects should not be primarily descriptive or narrowly focused empirical studies. Empirical work may be relevant, but the primary contribution is expected to be quantitative or computational modeling that advances mechanistic understanding.

5) What does NSF mean by "broad and genuinely interdisciplinary" for EEID projects?

Projects are expected to reach beyond the typical scope of a single-discipline investigation. NSF is looking for research that integrates knowledge across fields to discover general principles and to evaluate models that can explain how disease systems function in real settings.

6) What types of hosts or systems can EEID research address?

EEID research may focus on transmission among humans, non-human animals, and/or plants. It can also address interactions and spillover processes that connect these groups.

7) What kinds of diseases or transmission pathways are eligible?

The eligible disease systems are intentionally broad. Proposals may address zoonotic diseases, environmentally borne diseases, vector-borne diseases, or enteric diseases.

8) What environments or settings are included?

Projects can be set in terrestrial or freshwater environments.

9) At what scale can EEID projects operate?

Work can be conducted at multiple scales, from specific pathogens and host-pathogen interactions to larger environmental systems that influence exposure and transmission.

10) What determinants of transmission does EEID encourage investigators to examine?

The program encourages examining determinants such as climate and other environmental drivers, host and reservoir population dynamics, host genetics, pathogen evolution, vector ecology, land use, and social, behavioral, and economic dimensions that can amplify or suppress disease spread.

11) Are socio-ecological factors explicitly part of the program scope?

Yes. The program explicitly includes socio-ecological factors, defined here as interactions between biological processes and human behavior, institutions, and economic and cultural conditions.

12) Does the program encourage real-world relevance and applied impact?

The program is open to projects that connect rigorous modeling with real-world relevance, particularly where improved prediction and control could yield major benefits. It also emphasizes integrating on-the-ground disease knowledge to improve forecasting and intervention strategies.

13) Are any topic areas particularly encouraged?

Two areas are specifically flagged as particularly encouraged: (1) disease systems that matter for public health in developing countries, and (2) disease systems that affect agricultural production, including plant and animal health.

14) Does EEID encourage collaboration with the public health research community?

Yes. The announcement strongly encourages involving the public health research community and other applied experts to integrate perspectives that are often separated in practice, with the intent of improving model realism, strengthening inference, and supporting better forecasting and intervention strategies.

15) What kinds of collaborators are mentioned as potential partners?

Examples of potential collaborators mentioned include epidemiologists, physicians, veterinarians, food scientists, social scientists, entomologists, pathologists, virologists, and parasitologists.

16) Is collaboration required, or is integration the main goal?

The description emphasizes that the aim is not collaboration for its own sake, but integration that improves the work, such as making models more realistic, strengthening inference, and supporting better forecasting and intervention strategies.

17) How many awards were anticipated under this opportunity?

At the time the opportunity was active, the program anticipated about 8 awards.

18) What was the estimated total funding level?

The estimated total funding level was $12,000,000.

19) What was the expected award size range?

Individual awards were expected to range from $1,000,000 (floor) to $2,500,000 (ceiling).

20) Was cost sharing or matching required?

No. The opportunity stated that no cost sharing or matching was required.

21) Who was eligible to apply?

Eligibility was listed as unrestricted, meaning it was open to any type of entity, subject to any clarifications in the full announcement.

22) What is the NSF publication or funding opportunity number for this solicitation?

The opportunity was posted under NSF Publication/Funding Opportunity Number 12-587.

23) When was this opportunity posted, and what is its status now?

It was posted on July 23, 2012, and it is now archived. The archive date is September 16, 2013.

24) What was the proposal deadline listed in the announcement?

The full proposal deadline noted was December 5, 2012. It was described as the first Wednesday in December annually thereafter during the active period of the solicitation.

25) What is the funding activity category?

The funding activity category is Science and Technology and other Research and Development.

26) What CFDA numbers were associated with this opportunity?

Associated CFDA numbers include 10.310 (AFRI), 47.074 (Biological Sciences), 47.075 (Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences), 93.859 (Biomedical Research and Research Training), and 93.989 (International Research and Research Training).

27) What does the set of CFDA numbers suggest about the program?

The CFDA list reflects the program's cross-cutting scope, spanning biological sciences, social/behavioral/economic sciences, biomedical research and training, international research and training, and connections relevant to agriculture.