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FAQs: NSF Ecology and Evolution of Infectious Diseases (EID) - Funding Opportunity 13-577

What is the purpose of the NSF "Ecology and Evolution of Infectious Diseases" (EID) program?

The program was designed to support ambitious, interdisciplinary research that explains why infectious diseases spread the way they do and how those patterns change over time. The emphasis is on ecological, evolutionary, and socio-ecological drivers of transmission dynamics, with the goal of uncovering generalizable principles rather than producing a description of a single outbreak or pathogen in isolation.

What type of research approach does this solicitation require?

A defining requirement is that proposals center on quantitative or computational approaches to transmission. Projects are expected to develop, test, or refine mathematical, statistical, or simulation models that meaningfully improve understanding of infectious disease systems, ideally by integrating data, theory, and modeling.

Does the program fund projects that are purely descriptive or focused on one outbreak?

The solicitation emphasizes generalizable, principle-driven insights. That framing suggests the program is not aimed at work that only describes a single outbreak or a single pathogen in isolation without advancing broader understanding through quantitative or computational modeling.

What scientific areas are emphasized within infectious disease research?

The program highlights ecological, evolutionary, and socio-ecological drivers that shape transmission dynamics. It encourages work that explains determinants of transmission by treating disease spread as an emergent outcome of multiple linked processes across hosts, pathogens, environments, and (where relevant) human behavior and social systems.

What kinds of disciplines or expertise are encouraged to be part of a project team?

The announcement encourages active collaboration with the public health research community and other applied experts. It specifically encourages inclusion of disciplines such as epidemiology, medicine, veterinary science, food science, social science, entomology, pathology, virology, and parasitology, alongside ecological and evolutionary perspectives and strong quantitative/computational modeling.

Is the program intended for single-investigator projects or larger interdisciplinary teams?

The solicitation is framed around supporting large, cross-cutting teams that integrate multiple disciplines, connect biological mechanisms with population-level patterns, and combine empirical work with rigorous quantitative or computational modeling.

What disease systems are eligible or relevant under this opportunity?

The opportunity is broad. It explicitly includes zoonotic diseases, environmentally borne pathogens, vector-borne infections, and enteric diseases. It also welcomes work on diseases affecting animals and plants, making it relevant to agricultural biosecurity and ecosystem health, not only human public health.

Can proposals focus on non-human diseases, such as those affecting wildlife, livestock, or plants?

Yes. The solicitation explicitly welcomes research on diseases affecting animals and plants in addition to human disease systems.

Are environmental and climate factors within scope for proposed research?

Yes. The solicitation highlights how climate and other environmental factors can alter disease risk, and encourages incorporating environmental context as part of explaining and modeling transmission dynamics.

Are social, behavioral, cultural, or economic factors within scope?

Yes. The program highlights the influence of cultural, social, behavioral, and economic conditions on exposure, susceptibility, and control measures, and positions these as relevant drivers that can be integrated into transmission research and modeling.

Does the solicitation encourage work on reservoir hosts, spillover, and persistence?

Yes. It highlights reservoir host population dynamics and genetics as relevant factors that can affect spillover and persistence, aligning with the program's ecological and evolutionary framing.

What environments or settings can be studied under this program?

The solicitation allows research in terrestrial or freshwater environments and supports disease systems spanning those contexts.

At what scales can projects operate (e.g., single pathogen vs. system-level)?

The program supports studies across many scales, from specific pathogens or host-pathogen pairs to larger system-level approaches that treat the environment, multiple hosts, and human activity as part of a coupled transmission network.

Is there a stated priority for projects connected to real-world disease burdens?

Yes. A strong programmatic priority is relevance to real-world disease burdens, especially those affecting developing countries and agricultural systems.

Does the program encourage proposals relevant to low- and middle-income regions?

Yes. The solicitation specifically encourages proposals focused on disease systems that are major public health concerns in low- and middle-income regions.

Does the program encourage research related to agriculture and food systems?

Yes. It encourages attention to infections that threaten crops, livestock, or food systems, and it welcomes work relevant to agricultural biosecurity.

What category of funding opportunity is this?

This was a discretionary grant program in the Science and Technology / Research and Development category.

How many awards were anticipated and what was the total estimated funding level?

The solicitation anticipated about 8 awards, with an estimated total funding level of about $11,000,000.

What was the expected award size range for individual grants?

Individual awards were expected to fall between $1,000,000 (floor) and $2,500,000 (ceiling).

Was cost sharing or matching required?

No. The solicitation stated there was no cost sharing or matching requirement.

Who was eligible to apply?

Eligibility was listed as unrestricted (open to any type of entity), subject to any clarifications in the full text of the solicitation.

What was the proposal deadline for this opportunity?

The original full proposal deadline was November 20, 2013.

Was there a recurring annual deadline pattern mentioned?

Yes. The solicitation noted a pattern of submission on the third Wednesday in November in subsequent years.

Is this specific solicitation still active?

No. This particular solicitation (13-577) is archived and was replaced by NSF 14-592.

What is the key takeaway about what NSF wanted to fund through this call?

The clear intent was to support large, interdisciplinary teams using rigorous quantitative or computational modeling grounded in ecological and evolutionary thinking, informed by social and environmental context, to discover and test principles that improve understanding, prediction, and ultimately control of infectious disease transmission.