The Stanford Bio-X Interdisciplinary Initiatives Seed Grants Program (IIP) awards provide seed funding for high-risk, high-reward collaborative proposals including basic research leading to fundamental discoveries, as well as innovative technologies, relating to human health.

We are announcing this request for Letters of Intent (LOI) for the 13th round of the Stanford Bio-X IIP to all eligible Stanford Faculty who are affiliated with Bio-X (see eligibility criteria below).

The LOIs will be due February 26, 2026 by 5:00 PM PST.

We are now accepting LOIs! A cover page template is available below (see Submission Instructions).

 

 

On this page:

• History of the Stanford Bio-X Seed Grants
• PI and Co-PI Eligibility
• Evaluation Criteria
• Letter of Intent Components
• Submission Instructions
• Round 13 Seed Grants Timeline
• Proposal Information

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History of the Stanford Bio-X Seed Grants: 

The Stanford Bio-X program has, as one of its major goals, the enhancement of interdisciplinary interactions between and among all scientific communities at Stanford. Stanford Bio-X brings together researchers – in computer science and technology, engineering, food and nutrition, the basic sciences in H&S, the earth sciences and sustainability, and the pre-clinical and clinical sciences in the School of Medicine, in areas related to biosciences, biomedicine, and bioengineering – to bring interdisciplinary solutions and to create new knowledge of biological systems, in benefit of human health.

Our first twelve rounds of the Stanford Bio-X Interdisciplinary Initiatives Program (IIP) Seed Grants have funded 277 proposals. In the past, for each round we received over 100 Letters of Intent. At least half of the Letters of Intent are approved for submission of a full proposal. We have been able to fund 20+ proposals for each round. The types of proposals funded are interdisciplinary initiatives in new and innovative topics and areas of research benefiting human health that could best (or only) be performed by collaborations between faculty from different disciplines. We encourage faculty from different schools to work together on these initiatives, particularly those who have not received grants in previous rounds.

The Stanford Bio-X Interdisciplinary Initiatives Seed Grants Program Committee, including faculty from schools across campus, is charged with reviewing and awarding the Letters of Intent. The committee seeks high-risk, high-reward collaborative proposals including basic research leading to fundamental discoveries, as well as innovative technologies, relating to human health.
 

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PI and Co-PI Eligibility: 

To be eligible to submit a Letter of Intent, all of the applicants must be Stanford Bio-X affiliated faculty members.

Stanford faculty who are eligible to become affiliates and to apply for a Seed Grant:

• Regular tenured or tenure-line faculty (UTL/University Tenure Line)
• UML (University Medical Line)/MCL (Medical Center Line) faculty
• NTLR (Non-Tenure Line/Research) faculty – eligible only if at least one other PI on the LOI has a UTL or UML/MCL appointment
   

Clinician Educators (Clinical Educator line), Clinical Professors, and Instructors are not eligible to receive Stanford Bio-X Seed Grants.

If you have one of these appointments, but will be transitioning into an eligible faculty appointment as indicated above, your appointment must be finalized before February 26, 2026. Please indicate this and include your appointment letter when you submit your LOI.

Incoming faculty members must also have their appointments finalized and displaying in Stanford’s systems before February 26, 2026 to be eligible to submit an LOI.

Please note that consulting faculty, postdocs, research assistants, etc. are not eligible to apply as a PI on these grants.
 

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Evaluation Criteria: 

The LOIs will be evaluated as to:

• interdisciplinary nature
• quality
• likelihood of being successful
• whether they address the scientific and programmatic goals of Stanford Bio-X in its broadest sense
• potential for obtaining future external support for the project
• whether the proposal is a new collaboration between the faculty

LOIs must involve Principal Investigators affiliated with Stanford Bio-X from at least two different disciplines. It will be important to document how the collaborative effort will be stronger than the sum of two independent projects and how the project is related to human health.

Stanford Bio-X will consider proposals in the range of at least $125,000 a year for two years. Support could be for personnel (undergraduate, graduate, or post-doctoral students, research assistants, or associates), supplies, and equipment. Faculty salaries and travel expenses on the grants are not allowed.

We will accept up to two Letters of Intent from one primary PI. If both LOIs from one primary PI are selected for full proposals, only ONE proposal from a given primary PI could receive funding.
 

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Letter of Intent Components: 

Letters of Intent require:

1. A completed cover page (refer to cover page button below):
    Cover Page includes:
   • Non-Confidential Project Title
   • Principal Investigator’s Information (PIs must be Stanford Bio-X affiliated faculty members – see Eligibility above)
   • Co-PIs’ Information (all co-PIs must have faculty status, and all must be Stanford Bio-X affiliated faculty members – see Eligibility above)
   • Non-Confidential Lay Abstract
2. A one- to two-page description of the project goals, the individuals and disciplines involved, and its potential impact on biology and human health. Please include:
   • Potential for obtaining future external support for the project
   • If the study is a new collaboration between the faculty
   • A description of how the project is interdisciplinary
3. Submission Deadline: Thursday, February 26th, 2026 by 5:00 PM (PST)

Please note: We will refer to your Stanford Profile (https://profiles.stanford.edu/) for your complete list of publications and C.V. You do not need to submit a copy of your Stanford Profile with the LOI, but please make sure your administrators have updated your Stanford Profile.
 

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Submission Instructions: 

We ask that all letters of intent be sent electronically as a Word or PDF document to Cici Huber at chuber@stanford.edu and to Dr. Heideh Fattaey at hfattaey@stanford.edu, no later than February 26, 2026 by 5:00 PM.

If you have any questions about the appropriateness of your proposal, or if you need any additional information, please contact Dr. Heideh Fattaey at hfattaey@stanford.edu.

Letters of Intent must be received by Thursday, February 26th, 2026 by 5:00 PM (PST).

 

Letter of Intent Cover Page

 

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Round 13 Seed Grants Timeline: 

• Thursday, February 26th, 2026 by 5:00 PM (PST): Letters of Intent must be received
• February through May: Stanford Bio-X Interdisciplinary Initiatives Seed Grants Program Committee review of Letters of Intent
• May 2026: Teams will be contacted with the results of the review, and LOIs deemed appropriate will be asked to write a full proposal (see below for proposal components)
• Thursday, June 18, 2026 by 5:00 PM (PST): 5-page Proposals and full supplementary materials must be received
• June through August: Committee review of proposals
• End of August, 2026: Awarded proposal teams will be notified
• October 1, 2026: Funding to awarded proposals anticipated to be available
   

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Proposal Information for your reference: 

If your LOI is selected to submit a full proposal, proposal information is listed below.

Proposal Components:

The proposals will be evaluated as to:

• their interdisciplinary nature
• quality of the proposal
• likelihood of being successful
• whether they address the scientific and programmatic goals of Stanford Bio-X in its broadest sense
• whether they involve Principal Investigators in at least two different disciplines
• potential for obtaining future external support for the project
• if the proposal is a new collaboration between the faculty

 

The 5-page proposal will include:

• Description of background leading to the proposal and the novelty of the proposal
• Specific aims of the proposal
• Outline of proposed methods
• Previous investigations or pertinent work by investigators supporting the proposal
• A description of the interdisciplinary and interactive nature of the proposal - how is the work interdisciplinary?
• How the collaborative effort will be stronger than the sum of two independent projects and how each collaborator would contribute to the project
• Potential impacts and outcomes (including how outcomes might be measured)
• Potential for future funding
• Please make sure to let us know if this is a new collaboration or a continuation of work

 

Supplementary material for the proposal, not counted in the 5 pages:

• Bio of investigators and their roles in the project
• A PDF copy of each investigator's Stanford Profile (https://profiles.stanford.edu/), to be referenced as their C.V.
• Non-confidential abstract paragraph written for an educated lay audience
• Budget in detail for each year of the proposed project and a budget justification
  • Faculty salaries on the grants are not allowed
  • Travel expenses on the grants are not allowed
  • You do not need to account for indirects
• Other pertinent support and potential leveraging
   

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*Please note:
To submit an LOI, you must be a Bio-X affiliated faculty member. All Stanford faculty with a full faculty appointment as indicated above are eligible to become affiliated. Please contact chuber@stanford.edu and hfattaey@stanford.edu for details.