The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Biological Technologies Office (BTO) is soliciting proposals that leverage biological properties and processes to revolutionize our ability to protect the nation’s warfighters. Specifically excluded is research that primarily results in evolutionary improvements to the existing state of practice. BTO harnesses advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to create new opportunities for transformative science across the biological spectrum. Warfighter health and well-being are critical to mission success. BTO develops diagnostic and assessment systems to identify chemical and biological threats, medical countermeasures, and novel approaches to tactical care and warfighter performance and recovery on and off the battlefield. BTO also leverages biological processes, technologies, and manufacturing opportunities to create resilient infrastructures and supply chains, protective solutions, and innovative sensors to ensure mission success in any location. BTO is interested in submissions related to the following topic areas:

General Topics  Biological and/or chemical technology topic areas that fit the national security scope of BTO’s mission.  Research into market opportunities, constraints, and communities affecting financing and commercialization of bioindustrial and biomedical technologies.

Machine Learning (ML) and Artificial Intelligence (AI)  Developing and advancing our understanding of the impact and principles underlying biological data generation, assessment and incorporation into the biological foundation models, or mixed-mode foundation models. This includes taking theoretical approaches as well as understanding the scaling laws of these data for various types of models.  Advancing the capabilities of broad or narrow biological and/or chemical or mixed-mode foundation models far beyond the state of the art.  Developing and proving non-experimental models or hybrid experimental/nonexperimental assessment strategies for biological foundation model assessment.  Exponentially accelerating the time scale of biological system simulation from the subcellular through multicellular, organismal and environmental systems, including for threat prediction, impact assessment, and attribution modeling.  Developing ML and AI-enabled technologies to improve the accuracy, precision, and efficiency of warfighter decision-making in complex and dynamic environments (e.g., on and off the battlefield), including for real-time threat assessment and response planning.  The development of virtual testbeds, digital twins, and/or synthetic data to accelerate or improve the predictive modeling of human performance.

Combat Casualty Care

 Developing novel diagnostic, prophylactic, and therapeutic approaches for warfighter injury that can be provided even in austere settings and extreme conditions.

Developing capabilities and technologies that enhance the ability of non-skilled service members to perform essential medical tasks closer to the point of injury, reducing dependence on highly trained personnel through assistive devices.

 Developing decision support tools that algorithmically optimize the alignment of medical

requirements and resources in complex, data-constrained mass casualty scenarios to

enhance near-real-time situational awareness and command and control (C2) planning

and execution.

 Development of capabilities and technologies that enhance the ability of non-skilled

service members to perform essential medical tasks closer to the point of injury, reducing

dependence on highly trained personnel through assistive devices.

Human Performance

 Understanding and improving treatment of and resilience in neurological health,

transformative neural processing, fatigue, cognition, and optimized human performance

and teaming, including in extreme stress conditions.

 Discovering interventions that utilize biotechnology, biochemistry, molecular biology,

microbiology, neuroscience, psychology, cognitive science, social and behavioral

science, and related disciplines to assess and optimize human performance and teaming.

 Developing and leveraging technologies to advance continuous or near-continuous

monitoring of physiology to elucidate mechanisms of human readiness, cognitive status,

and resilience.

 Understanding and improving interfaces between the biological and physical world to

enable seamless biohybrid systems and devices.

 Developing approaches to enhance physiological resilience, performance, and

survivability in extreme conditions (e.g., cold weather, extreme heat, high altitude).

Identifying technologies and tactics to increase or accelerate the impact of training

regimens while reducing the risk of injury.

Materials, Sensors, Processing

 Designing novel materials, sensors, or processes that mimic or are inspired by biological

systems.

 Creating tools such as foundation models or prediction engines to understand the

underlying rules defining biomolecular and biomaterial or hybrid biotic/abiotic material

structure/function properties (individual properties or groups of properties) in order to

predict desired outcomes for novel material development. Importantly, these predictions

should hold from the molecular scale to the macro scale.

 Developing new computational and experimental tools and predictive capabilities for

engineering of biological systems, such as cells, tissues, organs, organisms, and complex

communities, to both develop new products and functional systems, as well as to gain

new insights into underlying mechanisms.

 Developing technologies to leverage biological systems and enhance the acquisition and

maintenance of critical and strategic organic and inorganic materials.