The National Science Foundation (NSF) https://www.nsf.gov is accepting ideas and proposals on how to conduct non-medical, non-clinical care research to explore how to model and understand the spread of COVID-19. The goal is to educate others about the science of virus transmission and prevention.
NSF is encouraging researchers to use the “Rapid Response Research” (RAPID) funding mechanism that allows NSF to receive and review proposals with urgency providing there is access to data, facilities, or equipment. .Requests for RAPID proposals may be up to $200K and will be up to one year in duration.
As of May 20 with the support of Congress, NSF has issued more than 400 awards across a wide spectrum of fields of study. The research selected will help the country address the pandemic, recover from it, and help mitigate the next health emergency. For more information on RAPID go to rapid-covid19-oac@nsf.gov.
NSF also has a funding program for small businesses and startups to join federal and local efforts to develop effective treatments for COVID-19 and perhaps a potential vaccine. NSF’s “Small Business Innovation Research” (SBIR) program and the “Small Business Technology Transfer” (STTR) program now known as “America’s Seed Fund” are actively calling for proposals from small business and startups to work on developing, deploying new technologies, products, processes, or services to aid in the response to the coronavirus.
Go to https://sbir@nsf.gov for more information or call 703-292-8050.
A small business taking part in NSF research, is Cognita Labs http://www.cognitalabs.com with funding from NSF was able to improve lung testing and to develop “PulmoScan”, a small handheld device. The device is able to determine how narrow and stiff a patient’s airways are through an alternative test called “Forced Oscillometry.”
PulmoScan is effortless to use and requires no special training to administer. It uses low-frequency sound waves to calculate resistance and elasticity in the airways. However, as Gaurav Patel, CEO and Co-Founder, reports “Cognita Labs is currently trying to figure out if PulmoScan could identify which COVID-19 patients are at risk for developing pneumonia and eventually respiratory failure. This could potentially help clinicians prioritize care for high risk patients.
Another company Aperiomics https://aperiomics.com received SBIR funding in 2017 to develop a test doctors could use to detect every known and sequenced pathogen. In developing this technology, the company created a database with genetic information for nearly 40,000 bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites.
This made it possible for the company to develop and perform tests that can specifically detect the virus that causes COVID-19. This has enabled the company to establish a testing capacity for 2,500 tests per week. The funding also supports the development of the software and database plus the company is moving ahead with advancements in machine learning.