Seed Instrumentation Support (SIS) Program (S10 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)

Shared Biomedical Research Instrumentation

This NCATS program funds the acquisition of a single commercially available biomedical research instrument to strengthen institutional research capacity. The instrument must be shared across users to generate reproducible data, enable new research directions, and foster collaborative research and training. This is infrastructure investment rather than project-based research support—the goal is to remove equipment bottlenecks that currently limit your institution's research scope.

The program targets instruments that will have broad utility across multiple research groups and disciplines. Eligible instruments are those commercially available and not already present at your institution; the purchase must demonstrably open new research opportunities or significantly enhance existing capabilities through improved data quality or throughput.

At a glance:

• Who can apply: Domestic institutions (specific eligibility criteria not stated; verify with NCATS)
• Funding & project length: $50,000–$400,000 per award; project duration not stated
• Award mechanism: Equipment/instrumentation grant
• Key dates: Not stated
• Best fit for: Multi-user facilities and core labs seeking to acquire shared instruments (e.g., imaging, sequencing, analytical platforms) that enable cross-disciplinary collaboration

Next steps: Confirm your institution's eligibility and whether the target instrument meets the "currently unavailable" requirement. Emphasize in your application how the instrument will be shared, which research groups will benefit, and what new research directions it enables.