Who funds synthetic biology research?

We count 53 funded synthetic biology projects, active between 2020 and 2031, from 5 funders. The most came from EU · ERC (13 projects), EU · MSCA (12 projects) and UKRI · BBSRC (5 projects). The median award is $2.1M, across the 48 of 53 projects that list an amount.

Funded projects

53

Funders

5

Median award

$2.1M

Open calls now

3

Top funders of synthetic biology research

Projects whose title or summary mentions synthetic biology. Median award: of the projects that list an amount, in US dollars; “—” when fewer than 3 do.

Open synthetic biology funding calls

3 open calls mention synthetic biology today.

• Prevention and mitigation of misuse of synthetic biology for bioterrorism purposes
  European Commission · Horizon EuropeUp to €3,000,000Deadline: November 5, 2026 ·
• Synthetic Biology and Metabolic Engineering
  National Science Foundation (SBIR/STTR)Not specifiedDeadline: July 7, 2027 ·
• Universal Platform for Living Adaptive Toxin-removal (UNI-PLAT)
  U.S. Department of Health and Human Services – ARPA-H (SBIR/STTR)Not specifiedDeadline: September 30, 2027 ·

Funded synthetic biology projects

A sample, latest start first, at most three per program.

• Quantum Sensing in Nature and Synthetic Biology
  UKRI · BBSRC · £5,972,816 · ends 2031
• Engineering Robust Synthetic Microbial Communities for Sustainable Biotechnology Applications
  UKRI · BBSRC · £1,683,186 · ends 2030
• University of tennessee: knoxville
  DOE · $2,500,000 · ends 2030
• Collaborative Research: Multisite REU in Synthetic Biology
  NSF · BIO · $278,996 · ends 2029
• Recombinant Bolaamphiphilic Protein Engineering for Asymmetric Vesicle Formation toward Synthetic Cell Signal Transduction
  NSF · BIO · $692,207 · ends 2029
• Environmental Biotechnology Innovation Centre
  UKRI · BBSRC · £11,610,427 · ends 2029
• Uc davis new recover award control number: 3118-1513 title: innovative biocatalysts through protein engineering and synthetic biology for…
  DOE · $2,463,829 · ends 2029
• SBIR Phase II: Industrial Strength Biology: Creating Robust Protein Technologies Using Spore-Display Directed Evolution
  NSF · TIP · $1,246,984 · ends 2028
• Fieldstone bio, inc
  DOE · $1,999,986 · ends 2028
• Development of advanced medical imaging technologies using synthetic biology tools
  UKRI · EPSRC · ends 2028

How we count

Funded projects come from public award records (NIH RePORTER, NSF, EU CORDIS, UKRI Gateway to Research, Wellcome, the Gates Foundation, DOE, NASA and USDA NIFA) whose title or summary matches “synthetic biology”. NIH lists each budget year separately; one project counts once. Amounts are as the funder lists them; medians use only projects that list one, in US dollars. Open calls and forecasts are from our listings of October 28, 2026. A project can mention a topic without being mainly about it, so treat the counts as a guide to who funds the area.