The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s Biological Technologies Office is seeking research-and-development concepts to help address Department of Defense requirements and other national security requirements. A FedBizOpps notice posted in April 2019 stated that BTO’s R&D scope covers a range of science and technology subject matters such as medicine, bioengineering, human-machine collaborative technologies and systems that can withstand ecological impact.
The mission of BTO is to foster, demonstrate, and transition breakthrough fundamental research, discoveries, and applications that integrate biology, engineering, computer science, mathematics, and the physical sciences. BTO’s investment portfolio goes far beyond life sciences applications in medicine to include areas of research such as human-machine interfaces, microbes as production platforms, and deep exploration of the impact of evolving ecologies and environments on U.S. readiness and capabilities. BTO’s programs operate across a wide range of scales, from individual cells to the warfighter to global ecosystems. BTO responds to the urgent and long-term needs of the Department of Defense (DoD) and addresses national security priorities.
“With our office there was a recognition that biological technologies were going to play such a crucial role in not only shaping where our country was going, but the threats coming to our country, and we needed a focused comprehensive effort going forward,” said director of its BTO, neuroprosthetic researcher Justin Sanchez, in an interview.
“Biology is nature’s ultimate innovator, and any agency that hangs its hat on innovation would be foolish not to look to this master of networked complexity for inspiration and solutions.” – DARPA Director Arati Prabhakar, Testimony to Subcommittee on Intelligence, Emerging Threats and Capabilities, U.S. House of Representatives, March 26, 2014.
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