The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation (GBMF) recently announced a five-year $25 million program. The foundation will select 10 to 15 new and emerging leaders in marine microbial ecology and related fields to participate in a new research program. Each researcher's home institution will receive a grant ranging between $200,000 and $500,000 per year in direct costs.

The chosen researchers will get to participate in an innovative study, seeking insight on the principles that direct the nutrient flow, which is guided by microbial ecology and interactions between microbes in ocean systems.

The foundation began supporting marine microbial ecology research in 2004, when it launched an eight-year initial Investigator program that funded 12 investigators' research into evolution and ecology; open ocean, coastal and benthic habitats; bacterial, archaeal, eurkaryotic and viral organisms and communities as well as carbon, nitrogen and sulfur biogeochemistry.

Researchers from around the world with various scientific backgrounds and at different stages in their careers are eligible for entry into the competition. The competition opened on April 2 and the application submission period will come to a close on June 4. The final decision will be completed by December 2012.

Candidates can apply through the GBMF website. Other foundations may find they can benefit from web-based services and grant management software to streamline their charitable contributions.