The Facilities Integrating Collaborations for User Science (FICUS) program has opened its annual call for biological and environmental research proposals for fiscal year 2026. The deadline for Letter of Intent submission is March 6.

FICUS, created in 2014, provides researchers with access to the world-class resources of multiple user facilities through a single proposal. Projects generally last two years and begin in October. 

FICUS is administered by two U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Biological and Environmental Research facilities: the Joint Genome Institute (JGI) at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory (EMSL) at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. 

The eBERlight initiative at the Advanced Photon Source (APS) is part of the FICUS program. eBERlight exists to increase the amount of biological and environmental research at the APS, pairing scientists with the X-ray beamlines and techniques that can help answer their scientific questions. 

Researchers can submit proposals online.