October 20, 2025

Webinar

Registration is required by all meeting participants.

Registration Deadline: October 14, 2025 at 4:00 PM ET
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Meeting Format
ZoomGov
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PROGRAM OVERVIEW

The DARPA Smart-Red Blood Cells (Smart-RBC) program aims to engineer red blood cells to contain novel biological features that can safely and reliably modify human physiology. Specifically, the Smart-RBC program seeks to revolutionize blood products by creating “smart red blood cells” (SRBCs).
 
SRBCs will be engineered to contain additional biological circuits consisting of three layers: Sense extracellular biomarkers; Decide next steps; Act by creating effector molecules that can modify metabolism or physiology. The program will identify the art-of-the-possible to create SRBCs to enhance  human performance in austere environments and maximize survival via hemostasis products. While the Smart-RBC platform will focus on two initial applications -- performance support and enhanced hemostasis -- the platform will unlock future capabilities including, but not limited to, improving thermal regulation in extreme environments, creating universal blood, accelerating acclimation to high altitudes, generating more resilient blood products.

Smart-RBC is a 36-month program organized into two phases. In Phase I (18-months), teams will demonstrate the capacity to engineer hematopoietic stem cells such that the circuit parts are produced and positioned during differentiation and that they are retained and function in the mature, enucleated RBCs. In Phase II (18-months), teams will produce biological circuits with suitable characteristics, demonstrate functionality, and complete the program with a capability demo. DARPA strongly encourages teaming to ensure the expertise and capabilities necessary to meet Smart-RBCs goals.

 

Click the button below to view the full Special Notice.

EVENT PARTICIPATION

Eligibility

DARPA hosts Proposers Days to promote teaming arrangements between researchers; provide potential performers with information on whether and how they might respond to the Government’s research and development solicitations; and to increase efficiency in proposal preparation and evaluation. Therefore, Proposers Days are open only to registered potential proposers.

All U.S. Permanent Residents and Foreign Nationals must submit a DARPA Form 60, except foreign government personnel who must submit only an Official Visit Request completed by their respective Embassy based in Washington, DC.

All forms must be submitted no later than 4:00 PM ET on October 14, 2025). Form 60 submission instructions will be provided in the registration confirmation email. Contact your Embassy staff for assistance in submitting the Official Visit Request.

Registration

There is no registration fee for the Proposers Day. Registration closes on October 14, 2025 at 4:00 PM ET.

Advance registration is required. NOTE: All persons wishing to attend the webinar must register (whether viewing alone or as part of a group). 

Registration is limited to 350 participants, so early registration is recommended. Interested parties are encouraged to coordinate attendance internally within their organizations prior to registration. In the unlikely occurrence that the registration limit is reached, the number of representatives per organization may be limited. Individuals unable to register because the deadline has occurred or capacity has been reached will be added to a waitlist. If slots remain open after registration closes or become available due to cancellations, the slots will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis from the waitlist.

TEAMING OPPORTUNITIES

LIGHTNING TALKS

Interested attendees are invited to submit one (1) Adobe PDF slide (landscape) that summarizes their interests and capabilities (Attachment 1). These will be presented during “lightning talks” at Proposers Day. Submitted presentations consisting of multiple slides or a single slide with multiple layers will not be granted a time slot. Lightning talk submissions (no more than one per attendee) will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis, until the maximum possible number of submissions (given time constraints) is reached. Interested attendees must identify their intention to participate in the lightning talk session during registration. To allow a greater number of institutions to share their information during Proposers Day, which will benefit all participants, lightning talks from the same institution should be consolidated into a single presentation that conveys the organization's interests and capabilities.  

All presentations must be emailed to Smart-RBC@darpa.mil no later than 12:00 PM ET on October 15, 2025.

TEAMING PROFILE

Interested parties are also invited to submit a one-page teaming profile describing technical competencies, unique facilities and other capabilities, as they relate to the program, and desired technical/other competencies sought from other potential team partners (Attachment 2). The one-page profile should include, at a minimum:

  • Contact information (e.g., name, organization, email, phone number, mailing address, website);
  • Brief description of the proposer's technical competencies and relevant facilities; and
  • Desired technical competencies and facilities from other potential team members, if applicable.

Submitted teaming profiles will be distributed via email to all registered attendees in an effort to assist with team development and formation. Submitted teaming profiles must be in MS Word or Adobe PDF format. Submissions longer than one (1) page will not be accepted. Multiple teaming profiles from independent groups in the same institution are allowed. 

All conforming teaming profiles must be emailed to Smart-RBC@darpa.mil no later than 12:00 PM ET on October 22, 2025. Profiles that do not use the provided template (see Attachment 2) and/or exceed the one-page limit will not be accepted. Information contained in teaming profiles shall be publicly releasable – profile submitters consent to distribution amongst event registrants. After Proposers Day, the teaming profiles will be sent via e-mail to all registrants. Specific content, communications, networking, and team formation are the sole responsibility of participants. Neither DARPA nor the DoD endorses any participating organization, nor does DARPA or DoD exercise any responsibility for improper dissemination of the teaming profiles.

SIDEBAR MEETINGS

There will be an opportunity to meet with the Program Manager, Dr. Christopher Bettinger, in virtual sidebars on October 21, 2025, 12:00 – 4:30 PM ET. These sidebars can be requested as individual/team sessions during the registration process. Sidebar meetings will not provide feedback on ideas but rather will cover whether a particular approach or concept is within scope.  

AGENDA

Click the button below to see the tentative agenda.