Atom | Investigator Initiated Innovation in Computational Genomics and Data Science (R01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)

Funder: National Institutes of Health

Funding Amounts: Up to $499,999 direct costs/year; max 5 years (typically 5 years for early-stage, 4 or fewer for established investigators).

Summary: Supports innovative, scalable computational genomics and data science research broadly enabling for human health and disease; clinical trials not allowed.

Key Information: Application budgets ≥$500,000 direct costs/year are not allowed; foreign and domestic organizations eligible; contact program staff before applying.

Description

This opportunity from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) supports investigator-initiated research projects that advance innovation in computational genomics, data science, statistics, and bioinformatics. The focus is on developing new analytical methodologies, early-stage tools and software, and the refinement or hardening of high-value software for the biomedical genomics community. Projects must be broadly enabling for genomics, generalizable across diseases and biological systems, and scalable to large datasets. Incremental improvements or applications of existing methods are not responsive.

Research areas of interest include, but are not limited to:

Visualization tools for large genomic datasets
Genetically informed causal inference methods
Machine learning and AI for genomics (including generative AI, benchmarking, validation)
Privacy-preserving technologies for controlled-access human genomic and clinical data
Scalable and efficient computational methods for large-scale genomic analysis
Integration of AI into experimental workflows
Federated learning methodologies for distributed genomic data

Projects focused on microbial genomics, resource curation, or those not broadly generalizable are not eligible. Up to 10% of the budget may be used for experimental work to evaluate computational approaches.

Due Dates

New Applications: June 5, 2025 | February 5, 2026 | June 5, 2026 | February 5, 2027 | June 5, 2027
Renewal/Resubmission/Revision: July 5, 2025 | March 5, 2026 | July 5, 2026 | March 5, 2027 | July 5, 2027

All applications are due by 5:00 PM local time of the applicant organization. The final application deadline is September 7, 2027.

Funding Amount

Direct Costs: Up to $499,999 per year (direct costs)
Project Period: Maximum 5 years (NHGRI typically funds early-stage investigators for 5 years; established investigators for 4 or fewer years)
No cost sharing required
Number of awards: Dependent on NIH appropriations and the number of meritorious applications

Eligibility

Eligible organizations include:

Public and private institutions of higher education (domestic and foreign)
Nonprofits (with or without 501(c)(3) status)
For-profit organizations (including small businesses)
State, county, city, township, and special district governments
Independent school districts
Native American tribal governments and organizations (federally recognized and other)
Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities
Faith-based and community-based organizations
Regional organizations
U.S. territories and possessions
Non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities and components of U.S. organizations

Individuals: Any qualified individual(s) with the skills, knowledge, and resources to carry out the proposed research may apply. Multiple applications from the same organization are allowed if scientifically distinct.

Note: Foreign organizations and components are eligible. All applicants must complete required registrations (SAM, eRA Commons, Grants.gov) before applying.

Application Process

Submission: Applications must be submitted electronically via Grants.gov, NIH ASSIST, or an institutional system-to-system solution.
Forms: Use the SF424 (R&R) application package and follow the NIH Research (R) Instructions.
Budget: Application budgets must be less than $500,000 in direct costs per year. Applications requesting $500,000 or more in direct costs per year will not be accepted.
Research Plan: Clearly describe the innovation, scalability, generalizability, and potential impact of the proposed methods or tools. Include plans for validation, benchmarking, and broad dissemination.
Data Management: All applications must include a Data Management and Sharing Plan.
Resource Sharing: Plans for sharing software, tools, and other resources are required and should follow FAIR principles where possible.
Contact: Applicants are strongly encouraged to contact NHGRI program staff to discuss alignment with program goals before submission.

Additional Information

Clinical trials are not allowed under this opportunity.
Non-responsive applications (e.g., those focused on microbial genomics, resource curation, or not broadly generalizable) will not be reviewed.
Annual grantee meeting: Awardees are required to participate in an annual NHGRI grantee meeting.
Review criteria: Emphasis on innovation, generalizability, scalability, and potential for broad adoption in genomics.
Related opportunities: See the companion R21 (PAR-25-229) for exploratory/developmental projects.

External Links

Contact Information

Area	Contact Name / Office	Email / Phone
General Grants Info	NIH Grants Information	GrantsInfo@nih.gov / 301-480-7075
Scientific/Research	Jean Gao, PhD (NHGRI)	jean.gao@nih.gov
	Catherine Farrell, PhD (NLM)	catherine.farrell@nih.gov / 301-402-7081
Grants Management	Natalie Linear (NHGRI)	Natalie.Linear@nih.gov / 301-827-0611
	Andrea Culhane (NLM)	andrea.culhane@nih.gov / 301-402-0069
Application Support	eRA Service Desk	eRA Helpdesk / 301-402-7469 or 866-504-9552
Grants.gov Support	Grants.gov Customer Support	support@grants.gov / 800-518-4726