Atom | Genomic Community Resources (U24 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)

Due Dates: September 25, 2025 | January 25, 2026 (New, Renewal, Resubmission, Revision)

Funding Amounts: No budget cap; project period up to 5 years; budgets must reflect actual project needs.

Summary: Supports the development, distribution, and broad dissemination of high-value genomic resources for basic and clinical genomics research.

Key Information: Clinical trials are not allowed; applicants requesting ≥$500,000 direct costs in any year must contact NIH at least 6 weeks before submission.

Description

This opportunity, offered by the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) and participating NIH institutes, funds the development, maintenance, and dissemination of genomic community resources. The goal is to facilitate genomic research and ensure that valuable resources—such as data, tools, standards, and biological materials—are broadly available to the biomedical research community. Projects may support new or existing resources of demonstrated or potential broad value, with a strong emphasis on open sharing, scalability, and community engagement.

Resources supported may include:

Genomic informatics toolsets (e.g., analysis platforms, ontologies)
Comprehensive collections of genomic features or data (e.g., functional elements, assay results)
Community standards and data/metadata ontologies
Sample or cell line repositories
Competitions or collaborative activities to advance genomic analysis tools

NHGRI expects funded resources to be widely used, interoperable, and to advance community standards. Projects should not be limited to a single disease or narrow biological question.

Due Dates

Next deadlines:
- September 25, 2025
- January 25, 2026
  (Standard NIH due dates for New, Renewal, Resubmission, and Revision applications)
Letter of Intent: 60 days prior to the application due date (optional but encouraged)

See the NIH standard due dates for more information.

Funding Amount

Budget: No upper limit; budgets must be well-justified and reflect the actual needs of the project.
Project period: Up to 5 years.
Mechanism: U24 Cooperative Agreement (substantial NIH programmatic involvement).
Number of awards: Contingent on NIH appropriations and the number of meritorious applications.

Applicants requesting $500,000 or more in direct costs in any year must contact a Scientific/Research Contact at least 6 weeks before submission.

Eligibility

Eligible organizations:
- Higher education institutions (public and private)
- Nonprofits (with or without 501(c)(3) status)
- For-profit organizations (including small businesses)
- State, local, and tribal governments
- Independent school districts, public housing authorities
- Faith-based and community-based organizations
- Regional organizations
- Non-domestic (foreign) institutions and components
Eligible individuals: Any individual(s) with the skills, knowledge, and resources to carry out the proposed research.
Multiple applications: Allowed if each is scientifically distinct.
Foreign organizations: Eligible to apply.

Application Process

Submission: Applications must be submitted electronically via ASSIST, Grants.gov Workspace, or an institutional system-to-system solution.
Required registrations: SAM, eRA Commons, Grants.gov, and (for foreign applicants) NCAGE code.
Application instructions: Follow the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide and the full FOA.
Research Strategy page limit: 30 pages.
Data Management and Sharing Plan: Required for all applications.
Resource Sharing Plan: Must address protocol/reagent and software sharing.
Scientific Advisory Board: Required for projects requesting $500,000 or more in direct costs in any year.

Contact NIH at least 6 weeks before submission if requesting $500,000 or more in direct costs in any year.

Additional Information

Clinical trials: Not allowed under this FOA.
Scope: Projects must serve broad genomics research needs, not single diseases or narrow questions.
Community engagement: Strongly encouraged; plans for outreach, user support, and feedback are required.
Integration: Projects should leverage and coordinate with existing resources where possible.
Review criteria: Significance, investigator(s), innovation, approach, environment, and resource sharing.

External Links

Contact Information

Purpose	Name/Institute	Email	Phone
Scientific/Research Contact	Christopher Wellington (NHGRI)	wellingtonc@mail.nih.gov	301-480-3496
	Leah Mechanic, PhD, MPH (NCI)	mechanil@mail.nih.gov	240-276-6847
	Christopher G. Duncan, PhD (NIEHS)	christopher.duncan@nih.gov	984-287-3256
Peer Review Contact	Rudy Pozzatti (NHGRI)	rudy.pozzatti@nih.gov	301-219-6235
Grants Management Contact	Anneliese Galczynski (NHGRI)	anneliese.galczynski@nih.gov	301-443-4935
	Jenny Greer (NIEHS)	jenny.greer@nih.gov	984-287-3332
	Crystal Wolfrey (NCI)	wolfreyc@mail.nih.gov	240-276-6277
General Grants Info	NIH Grants Information	GrantsInfo@nih.gov	301-480-7075
Application System Support	eRA Service Desk	https://www.era.nih.gov/need-help	301-402-7469 / 866-504-9552