Genomic Community Resources (U24 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, through the National Institutes of Health, has reissued the Genomic Community Resources (U24 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) funding opportunity. This program is managed by multiple NIH institutes, including the National Human Genome Research Institute, the National Cancer Institute, and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, which joined the program in December 2024. The program was updated on March 31, 2025, to align with evolving agency priorities. This cooperative agreement mechanism (U24) is intended to support the development, maintenance, and dissemination of genomic community resources that have broad utility across basic and clinical genomics research. These resources are designed to serve the wider scientific community by facilitating open access to genomic data, materials, and tools. The purpose of the program is to ensure that high-value genomic resources are produced, curated, and shared openly. The program supports a variety of resource types, including collections of genomic analysis software platforms, community data standards and ontologies, large-scale data production projects, biological sample collections, and competitions or collaborative activities to advance genomic analysis methods. Each funded resource is expected to provide broad access, encourage community engagement, and operate under standards that allow for interoperability, aggregation, and integration of data across platforms. Projects must demonstrate community demand and show that they provide tools or data not otherwise available. Applications must propose robust plans for production, dissemination, and governance of the resource. Proposals must include a detailed genomic community resource production plan with quarterly milestones, a governance plan outlining administrative and advisory structures, and a dissemination and outreach plan to ensure accessibility, user engagement, and training. Projects with annual direct costs of $500,000 or more must establish a Scientific Advisory Board to guide priorities and improvements. Applicants must also describe how they will coordinate with related resources, distribute materials at minimal cost, and comply with NIH policies on data sharing and open access. Resources are expected to support broad user communities, provide programmatic integration, and demonstrate cost-effectiveness and sustainability. Eligible applicants include a wide range of organizations such as public and private higher education institutions, nonprofit and for-profit organizations, small businesses, local and state governments, tribal governments, school districts, housing authorities, community organizations, foreign institutions, and non-domestic components of U.S. organizations. Individual investigators are not explicitly listed as eligible applicants, but any principal investigator with the required skills and institutional support may apply on behalf of an eligible organization. All applicants must complete required registrations, including SAM.gov, Grants.gov, eRA Commons, and related federal systems, before submission. Applications follow NIH’s standard due dates: January 25, May 25, and September 25, recurring annually until January 25, 2026, when the program expires. Letters of intent are strongly encouraged but not required and are due 60 days prior to the chosen application deadline. Applications must be submitted electronically through NIH’s ASSIST platform, an institutional S2S system, or Grants.gov Workspace. The review process includes peer review, advisory council consideration, and funding decisions based on scientific merit, programmatic priority, and available appropriations. Awardees may receive funding for up to five years, and budgets are not capped but must reflect actual project needs. Program contacts are available to assist applicants. Scientific and research inquiries may be directed to Christopher Wellington at NHGRI, Leah Mechanic at NCI, and Christopher Duncan at NIEHS. Peer review questions may be directed to Rudy Pozzatti at NHGRI, while grants management contacts include Anneliese Galczynski at NHGRI, Jenny Greer at NIEHS, and Crystal Wolfrey at NCI. Applicants are encouraged to reach out to scientific contacts early in the planning stage to confirm alignment with program priorities and to discuss budget considerations, especially for projects exceeding $500,000 in direct costs per year. This program emphasizes compliance with NIH’s data management and sharing policies, software sharing guidelines, and principles for open access. Applicants must provide detailed resource sharing plans for reagents, protocols, and software. Data produced under this program must follow FAIR principles and be deposited in accessible, public repositories. The cooperative agreement structure means that NIH program staff will actively guide and oversee funded projects, ensuring that community needs and NIH priorities are met. Awards are contingent on appropriations and the submission of meritorious applications, with the earliest possible start date aligning with review and advisory cycles.

Contact NIH program officers early; establish advisory boards for large budgets; align with NIH data sharing policies; submit LOIs 60 days before deadlines; demonstrate broad community demand