RFA-HG-27-008-Full-Announcement.html

Department of Health and Human Services

Part 1. Overview Information

Participating Organization(s)

National Institutes of Health (NIH)

Components of Participating Organizations

National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI)

Note: Not all NIH Institutes, Centers, and Offices (ICOs) participate in Announcements. Applicants should carefully note which ICOs participate in this announcement and view their respective areas of research interest at the ICO-Specific Scientific Interests website. ICOs that do not participate in this announcement will not consider applications for funding.

Funding Opportunity Title

IGVF Data and Coordinating Center (U24 Clinical trials Not Allowed)

Activity Code

U24 Resource-Related Research Projects – Cooperative Agreements

Announcement Type

New

Related Notices

Check for any recent Notices of NIH Policy Changes that may impact application requirements.

Funding Opportunity Number (FON)

RFA-HG-27-008

Companion Funding Opportunity

RFA-HG-27-007

, UM1

Research Project with Complex Structure Cooperative Agreement

RFA-HG-27-009

RFA-HG-27-010

Number of Applications

See Part 2, Section III. 3. Additional Information on Eligibility.

Assistance Listing Number(s)

93.172

Funding Opportunity Purpose

The National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) is publishing a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) to solicit applications for the Impact of Genomic Variation on Function (IGVF) Data and Coordinating Center (DACC). The DACC will serve as the coordinating center for the IGVF Consortium and will be responsible for expanding and further developing a broadly accessible set of resources, including a data portal and a comprehensive and searchable catalog of measured and predicted variant impacts. The DACC will also seek input on the design of the catalog from the broader research community, organize and facilitate consortium activities, and seek opportunities to work with other programs and consortia. As a member of IGVF, the DACC will work with all consortium members to maximize the consortium's overall scientific impact and contribute to accelerating understanding of genomic variation.

Funding Opportunity Goal(s)

As a leading authority in the field of genomics, the mission of the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) is to accelerate scientific and medical breakthroughs that improve human health by driving cutting-edge research, developing new technologies, and studying the impact of genomics on society. Congress initially established NHGRI to characterize the structure and function of the human genome, including the mapping and sequencing of individual genes. This also includes reviewing and funding research proposals, developing training programs, coordinating international genome research, communicating advances in genome science to the public, and reviewing and funding proposals to address the ethical and legal issues associated with this research. NHGRI supports the development of methods, resources and technologies to improve the health of all humans through advances in genomics research. NHGRI supports research that accelerates foundational resources, technology development, and experimental and computational approaches for basic genomics and functional genomics research; for the application of genomics to medical science and clinical care; and to support ethical, legal and social implications (ELSI) research concerning societal issues that need to be addressed, especially as genomic science advances. For years, NHGRI has participated in the NIH effort to turn discovery into health by helping small businesses develop innovative genomics technologies that improve health and save lives. NHGRI also develops and supports initiatives that expand opportunities for genomics education and careers, cultivating genomics training programs and workforce development initiatives.

Key Dates

Posted Date

October 09, 2026

Open Date (Earliest Submission Date)

November 14, 2026

December 14, 2026

Not Applicable

Not Applicable

September 2027

All applications are due by 5:00 PM local time of applicant organization.

Applicants are encouraged to apply early to allow adequate time to make any corrections to errors found in the application during the submission process by the due date.

No late applications will be accepted for this Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO).

Expiration Date

December 15, 2026

Due Dates for E.O. 12372

Not Applicable

Required Application Instructions

It is critical that applicants follow the instructions in the Research (R) Instructions in the How to Apply - Application Guide, except where instructed to do otherwise (in this NOFO or in a Notice from NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts).

Conformance to all requirements (both in the How to Apply - Application Guide and the NOFO) is required and strictly enforced. Applicants must read and follow all application instructions in the How to Apply - Application Guide as well as any program-specific instructions noted in Section IV. When the program-specific instructions deviate from those in the How to Apply - Application Guide, follow the program-specific instructions.

Applications that do not comply with these instructions may be delayed or not accepted for review.

Table of Contents

Part 1. Overview Information Key Dates Part 2. Full Text of Announcement Section I. Notice of Funding Opportunity Description Section II. Award Information Section III. Eligibility Information Section IV. Application and Submission Information Section V. Application Review Information Section VI. Award Administration Information Section VII. Agency Contacts Section VIII. Other Information

Part 2. Full Text of Announcement

Section I. Notice of Funding Opportunity Description

Background A major challenge in genomics is defining the role of genomic variation in influencing phenotypes in human biology and diseases. As outlined in NHGRI's 2020 Strategic Vision, studies characterizing the functional consequences of variants have not kept pace with studies of variant discovery or association, and this lack of functional genomic information remains a barrier that impedes progress in genomics.

The Impact of Genomic Variation on Function Consortium (IGVF) was established in 2021 to address the challenge of understanding how genomic variation affects genome function to influence phenotypes using a coordinated team-science approach. The program utilizes emerging experimental and computational genomic approaches to build a catalog of the impact of genomic variants on genome function and phenotypes and to share data and other resources with the scientific community.

Program Goals and Notices of Funding Opportunity (NOFOs) NHGRI is issuing an open call for applications to participate in a second phase of IGVF, based on recent community recommendations on functional variant interpretation and input from the National Advisory Council for Human Genome Research. The goals of the second phase of IGVF are to:

To achieve these goals the following NOFOs are issued:

NHGRI encourages all investigators with ideas aligned with the goals of this NOFO to submit applications.

Research Scope and Objectives In the second phase of IGVF, NHGRI seeks to support a Data and Coordinating Center (DACC) for the IGVF Consortium. The DACC will expand and further develop a set of resources that will enable future studies by the broader research community, and work with all consortium components to ensure coordination across IGVF.

The specific objectives of the DACC are to:

Build on IGVF efforts to develop a comprehensive and searchable catalog of genomic function and variant impacts. A primary goal of the IGVF Consortium is to produce a set of resources centered on a searchable catalog of measured and predicted variant impacts. The catalog will enable the search for information about variants such as perturbations tested, biological systems, and phenotypic assays used for testing. It will also include assay results, interpretations, and predictions. The DACC will lead development of the catalog in collaboration with other IGVF components and will expand it with data, analyses, and predictions from IGVF and other data sources to produce a scalable resource. The DACC will actively seek input on the design of the catalog from within and outside IGVF, including incorporation of user feedback and collaborations with other consortia to enable searches across resources.

Coordinate data submission and further develop a portal for housing and sharing of consortium resources. The DACC will manage the submission, quality control, assignment of unique identifiers, and versioning of data, metadata, and predictions generated and submitted by members of the consortium. The re-use and adoption of existing data and metadata standards are encouraged to promote interoperability and reproducibility. Where necessary, the DACC will develop standards for data and metadata quality in collaboration with the consortium. Individual IGVF awards will specify data processing pipelines consistent with their proposed assays, and the DACC will work with them to harden pipelines, as necessary, to ensure they are containerized and robust, reproducible, and portable. In some cases, the DACC may implement and run core pipelines for uniform processing. The consortium will make decisions about data processing, pipelines, and implementation responsibilities early during the first year of phase 2.

The DACC will provide access to IGVF data through a data portal and maintain and further develop the portal. The portal will continue to house raw and processed data, metadata, predictions, methodologies, analyses, tools, and other products of the consortium consistent with the FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Re-usable) Guiding Principles. Data and metadata should be in a form ready for artificial intelligence (AI), advanced machine-learning, and other computational approaches (see Bridge to Artificial Intelligence Recommendations). The portal should be made accessible to the broader research community and include tools for data exploration that are designed with end users in mind. Like the catalog, design should incorporate user feedback. Additionally, procedures, software, and other relevant information should be documented, accessioned, and shared with the broader research community.

At the time of this application, the identity of other funded awards will not be available. It is likely that some of the biological samples, assays, and data types will be like those in Phase I IGVF (https://data.igvf.org/resources/). Review of the companion NOFOs and the Phase I IGVF program is strongly encouraged. To accomodate this, the DACC is expected to be flexible in the implementation of data management workflows. Data are expected to be derived from several types of biological samples, including human samples. The DACC should have experience with, and plans for, working with data that are consented for unrestricted data access as well as with controlled-access data and the registering and deposition of these data into appropriate repositories. Data management needs for the consortium are expected to include data at various levels including raw and processed data, as well as integrative analyses.

Organize and facilitate consortium activities and collaboration. At the start of phase 2, IGVF members will develop coordinated strategies for data generation and analyses. The DACC will work with all IGVF components to define these strategies and will be responsible for facilitating communication and coordination within the consortium, including organizing Steering Committee, working group, and annual investigator meetings, and the establishment of web conference and internal communication platforms (e.g., Wiki, Slack).

The DACC will facilitate interactions within the consortium by providing a workspace (e.g., Synapse, AnVIL workspace) for sharing of work in progress and preliminary datasets, as well as through support of workshops, tutorials, and jamborees. The DACC will also organize and track consortium activities, which include: protocols and methodologies development, cross-consortium activities such as joint projects and analyses, manuscripts in preparation, publications, information about sample consents, and the status of experiments and data (i.e., experiments in progress, data submitted, data released). The DACC will report regularly on the status of the above tracked activities to NHGRI and the consortium.

Lead outreach efforts and develop strategies for engaging with the broader research community. The DACC will work with other consortia and programs to enable interoperability of data resources, which may include sharing of data models and use of Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) to federate resources. The DACC will collect community input about consortium resources (through surveys, workshops, and meeting events) and implement improvements based on feedback. The resource dissemination needs of the consortium will be assessed by the DACC to inform the consortium's outreach efforts, and the DACC will lead development of educational materials, tutorials, and other outreach strategies.

Consortium Formation and Coordination This NOFO uses the cooperative agreement award instrument. The IGVF DACC will become a members of the IGVF Consortium. Consortium members are expected to work collaboratively with NHGRI and the larger consortium towards meeting consortium goals, in addition to the specific research goals outlined in their individual applications.

Members of the IGVF Consortium will work together to:

Consortium members are expected to coordinate assays, variants, and cell types and to develop shared analysis strategies and uniform computational workflows, when applicable, to meet consortium goals, rather than function as independent projects with independent goals. When appropriate, selection of variants and cell types in this second program phase should be done in consideration of variants and cell types characterized in the first phase of IGVF. IGVF research is limited to mammalian systems, with a preference for human studies including samples derived from individuals across a breadth of genetic ancestries and the consideration of sex as a biological variable. Variants selected for testing should account for allele frequencies and disease associations within and across human populations. Proposed cell types and states should be derived from tissues important in development, differentiation, or human diseases.

A central goal of IGVF is the development of data, tools, and other resources that can be used by researchers not funded by this program. Consortium members will be expected to generate pipelines, tools, and educational materials that facilitate community uptake of IGVF data and methods, and to work together to ensure all consortium resources are accessible to a wide variety of potential users. Data, predictions, and models should be shared early and organized in ways that enable a variety of uses by the broader scientific community, from searches of individual variant impacts to large scale integrative or machine learning approaches.

Consortium members will also be expected to continue to collaborate with other projects and consortia with interests in variant interpretation and coordination across resources, especially in efforts to develop shared data processing and analysis pipelines to enable data sharing and comparisons. This includes work with the Atlas of Variant Effects (AVE) Alliance, The Molecular Phenotypes of Null Alleles in Cells (MorPhiC), the Clinical Genome (ClinGen) Resource, the Genomics Research to Elucidate the Genetics of Rare Diseases: Innovation (GREGoRi), the Human Pangenome Reference Consortium (HPRC), and other NHGRI-led consortia, as relevant.

Consents and Data Sharing in IGVF A key deliverable of IGVF is the development of two public data resources, the IGVF Catalog and Data Portal. To facilitate user access to these resources, NHGRI expects that centers will prioritize the use of samples derived from research participants that have been consented for the broadest possible sharing of genomic data, such as consent for unrestricted access, or for general research use and broad sharing through controlled access. Consent language should also avoid restrictions on the types of users who may access these data for genomics research.

To Learn More An informational webinar will be held where NIH staff will present overviews of IGVF NOFOs and answer NOFO-related questions from prospective applicants. Time, date, and webinar links will be made available through a Notice in the NIH Guide. The webinar is open to all prospective applicants, but participation is not required to apply.

Prospective applicants are strongly encouraged to contact the email address listed as the Scientific/Research Contact(s) below to discuss the responsiveness and alignment of their proposed work with program goals.

See Section VIII. Other Information for award authorities and regulations.

Section II. Award Information

Funding Instrument

Cooperative Agreement: A financial assistance mechanism used when there will be substantial Federal scientific or programmatic involvement. Substantial involvement means that, after award, NIH scientific or program staff will assist, guide, coordinate, or participate in project activities. See Section VI.2 for additional information about the substantial involvement for this NOFO.

Application Types Allowed

New

The OER Glossary and the How to Apply - Application Guide provide details on these application types. Only those application types listed here are allowed for this NOFO.

Clinical Trial?

Not Allowed: Only accepting applications that do not propose clinical trials. Note: Applications may propose activities involving human subjects that are not deemed clinical trials.

Need help determining whether you are doing a clinical trial?

Funds Available and Anticipated Number of Awards

NHGRI intends to commit $6M in total costs in FY 2027-2031 to fund 1-2 awards.

Award Budget

Application budgets must reflect the actual needs of the proposed project. Budgets are limited to $4M direct costs per year.

Award Project Period

The maximum project period is 5 years.

NIH grants policies as described in the NIH Grants Policy Statement will apply to the applications submitted and awards made from this NOFO.

Section III. Eligibility Information

1. Eligible Applicants

Eligible Organizations

Nonprofits Other Than Institutions of Higher Education

For-Profit Organizations

Local Governments

Federal Governments

Eligible Agencies of the Federal Government

U.S. Territory or Possession

Other

Independent School Districts

Public Housing Authorities/Indian Housing Authorities

Native American Tribal Organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments)

Faith-based or Community-based Organizations

Regional Organizations

Foreign Organizations/Foreign Collaborations

Non-domestic (non-U.S.) Entities (Foreign Organizations) are not eligible to apply.

Non-domestic (non-U.S.) components of U.S. Organizations are not eligible to apply.

Foreign components, as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement, are allowed.

NIH will no longer issue awards (i.e., new, renewal, or non-competing continuation) to domestic or foreign entities that involve foreign subawards/subcontracts. All NIH-funded research involving foreign subawards/subcontracts must be submitted in response to a NOFO that is specifically designated for funded international collaborations. See NIH Grants Policy Statement 16.8 Collaborative International Research Awards.

Applications involving foreign subawards/subcontracts submitted in response to this NOFO will be deemed noncompliant and will not be considered for funding. This policy applies to all monetary international collaborations resulting in foreign subawards/subcontracts, however, it does not preclude unfunded international collaborations or foreign components, funding for foreign consultants, or procurement of unique equipment or supplies from foreign vendors.

Required Registrations

Applicant Organizations Applicant organizations must complete and maintain the following registrations as described in the How to Apply - Application Guide to be eligible to apply for or receive an award. All registrations must be completed prior to the application being submitted. Registration can take 6 weeks or more, so applicants should begin the registration process as soon as possible. Failure to complete registration in advance of a due date is not a valid reason for a late submission, please reference NIH Grants Policy Statement Section 2.3.9.2 Electronically Submitted Applications for additional information System for Award Management (SAM) – Applicants must complete and maintain an active registration, which requires renewal at least annually. The renewal process may require as much time as the initial registration. SAM registration includes the assignment of a Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) Code for domestic organizations which have not already been assigned a CAGE Code. Foreign organizations must obtain a NATO Commercial and Government Entity (NCAGE) Code (in lieu of a CAGE code) in order to register in SAM. Unique Entity Identifier (UEI)- A UEI is issued as part of the SAM.gov registration process. The same UEI must be used for all registrations, as well as on the grant application.

Program Directors/Principal Investigators (PD(s)/PI(s)) All PD(s)/PI(s) must have an eRA Commons account. PD(s)/PI(s) should work with their organizational officials to either create a new account or to affiliate their existing account with the applicant organization in eRA Commons. Obtaining an eRA Commons account can take up to 2 weeks.

All PD(s)/PI(s) must be registered with ORCID. The personal profile associated with the PD(s)/PI(s) eRA Commons account must be linked to a valid ORCID ID. For more information on linking an ORCID ID to an eRA Commons personal profile see the ORCID topic in our eRA Commons online help.

Eligible Individuals (Program Director/Principal Investigator)

Any individual(s) with the skills, knowledge, and resources necessary to carry out the proposed research as the Program Director(s)/Principal Investigator(s) (PD(s)/PI(s)) is invited to work with their organization to develop an application for support.

For institutions/organizations proposing multiple PDs/PIs, visit the Multiple Program Director/Principal Investigator Policy and submission details in the Senior/Key Person Profile (Expanded) Component of the How to Apply - Application Guide.

2. Cost Sharing This NOFO does not require cost sharing as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement NIH Grants Policy Statement Section 1.2 Definition of Terms.

3. Additional Information on Eligibility Number of Applications

Applicant organizations may submit more than one application, provided that each application is scientifically distinct.

The NIH will not accept duplicate or highly overlapping applications under review at the same time, per NIH Grants Policy Statement Section 2.3.7.4 Submission of Resubmission Application. This means that the NIH will not accept:

Section IV. Application and Submission Information

1. Requesting an Application Package The application forms package specific to this opportunity must be accessed through ASSIST, Grants.gov Workspace or an institutional system-to-system solution. Links to apply using ASSIST or Grants.gov Workspace are available in Part 1 of this NOFO. See your administrative office for instructions if you plan to use an institutional system-to-system solution.

2. Content and Form of Application Submission It is critical that applicants follow the instructions in the Research (R) Instructions in the How to Apply - Application Guide except where instructed in this notice of funding opportunity to do otherwise (in this NOFO, in a policy notice, or other notice from NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts). Conformance to the requirements in the How to Apply - Application Guide is required and strictly enforced. Applications that are out of compliance with these instructions may be delayed or not accepted for review.

Page Limitations All page limitations described in the How to Apply – Application Guide and the Table of Page Limits must be followed.

For this specific NOFO, the Research Strategy is limited to 30 pages (exclusive of the Specific Aims page).

Instructions for Application Submission

The following section supplements the instructions found in the How to Apply – Application Guide and should be used for preparing an application to this NOFO.

SF424(R&R) Cover All instructions in the How to Apply - Application Guide must be followed.

SF424(R&R) Project/Performance Site Locations

SF424(R&R) Other Project Information

SF424(R&R) Senior/Key Person Profile

Key personnel should demonstrate strong scientific, technical, and management expertise consistent with the objectives of the DACC. This should include experience in working in collaborative environments and coordination of large genomics data research efforts, and experience with administrative management of research and/or resource-based efforts that serve the research community. The DACC is expected to include expertise in genomics, data curation and provenance, bioinformatics tool development, and implementation of data sharing.

The PD(s)/PI(s) must designate a dedicated Project Manager to direct the day-to-day operations of the Coordinating Center. A PD/PI may serve as the Project Manager.

R&R Budget

R&R Subaward Budget

PHS 398 Cover Page Supplement

PHS 398 Research Plan All instructions in the How to Apply - Application Guide must be followed, with the following additional instructions:

Specific Aims: Describe the specific goals of the DACC and its role in achieving the overall objectives of the IGVF Consortium.

Research Strategy: In the Research Strategy, applicants should propose plans, approaches, and potential alternative strategies for carrying out the goals of the DACC. The Research Strategy should consist of the following sections uploaded as a single PDF attachment:

Center Overview

Approach–IGVF Catalog Development

Approach–Data Submission Coordination and Further Development of Data Portal

Approach–Consortium Organization and Collaboration

Approach–Outreach Efforts

Center Management

Resource Sharing Plan: Individuals are required to comply with the instructions for the Resource Sharing Plans as provided in the How to Apply - Application Guide.

The Resource Sharing Plan should summarize whether and how resources (e.g., educational materials; methods; models; physical products, materials, and reagents; protocols; research findings and products; and software) will be made available. Applicants should include a description of the format, an indication of who will be responsible for implementation and plans for long-term maintenance, whether there will be opportunities for community input and feedback, platform(s) or mechanism(s) that will be used to make resources publicly accessible, and proposed timeline for implementing the Resource Sharing Plan. Resource Sharing Plans should not duplicate other sections of the main Research Plan but should refer to them when appropriate. After initial review, NHGRI program staff may negotiate revisions of this plan with the prospective awardee. The final negotiated version of this plan will become a term and condition of the award.

In addition to the above expectations, NHGRI expects that plans for sharing software generated under this funding opportunity will meet the following expectations:

For more guidance on writing a Resource Sharing Plan, see https://www.genome.gov/about-nhgri/Policies-Guidance/Writing-a-Resource-Sharing-Plan.

Other Plan(s):

All instructions in the How to Apply - Application Guide must be followed, with the following additional instructions:

Appendix: Only limited Appendix materials are allowed. Follow all instructions for the Appendix as described in the How to Apply - Application Guide.

No publications or other material, with the exception of blank questionnaires or blank surveys, may be included in the Appendix.

PHS Human Subjects and Clinical Trials Information When involving human subjects research, clinical research, and/or NIH-defined clinical trials (and when applicable, clinical trials research experience) follow all instructions for the PHS Human Subjects and Clinical Trials Information form in the How to Apply - Application Guide, with the following additional instructions:

If you answered "Yes" to the question "Are Human Subjects Involved?" on the R&R Other Project Information form, you must include at least one human subjects study record using the Study Record: PHS Human Subjects and Clinical Trials Information form or Delayed Onset Study record.

Study Record: PHS Human Subjects and Clinical Trials Information

Delayed Onset Study

Note: Delayed onset does NOT apply to a study that can be described but will not start immediately (i.e., delayed start). All instructions in the How to Apply - Application Guide must be followed.

PHS Assignment Request Form

3. Unique Entity Identifier and System for Award Management (SAM) See Part 2. Section III.1 for information regarding the requirement for obtaining a unique entity identifier and for completing and maintaining active registrations in System for Award Management (SAM), NATO Commercial and Government Entity (NCAGE) Code (if applicable), eRA Commons, and Grants.gov

4. Submission Dates and Times Part I. contains information about Key Dates and times. Applicants are encouraged to submit applications before the due date to ensure they have time to make any application corrections that might be necessary for successful submission. When a submission date falls on a weekend or Federal holiday, the application deadline is automatically extended to the next business day.

Organizations must submit applications to Grants.gov (the online portal to find and apply for grants across all Federal agencies). Applicants must then complete the submission process by tracking the status of the application in the eRA Commons, NIH's electronic system for grants…