Epigenetic Clock Development Foundation

Epigenetic Clock Development Foundation, a tax-exempt non-profit organization headquartered in Torrance, California, delivers DNA methylation analysis and epigenetic age-determination laboratory services to federal research agencies as a prime contractor on small-value purchase orders, competing on a full-and-open basis with no set-aside designations.

The foundation's customer base spans six federal agencies concentrated in the life-sciences research and environmental conservation sectors. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration dominates by award count (2 awards, $161 thousand combined potential value), while the National Cancer Institute anchors the largest single award at $159 thousand. The National Institute on Aging, the Agricultural Research Service, the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, and the Fish and Wildlife Service round out the active customer set. NOAA and NIH account for 96% of combined potential value across the portfolio.

The foundation's concrete capability is genome-wide DNA methylation analysis using the Illumina Horvath Mammalian Methylation Chip and related 96-well array assays to measure epigenetic markers and construct epigenetic clocks for chronological age determination and age-acceleration assessment. Representative work includes a $146 thousand NOAA contract (awarded September 2025, completion September 2030) for epigenetic age analyses of up to 96 North Atlantic right whale skin biopsy samples from NOAA's frozen archive to evaluate age acceleration due to environmental stressors; a $159 thousand National Cancer Institute purchase order (September 2023) for DNA methylation analysis of 888 DNA samples to study methylation patterns and renal cell carcinoma; a $91 thousand National Institute on Aging purchase order (September 2026, completion September 2027) for laboratory and testing services on a severable basis performed in Baltimore, Maryland; and an $18,720 Fish and Wildlife Service contract (March 2024) for epigenetic DNA methylation analysis in support of a polar bear research program.

The foundation operates exclusively as a prime contractor (100% of awards), with no subcontract footprint in the source data. All awards are categorized as purchase orders under FAR Part 13 procedures or full-and-open competitive solicitations, with no small-business set-asides. Activity remains modest and episodic — seven awards totaling $527 thousand in potential value across the past five years, with one award per year in 2024, 2025, and 2026. One award (the National Institute on Aging purchase order) reaches completion inside the next twenty-four months and faces recompete exposure of $91 thousand. The foundation has obligated $430 thousand (82% of combined potential value) to date, reflecting execution on the majority of awarded work.