Magee-Womens Research Institute And Foundation

Magee-Womens Research Institute And Foundation, a non-profit research organization headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, acts as a prime recipient of federal research grants and a subcontractor on biomedical research projects, with a focus on women's health, reproductive biology, and maternal-fetal medicine delivered through the National Institutes of Health and affiliated agencies.

The institute operates predominantly as a grant recipient rather than a federal contractor. Prime awards (68% of recent activity) center on investigator-initiated biomedical research grants spanning clinical trials, basic science, and translational work in reproductive health, obstetrics, gynecology, oncology, and pregnancy-related outcomes. Recent representative prime grants include a $836,132 NIAID Project Grant (CFDA 93.855, awarded June 2026) investigating how maternal antibiotic exposure disrupts immunoglobulins in breast milk and neonatal immunity; a $681,020 National Institute on Aging Project Grant (CFDA 93.866, June 2026) on microbial regulation of ovarian fibrosis and reproductive aging; a $919,914 National Institute of General Medical Sciences Project Grant (CFDA 93.859, September 2025) examining meiotic crossover formation; and a $866,506 NIH Office of the Director training grant (CFDA 93.310, September 2025) for the INCLUDE Clinical Researcher Training program in Down Syndrome clinical research. The institute also holds a $183,306 delivery order (awarded September 2023) under a $5 million NICHD IDIQ for Phase 1 clinical trials of the Ovaprene vaginal contraceptive device. Federal contract work is minimal; the institute does not compete for or hold government-wide acquisition contracts.

Customer concentration is extreme: the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development dominates with 76 awards carrying $44.6 million in combined potential value, representing approximately 99% of the institute's reported federal award portfolio. NICHD awards account for the vast majority of the institute's federal research footprint. Secondary funders include the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (22 awards), the National Institute on Drug Abuse (21 awards), and the National Cancer Institute (15 awards), but these are substantially smaller in dollar magnitude. All 28 distinct federal customer agencies operate within the Department of Health and Human Services ecosystem.

Research capability portfolio spans women's health across the lifespan. The institute conducts Phase 1 and Phase 2 clinical trials in contraceptive technology and HIV/STI prevention; basic science research on reproductive aging, ovarian reserve, meiosis, and genomic imprinting; maternal-fetal medicine including preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, opioid use disorder in pregnancy, and placental biology; cancer biology with emphasis on ovarian and endometrial malignancies; and clinical training programs for early-career researchers in reproductive health and emerging infectious diseases. Research employs multi-omics approaches (genomics, epigenomics, metabolomics), imaging, cell and tissue culture systems, animal models, and human cohort studies. The institute holds two NICHD IDIQs: the Contraceptive Clinical Trials Network IDIQ (75N94020D00018, with two task orders, $282 thousand combined potential value) and a second IDIQ (HHSN275200403372I, with eight task orders, $4.6 million combined potential value).

As a subcontractor, the institute participates in multi-institutional research networks anchored by major research universities and medical centers. Sub-award roles include providing tissue samples, epigenetic profiling, clinical data coordination, recruitment and enrollment services, and specialized research expertise. Named prime grantees include the University of Pittsburgh (frequent teaming partner on maternal-fetal health, ovarian cancer, and HIV prevention work), Northwestern University, Research Triangle Institute, Case Western Reserve University, University of Michigan, and Duke University. Service Contract Inventory records are sparse (2 SCI records across FY2022–FY2024, all in subcontractor roles), reflecting the institute's positioning as a research organization rather than a federal service provider. The source data shows less than 1 FTE in SCI-reportable work annually, confirming that the institute's federal footprint is grant-driven rather than contract-driven.

Activity has grown modestly, from 16 awards in 2022 to a peak of 33 in 2024, with 22 awards in 2025 and 10 year-to-date in 2026. Combined obligated dollars ($804.1 million) substantially exceed combined potential value ($45.1 million), indicating multi-year grants with staggered funding tranches across project periods. Recompete exposure in the next twenty-four months is minimal (25 awards with $99 thousand combined potential value), suggesting a stable, continuously renewing grant portfolio without acute near-term recompete pressure. The institute's award history dates to 1991, anchoring it as an established women's health research entity within the NIH-funded landscape.