University Of Tennessee

University of Tennessee Health Science Center Division (Finance and Operation), a non-profit public research institution and member of the University of Tennessee system based in Memphis, Tennessee, functions as a federal prime recipient and sub-recipient delivering biomedical research, clinical trial infrastructure, graduate medical education, and healthcare services to federal agencies with no small-business set-aside designations across 79 distinct customer agencies.

The institution operates as a prime recipient on the vast majority of awards (84% of 1,133 recent federal actions), concentrating activity in investigator-initiated research grants and contract-based service delivery. Concrete capability examples include $9.3 million in investigational new drug-enabling studies of pre-clinical candidates for neurotropic alphavirus treatment awarded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in August 2026; a $2.37 million alcohol use disorder preclinical model development grant from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, supporting longitudinal research on social context modulation of drinking behavior; and a $3.01 million acute kidney injury mitigation grant from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, focused on developing mitoprotective therapies using chemical genetic screening and small-molecule activators. Recent prime contract work includes a $928,326 purchase order with the Department of Veterans Affairs for dental services and space through June 2026, and delivery orders with the Bureau of Medicine and Surgery under a Basic Ordering Agreement effective through 2035 for medical, research, and healthcare-related services.

Customer concentration reflects a research institution's funding ecology: the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases anchors the portfolio at $155.6 million (81 awards), while the National Institutes of Health broadly (241 awards) and the National Cancer Institute (54 awards) collectively represent the primary customer base. The Veterans Health Administration and Department of the Navy round out significant funders. This concentration masks operational breadth—activity spans infectious disease models, cancer therapeutics, cardiovascular and neurological research, occupational therapy and physical therapy training, and rural residency program development across multiple NIH institutes and HHS agencies.

The institution holds a single-award Indefinite Delivery Contract worth $146.3 million with NIAID through July 2031 for pre-clinical models of infectious diseases across four task areas: small animal models, non-human primate models, animal replacement and non-traditional models, and specialized reagent generation. This IDC represents the anchor commitment underwriting a substantial portion of annual activity. Eleven awards with combined potential value of $9.7 million complete within the next twenty-four months, presenting moderate recompete exposure in that window.

The institution operates as a sub-recipient on clinical trial and research collaboration agreements with prime recipients including the University of Pittsburgh (physiologic age of whole blood prehospital resuscitation trial), University of Alabama at Birmingham (cytomegalovirus infection clinical studies), Washington University (Mid-America Regional Coordinating Center for StrokeNet), Georgia State University (carbon monoxide prodrug development for acute kidney injury), and St. Jude Children's Research Hospital (pediatric neuroblastoma and respiratory viral immunity studies). Sub-award work spans clinical site enrollment and data collection, biospecimen processing, computational analysis, and small-molecule compound optimization.

UTHSC's recent grant portfolio spans a broad spectrum of federal health research priorities: arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy genetic modifier discovery ($769 thousand, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute); triple-negative breast cancer N-glycan biosynthesis inhibitor development ($389 thousand, National Cancer Institute); arsenic trioxide neurotoxicity mechanisms ($403 thousand, NIH Office of the Director); Aspergillus fumigatus septation network kinase inhibition ($678 thousand, NIAID); and workforce development including a $750 thousand rural family medicine residency planning program with the Bureau of Health Professionals and a $3.08 million genetics research training program supporting diverse scholars. The institution also participates in cooperative agreements supporting infrastructure and epidemiology, including a $1.645 million pangenome accessibility tools project with the National Human Genome Research Institute and multi-site clinical de-implementation trials on congenital diaphragmatic hernia management.

Activity has grown from 54 awards in 2022 to 83 in 2024, with 52 awards recorded in 2026 through September. The institution competes predominantly full-and-open; no set-aside designations appear in recent awards. Primary NAICS coding reflects educational and research services (colleges and universities, research and development in biotechnology, veterinary services, physician offices), with PSC codes concentrated in laboratory supplies, reference laboratory testing, education and tuition, and medical equipment evaluation. Performance occurs in Memphis, Tennessee, with subordinate components operating through the College of Medicine–Knoxville and clinical partnerships across East Tennessee.