The National Institutes of Health will accept applications through July 12 for genome centers interested in sequencing genome data for the agency's All of Us Research Program.
All of Us is the NIH's flagship precision medicine effort, which aims to engage more than 1 million participants in sharing biological samples, genetic data and lifestyle information. The completed program will serve as a national research resource to inform future precision medicine studies.
Here are four things to know about the NIH's newest funding announcement:
1. The NIH plans to fund up to two genome centers in fiscal year 2018. The selected centers will generate genotype and whole genome sequence data from biosamples of the program's participants, beginning in fall 2018.
2. Genome centers may request funds to generate and analyze genotype data from 100,000 participants in the first year. In the remaining years of the five-year project period, applicants may request funds for whole genome sequencing for up to 200,000 participants each year.
3. The NIH will evaluate applicants based on their cost proposal, technical approach, plans to scale operations and capabilities to operate a clinical validation laboratory. The NIH will also take past performance and prior experience into account.
4. The NIH also unveiled plans for a pilot study related to how to responsibly return genetic information to participants. The pilot study, which the agency plans to launch in the next few months, will incorporate considerations like education and genetic counseling.
To access the NIH's funding announcement, click here.