Centers of Excellence in Genomic Science (CEGS)

The National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) intends to promote an initiative by publishing a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) to solicit applications for the Centers of Excellence in Genomic Science (CEGS) program. The purpose of the CEGS program is to bring together interdisciplinary teams of investigators to form tightly focused, well-integrated projects that address challenging biomedical questions from a genomics perspective. CEGS are expected to develop highly innovative novel concepts, methods, approaches, tools, and technologies to address these questions and achieve a transformative advance not likely developed by standard R01s or other projects over the same timeframe. Importantly, each CEGS will address a critical issue in genomic science, genomic medicine, computational genomics, or an issue that cuts across more than one of these areas. Given these goals, each center is required to have outstanding scientific plans and management strategies that balance a high level of risk with the potential for high payoff. Additional goals of the CEGS program include broadening the pool of researchers able to work in or use genomics, and dissemination of CEGS developed methods and tools to the broader research community.

In February 2024 a mixed-methods evaluation (see evaluation report) was completed to assess the outcomes of this flagship NHGRI program. The evaluation highlighted several strengths such as the high-risk, high-reward nature of the CEGS funding mechanism, a focus on technology development linked to biological questions, and the funding of several breakthrough resources and approaches that have surpassed genomics to stimulate many research areas. Suggestions for improvements, such as widening the focus and increasing outreach opportunities, will be addressed in this renewal.