National Human Genome Research Institute

What National Human Genome Research Institute does

The National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) is a U.S. federal government research institute within the National Institutes of Health (NIH), itself an agency of the Department of Health and Human Services. Established in 1990 to lead the Human Genome Project, NHGRI's mission is to advance genomics research from basic science through clinical implementation. Its core activities include funding extramural research through competitive grants and contracts, conducting intramural research on the NIH campus in Bethesda, Maryland, and maintaining genomic data resources such as the Genomic Data Science Analysis, Visualization, and Informatics Lab-space (AnVIL) and the dbGaP database of Genotypes and Phenotypes. The institute led the Telomere-to-Telomere Consortium, which released the first complete, gapless human genome sequence (T2T-CHM13) on March 31, 2022, adding approximately 200 million previously unread base pairs to the human reference.

NHGRI's portfolio of research programs spans functional genomics (ENCODE), tissue-specific gene expression (GTEx), cancer genomics (TCGA), polygenic risk methods in diverse populations (PRIMED), and clinical implementation networks (eMERGE, IGNITE, ClinGen, CSER, NSIGHT, UDN). It funds translational initiatives such as the Southeast Genomic Medicine Service (SE-GEMS) eConsult platform, ELSI (Ethical, Legal, and Social Implications) research, and SBIR grants to genomics startups. The institute also produces educational resources, fact sheets, and the GenomeTV lecture series for audiences ranging from K-12 educators and patients to physicians and policymakers.

As a government research institute rather than a commercial entity, NHGRI is funded through annual congressional appropriations distributed by NIH and does not generate commercial revenue. Its outputs — research funding, public-domain data resources, educational materials, and policy guidance — are provided free of charge to qualified recipients. Revenue streams consist of federal appropriations and the disbursement of research grants and multiyear awards (e.g., $7.87M to Vanderbilt Health and UAB; $3.2M to Feinstein Institutes; $2M SBIR to Dovetail Genomics). Its customer base is horizontal: scientists and academic researchers, healthcare providers, patients and the general public, educators, and policymakers.

Name

National Human Genome Research Institute

Legal name

National Human Genome Research Institute

Website

https://genome.gov

Company type

Public

Founded year

1990

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

The National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) is a U.S. federal research institute within NIH that funds and conducts genomics research, maintains public genomic data resources, and advances genomic medicine implementation for scientists, clinicians, patients, and the general public.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Genomics Research

NAICS

Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714), Scientific Research and Development Services (5417), Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (54171)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Health Research Funding Agencies (Public/Quasi-Public) (HLAJALAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Public Health Genomics & Sequencing (WGS/Metagenomics) Networks (HLAJAIAK), Health Data, Vital Statistics & Population Health Informatics (BPAIAJAM), Genetic & Genomic Testing (germline, somatic, carrier, pharmacogenomics) (HLAAALAD)

Keywords

• Genomics research funding
• Human genome research
• Genomic medicine programs
• Genomics data resources
• Genomic science education

Headquarters

HQ city

Bethesda

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Federal Appropriations: NHGRI is funded through annual congressional appropriations to the National Institutes of Health. The institute receives a budget allocation from the NIH which is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. As a federal research institute, NHGRI does not generate commercial revenue but distributes funds through grants and contracts to support extramural and intramural genomics research.
2. Research Grants and Awards: NHGRI issues multiyear awards and grants to external research institutions. Example: $7.87 million award to Vanderbilt Health and UAB for the Southeast Genomic Medicine Service (SE-GEMS) initiative. Funding supports genomic eConsult services, research projects, and training programs.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

NHGRI is a U.S. federal research institute within the National Institutes of Health (NIH) that advances genomics research by funding extramural and intramural scientific programs, maintaining genomic data resources and bioinformatics infrastructure, and disseminating educational materials. It issues research grants and contracts to public and private research institutions worldwide and operates programs such as ENCODE, ClinGen, eMERGE, the Undiagnosed Diseases Network, and the Telomere-to-Telomere Consortium. It also provides public-facing tools including the genome.gov website, the Family Health History Tool, and the Genomic Medicine Meetings series.

Product overview

The National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) is a research institute within the NIH, not a commercial product company. Its offerings consist primarily of research programs, educational resources, and health information platforms rather than a unified commercial product. The genome.gov website serves as the primary public-facing platform, providing genomics education, research funding information, and health resources. NHGRI funds and coordinates numerous research programs including the Advancing Genomic Medicine Research (AGMR), Clinical Genome Resource (ClinGen), eMERGE Network, Undiagnosed Diseases Network (UDN), and the ENCODE Project. The institute also provides the Family Health History Tool for clinical use, supports the Southeast Genomic Medicine Service (SE-GEMS) eConsult platform for clinician guidance, and offers the ELSI Research Program addressing ethical, legal, and social implications of genomics. Training and fellowship programs like the NIH-ACMG Fellowship and educational resources for educators round out the portfolio.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• genome.gov Website Platform

Quantifiable outcome

• First complete human genome sequence completed with 200 million added base pairs
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• Vanderbilt HealthcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 June 2026Vanderbilt Health partnered with NHGRI-funded Southeast Genomic Medicine Service (SE-GEMS) initiative. The project is funded by a $7.87 million multiyear award from NHGRI to expand access to genomic medicine for clinicians and patients across the Southeast United States. The partnership creates a genomic eConsult service allowing clinicians to submit questions about genetic testing and receive guidance from genetics experts.
• University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 June 2026UAB partnered with Vanderbilt Health in the SE-GEMS initiative funded by a $7.87 million NHGRI award. The partnership initially focuses on general genetics, pharmacogenomics, prenatal genetics, and cancer genetics, with the goal of building a scalable model for broader regional and national implementation of genomic medicine services.
• Feinstein InstitutesmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 October 2025Feinstein Institutes received $3.2 million from NIH (including NHGRI) to fund research on polygenic embryo selection (PES) technology for evaluating embryos for disease risks during in vitro fertilization. Research involves collaborations with Baylor College of Medicine and Massachusetts General Hospital over four years.
• Baylor College of MedicinemajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 October 2025Collaborator with Feinstein Institutes on NIH-funded polygenic embryo selection research. Part of a multi-institutional effort to assess scientific accuracy and ethical implications of PES technology.
• Massachusetts General HospitalmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 October 2025Collaborator with Feinstein Institutes on NIH-funded polygenic embryo selection research. Part of multi-institutional effort to evaluate PES technology for disease risk assessment during IVF.
• Telomere-to-Telomere ConsortiumcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 31 March 2022Consortium led by NHGRI with approximately 100 scientists that produced the first complete, gapless human genome sequence (T2T-CHM13). The consortium used Oxford Nanopore and PacBio long-read sequencing platforms to bridge repetitive sections that defeated earlier short-read methods. This achievement added nearly 200 million base pairs of previously unread sequence to the human reference genome.
• Human Microbiome Project (HMP)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTrans-NIH collaboration through the Common Fund. NHGRI collaborates with other NIH institutes on microbiome research as part of its cross-cutting activities in genomics and society.
• H3Africa ProgramcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational collaboration supporting genomics research in Africa. NHGRI participates as part of cross-NIH Common Fund projects to advance genomic research globally.
• GTEx (Genotype-Tissue Expression Project)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommon Fund project studying relationship between genetic variation and gene expression across human tissues. NHGRI collaborates with other NIH institutes on this landmark project.
• CSER (Clinical Sequencing Evidence-Generating Research)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNHGRI collaboration focused on generating evidence about the clinical use of genomic sequencing. Part of the Division of Genomics and Society's outreach activities.
• NSIGHT (Newborn Sequencing in Genomic Medicine and Public Health)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNHGRI program exploring the implications of genomic sequencing in newborns. Collaborates across NHGRI divisions and with other NIH institutes.
• IGNITE (Implementing Genomics in Practice)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNHGRI network focused on implementing genomic medicine in clinical practice. Supports pragmatic clinical trials and implementation research.
• eMERGE (Electronic Medical Records and Genomics) NetworkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNHGRI network combining DNA biobanks with electronic medical record systems for large-scale genomic research. Part of genomic medicine implementation efforts.
• ClinGen (Clinical Genome Resource)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNHGRI-funded resource providing expert consensus on genes and variants relevant to disease. Part of clinical genome resources for genomic medicine.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• National Cancer Institute (NCI): Another major NIH institute focused on cancer research; like NHGRI it funds large extramural research programs, operates intramural labs, and convenes clinical networks (e.g., TCGA, which NHGRI co-leads). It is the closest functional peer within the federal genomics/biomedical ecosystem.
• Wellcome Trust / Wellcome Sanger Institute: UK-based charitable foundation that funds genomics and biomedical research globally, including the Wellcome Sanger Institute, which produces large-scale genomic reference data (e.g., UK Biobank contributions). Most direct international peer to NHGRI's combination of research funding plus reference data stewardship.
• National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS): A sister NIH institute that funds basic biomedical research through grants and training programs. Directly comparable in operating model (federal institute, extramural grants, intramural research) though with a broader mandate than genomics.
• European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL-EBI): Intergovernmental bioinformatics and genomics data institute operating major open data resources (Ensembl, ENA, EVA). Most direct international peer to NHGRI's data stewardship role (e.g., AnVIL/dbGaP).
• The Jackson Laboratory (JAX): Independent, nonprofit biomedical research institution specializing in mammalian genetics and genomics, operating research programs, genomic databases, and distributing mouse models. Closely comparable to NHGRI's intramural research and data resource mission.

Broad incumbents

• Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard: Large, established genomics research organization operating major sequencing, computation, and disease-gene discovery programs. Comparable to NHGRI in scientific output and convening power, though private/non-profit and reliant on philanthropic and federal grants rather than direct congressional appropriation.
• Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI): Large private biomedical research organization supporting ~300 HHMI Investigators across U.S. universities. Comparable in funding scale, scientific prestige, and investigator-driven model, though broader than NHGRI's genomics-specific remit.
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): Federal public health agency that operates genomic surveillance programs (e.g., PulseNet, AMD) and uses WGS for outbreak response. Overlaps with NHGRI in public-health-oriented genomic epidemiology but with a federal-regulatory rather than research-funding orientation.
• National Science Foundation (NSF): Federal agency that funds basic scientific research across all disciplines, including genomics-adjacent computational biology. Comparable in funding-agency model and federal appropriations structure, though much broader in scope.

Emerging players

• Allen Institute: Private nonprofit research organization conducting large-scale scientific projects (brain science, cell science, immunology). Comparable as a mission-driven, large-scale research organization producing open data assets, though not genomics-focused.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/with_replies
• YouTubeyoutube.com/genometv
• Facebookfacebook.com/genome.gov
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/national-human-genome-research-institute-nhgri
• Instagraminstagram.com/nhgri_nih

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments19 records

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Frequently asked questions about National Human Genome Research Institute