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National Institutes of Health · Department of Health and Human Services

Limited Competition: Centers of Biomedical Research Excellence: Expansion/Sustainability Phases (COBRE-E/S) (P30 - Clinical Trial Not Allowed)

Open

Key facts

Deadline
Due May 25, 2029 · 961 days left
Award size
Not stated: see the official notice
Match ?
Not required · Work out your budget and match
Who can apply
State government, Public college or university, City or town government, Tribal organization, County government, Nonprofit with 501(c)(3), Tribal government, School district, Nonprofit without 501(c)(3), Small business, Private college or university, Special district (utility, fire, etc.), Larger business, and others named in the official notice
Where
Anywhere in the U.S., including Tennessee

Before you apply: federal grants require an active SAM.gov registration (Unique Entity ID) and a Grants.gov account. Registration is free but can take weeks, so start now, not when the deadline is close. Get-ready checklist

How this fits you

  • Available in Hamilton County (nationwide program)
  • No match required
  • Past Tennessee awards on file: 115

Tell us who you are to see whether you're eligible.

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About this grant

The Institutional Development Award (IDeA) program supports biomedical research capacity building in states that have historically received low levels of NIH funding. The Centers of Biomedical Research Excellence: Expansion/Sustainability Phases (COBRE-E/S) Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) supports the expansion and sustainability of biomedical research centers in IDeA-eligible institutions. These centers will focus on building research capacity in broad scientific areas of strategic importance for the institutions. The goal of COBRE-E is to expand research capacity by growing the institutional faculty base and supporting research projects and core facilities in the new area. The objective of COBRE-S is to sustain the infrastructure by continuing the growth of the faculty base and consolidating research cores. This is a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for a Limited Competition that will invite application(s) from eligible organization(s) to apply. Please see Section III. Eligibility for additional information. In accordance with NIH standard peer-review processes, the application(s) will be peer-reviewed, and only meritorious application(s) will be considered.

Who can apply, from the official notice

Refer to Section III. Eligibility Information in the NOFO for additional information on eligibility.Eligibility is restricted to institutions that meet all the following criteria:In an IDeA-eligible state, commonwealth, or jurisdiction, which are Alaska, Arkansas, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wyoming; andAward doctoral degrees in health-related sciences or are independent biomedical research institutes/medical centers with ongoing biomedical research programs funded by the NIH or other federal agencies; andHold three or fewer active COBRE awards (except for COBRE Phase 3), including those in no-cost extension at the time of application submission. Applications will not be accepted from organizations that hold four or more active Phase 1, Phase 2, COBRE-D, COBRE-E, and COBRE-S awards, including those in no-cost extension.Foreign Organizations/International CollaborationsNon-domestic (non-U.S.) Entities (Foreign Organization) are not eligible to apply.Non-domestic (non-U.S.) components of U.S. Organizations are not eligible to apply.Foreign components, as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement, are not allowed.

Ask a partner for a letter

Your schedule, working back from the deadline

  1. Oct7
    Check that your SAM.gov registration is active (or start it now)
    Grants.gov: allow up to 10 business days for SAM registration, weeks or months if information isn't verified. It must be renewed every year. Grants.gov
  2. May4
    Ask partners for letters of support or commitment
    Suggested: partners need about three weeks to write and sign letters.
  3. May18
    Finish a complete draft for a final review
    Suggested: leave about a week for someone else to read the draft.
  4. May23
    Submit
    Grants.gov: submit at least 24–48 hours before the deadline: uploads fail, systems slow down, errors need fixing. Grants.gov blog
  5. May25
    Deadline
    From the funder.

Save this grant to put these dates in My grants and your private calendar.

Writing the need statement? Hamilton County facts with citations.

Who in Tennessee has won this program

31 awards to Tennessee groups in 3 counties since 1977 · 0 in Hamilton County. Largest shown:

Past Tennessee winners
Past winnerWhereAmountFiscal year
Vanderbilt UniversityNashville$30.6M spent that year2025
Vanderbilt University Medical CenterNashville, Davidson County$23M2023
Vanderbilt UniversityNashville, Davidson County$17.7M1977
Vanderbilt UniversityNashville, Davidson County$17.3M2011
Meharry Medical CollegeNashville, Davidson County$16.4M1999
St Jude Children's Research Hospital IncMemphis, Shelby County$8.9M1985
State of TennesseeNashville$8.7M spent that year2025
St Jude Children's Research Hospital IncMemphis, Shelby County$6.8M2017
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Inc.Memphis, Shelby County$6.6M spent that year2025
St Jude Children's Research Hospital IncMemphis, Shelby County$6.4M2006
Vanderbilt UniversityNashville, Davidson County$6.4M2019
Vanderbilt UniversityNashville, Davidson County$6.4M1978

Source: Federal Audit Clearinghouse, USAspending.gov. Past awards show who this program funds. They don't guarantee future awards.

Tennessee groups that got this money through a state agency or another organization

This federal money also reaches local groups as pass-through grants. 84 pass-through grants on file · 0 in Hamilton County. Largest shown:

Tennessee pass-through grant winners
Past winnerWhereThroughAmountFiscal year
Vanderbilt University Medical CenterNashville, Davidson CountyEast Tennessee State University$998K2026
Meharry Medical CollegeNashville, Davidson CountyVanderbilt University Medical Center$507K2025
Vanderbilt University Medical CenterNashville, Davidson CountySeattle Children's Hospital$304K2025
Fisk UniversityNashville, Davidson CountyFisk - Vanderbilt Biomedical Bridge (1)$272K spent that year2023
Belmont UniversityNashville, Davidson CountyPresident and Fellows of Harvard College$270K2026
Vanderbilt University Medical CenterNashville, Davidson CountyEast Tennessee State University$262K spent that year2025
Fisk UniversityNashville, Davidson CountyUniversity of Illinois$257K2024
Vanderbilt UniversityNashville, Davidson CountyThe University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center$244K2026
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Inc.Memphis, Shelby CountyIcahn School of Medicine at Mt. Sinai$243K spent that year2025
Fisk UniversityNashville, Davidson CountyUniversity of Illinois$210K2024
Vanderbilt UniversityNashville, Davidson CountyRector & Visitors of the University of Virginia$207K2024
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Inc.Memphis, Shelby CountyWeill Medical College of Cornell University$204K spent that year2025

Source: USAspending.gov pass-through reports (the first recipient reports each one of $30,000 or more).

About the federal program

Biomedical Research and Research Training
Program number 93.859 (the federal Assistance Listing number) · U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health · Project grant

How applications are judged

All accepted applications are reviewed for scientific and technical merit by an appropriate initial review group and by a national advisory council. The goal of NIGMS funding policies is to maximize the scientific impact of investments in investigator-initiated biomedical research to drive fundamental scientific discoveries that advance understanding of human health and disease. To address this goal, the Institute strives to support a broad portfolio of research grants of high scientific and technical merit, as determined by peer review, in its mission areas. However, in deciding to fund any application, NIGMS staff also considers other factors, including (consistent with applicable law): the breadth of the Institute�s research portfolio; approaches, and investigators; the total amount of funding available to the investigator; the priority of the research area for the Institute�s mission; Early-stage investigator status; At-risk investigator status?;? and whether the PI would have more than one NIGMS funded R01 (including multi-PI R01s). Because these factors are considered, NIGMS does not have a �payline� or strict cutoff in scores that it will fund. It is important to understand that even applications with outstanding scores might not be funded if the investigator already has substantial other support. Because NIGMS prioritizes funding for meritorious investigators who otherwise would not have support over providing additional grants to already well-funded...

Match

None required (federal program listing).

This program on SAM.gov

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Source: Federal grants from Grants.gov · the official federal record. Last checked by GrantMe Oct 7, 2026.

Reference numbers: official notice number PAR-27-055 · program number 93.859