NIH seeks input on somatic mosaicism research program

Request for Information (RFI): Inviting Input on Future Directions for a Somatic Mosaicism Common Fund Program Notice Number: NOT-RM-26-003

Key Dates

Release Date: April 1, 2026

Response Date: May 30, 2026

Related Announcements

None

Issued by

NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH (NIH)

Purpose

The purpose of this Request for Information (RFI) is to solicit input from the broader scientific community, including investigators, professional societies, and other interested parties, on the compelling scientific opportunities and key resource needs that could be addressed in a potential future somatic mosaicism program by the Common Fund.

As with many Common Fund programs, a potential new program in somatic mosaicism would be expected to be catalytic, transformative, and create a set of enabling resources that will be of high value to the broad biomedical research community.

Background

Somatic mosaicism, the presence of genetically distinct cell populations within an individual, is a fundamental aspect of human biology. While long studied in the context of cancer, recent technological advances have revealed that somatic mutations accumulate in all tissues throughout life, contributing to a wide range of conditions unrelated to cancer including neurodevelopmental disorders, cardiovascular disease, and the aging process itself.

The first phase of the Somatic Mosaicism across Human Tissues (SMaHT) program was designed to move the field beyond these initial discoveries by creating a public catalog of somatic mutations in diverse, healthy tissues. By providing innovative sequencing tools and analysis methods, a data workbench to query somatic variation, SMaHT expects to enable researchers to begin asking fundamental questions about the origins and distribution of these variants.

More information on the SMaHT program can be found at the following URLs:

Program Overview: https://commonfund.nih.gov/smaht

Consortia Overview: https://smaht.org/

Information Requested

The NIH Common Fund seeks input from researchers in academia and industry, healthcare professionals, patient advocates, and other stakeholders on the future of somatic mosaicism research. Comments are invited on any of the topics listed below, and respondents are encouraged to provide other relevant feedback for consideration in planning future programs in somatic mosaicism.

• Scientific Priorities and Opportunities: Comments on the most compelling scientific questions and opportunities that a next-generation somatic mosaicism program could address. What large gaps are hindering current research? What infrastructure is needed to facilitate somatic discovery, define functionality, or unlock biological processes? What are the high-priority tissues, biological processes, diseases that will help us investigate the functional consequences of somatic mosaicism?
• Technological and Experimental Advancements: Input on key technological needs and opportunities. This input may include strategies for the scalable, high-throughput characterization of cellular phenotypes, the detection of the full spectrum of somatic variants (including rare clones and complex structural variants), and the development of novel experimental models or in situ analysis methods.
• Data and Resource Enhancement: Feedback on strategies to enhance the generation, integration, and utility of any data and other resources. This feedback could involve suggestions for integrating multi-omics or clinical data, federating with other large-scale datasets, and developing novel computational, AI/ML, or data visualization tools to empower the broad research community. How to Submit a Response

All comments must be submitted electronically on the RFI submission website at https://rfi.grants.nih.gov/?s=69b006822351fe1f500050c2.

Responses must be received by 11:59:59 pm (ET) on May 30, 2026.

Responses to this RFI are voluntary and may be submitted anonymously. Please do not include any proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information in your response. The NIH will use the information submitted in response to this RFI at its discretion and will not provide comments to any respondent’s submission. The information provided will be analyzed and may appear in reports.

Inquiries

Please direct all inquiries to:

Somatic Mosaicism Across Human Tissues (SMaHT) Program
Email: [email protected]

Weekly TOC for this Announcement
NIH Funding Opportunities and Notices Department of Health
and Human Services (HHS) NIH... Turning Discovery Into Health ®