NSF Funds $11.9M Biodiversity Genomics Project

The National Science Foundation has awarded $11.9 million to build national infrastructure for producing high-quality reference genomes of U.S. species.

Updated on Nov. 6, 2026 in Life Sciences

NSF Funds $11.9M Biodiversity Genomics Project

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The National Science Foundation awarded $11.9 million to fund the Scalable Community Infrastructure for Biodiversity Genomics project, led by researchers at Rockefeller University, the University of Kansas, and Arizona State University. The project aims to expand production of reference genomes, of which only a small fraction of U.S. biodiversity has been recorded so far.

Why it matters

High-quality reference genomes support advances in conservation, agriculture, pest and disease control, medicine, and biotechnology. Current genome production is costly and fragmented, and the project seeks a more consistent, scalable approach.

The $11.9 million National Science Foundation grant funds the project's sequencing pipeline, with the University of Kansas team producing more than half of its prioritized samples. The stub does not state how quickly the long-term production target of 60 genomes per week will be reached.

The players

National Science Foundation

The U.S. federal agency that funds basic research and education across science and engineering, and that awarded the $11.9 million grant for this project.

Rockefeller University

A private research university in New York City known for its work in biology and medicine, and the lead institution among the project's investigators.

University of Kansas

A public research university in Lawrence, Kansas, whose team will produce most of the project's prioritized samples and build the public digital tool.

Arizona State University

A public research university in Tempe, Arizona, and a participating institution in the project's investigator team.

The details

The project will establish a nationwide pipeline that lets U.S. scientists nominate species for sequencing at lower cost, with selection following a transparent, ethical governance structure. The University of Kansas team will also build a public-facing digital tool based on the Symbiota biodiversity specimen-data platform.

November 6, 2026: Announcement of the $11.9 million grant award
Long-term: Target goal of producing 60 reference genomes each week

Big Picture

The project extends the Symbiota biodiversity specimen-data platform, which the University of Kansas team will use for its public-facing tool, into large-scale genome sequencing. Building on that existing data infrastructure, it aims to move reference genome production from fragmented, project-by-project work toward a coordinated national pipeline.

For researchers, the pipeline could lower the cost of nominating a species for sequencing and offer a transparent process for choosing which species are sequenced. Readers interested in conservation or agriculture may find the reference genomes useful once the infrastructure is operating at scale.

The takeaway

Building shared, high-quality reference genomes could make biodiversity research more consistent and accessible across fields. Progress will depend on whether the planned production pace is met over the long term.