Tuesday, February 17, 2026 2/17/2026

Improving Metagenomic Analysis with Novel Algorithms and Technologies

Award Number: R35GM138152
ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF GENERAL MEDICAL SCIENCES
OPDIV: NIH
AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY
AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 09/01/2020
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 02/28/2031

Group Awards By:

View Award Description

Improving Metagenomic Analysis with Novel Algorithms and Technologies - Microbiomes are diverse ecosystems, critical for ecological studies and human health, consisting of numerous species across known or unexplored domains of life. Metagenomic sequencing is essential for studying microbiomes due to the difficulty of culturing many organisms, addressing the challenge of 'unknown unknowns' in community composition. Accurate metagenome reconstruction is necessary to explore the interplay between microbiome composition and functional capacity. Current bioinformatics tools require validation using comprehensive datasets paired with precise reference standards. We propose the Microbiome-in-a-Bottle (MIAB) project to create benchmark materials for metagenomics, similar to the Genome-in-a-Bottle (GIAB) initiative for human genomes. MIAB will curate high- confidence isolate genomes, integrate multiple sequencing technologies (Illumina short-reads, Hi-C, PacBio and Oxford Nanopore long-reads, and LoopSeq and TELL-Seq synthetic long-reads). Our goal is to provide high-quality benchmark sets for tool validation and we will also release raw sequencing data. My lab will also continue novel method development for metagenome assembly in the next 5 years. Existing one-click metagenomics pipelines simplify workflows but face challenges with inflexible parameters, reliance on dependencies, and lack of customization. Manual curation and visualization are crucial for refining analyses and improving result accuracy. Scalability, reproducibility, and user-friendly yet flexible solutions are needed for diverse metagenomics research applications. One of our lab's major goals over the next five years is to extend and maintain CAMP (Core Analysis Modular Pipeline), a modular ecosystem for high-throughput metagenomics. We plan to enhance it using Artificial Intelligence (AI), particularly large-language models. Our lab has been at the forefront of AI model development and its applications in genomics and various biomedical domains in recent years, and we will leverage this expertise for the success of this project. My group has collaborated with the MetaSUB Consortium in recent years. MetaSUB collected 5,000 metagenomic samples from public transit surfaces in 60 cities worldwide, providing valuable insights into the diversity of urban microbiomes. However, the evolutionary forces shaping these communities remain unexplored. As part of a new project in our lab, we plan to investigate this over the next five years. We will apply various models to analyze and compare datasets from several major cities with extensive sampling, including NYC, London, and Hong Kong.


Issue Date FY	Funding FY	Legal Entity Name	Legal Entity Address	Legal Entity City	Legal Entity State	Legal Entity Zip Code	Legal Entity COUNTY	Legal Entity COUNTRY	Assistance Listing	Award Code	Budget Year	Action Date	Action Type	Action Amount

Issue Date FY: 2026 ( Subtotal = $464,101 )
2026	2026	WEILL MEDICAL COLLEGE OF CORNELL UNIVERSITY	575 LEXINGTON AVE FL 9	NEW YORK	NY	10022	NEW YORK	USA	Biomedical Research and Research Training	001	6	2/13/2026	COMPETING CONTINUATION	$464,101
2026	2024	WEILL MEDICAL COLLEGE OF CORNELL UNIVERSITY	575 LEXINGTON AVE FL 9	NEW YORK	NY	10022	NEW YORK	USA	Biomedical Research and Research Training	000	5	2/13/2026	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$0
														Subtotal = $464,101

Issue Date FY: 2024 ( Subtotal = $409,894 )
2024	2024	WEILL MEDICAL COLLEGE OF CORNELL UNIVERSITY	575 LEXINGTON AVE FL 9	NEW YORK	NY	10022	NEW YORK	USA	Biomedical Research and Research Training	000	5	6/27/2024	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$409,894
														Subtotal = $409,894

Issue Date FY: 2023 ( Subtotal = $409,894 )
2023	2023	WEILL MEDICAL COLLEGE OF CORNELL UNIVERSITY	1300 YORK AVE	NEW YORK	NY	10065	NEW YORK	USA	Biomedical Research and Research Training	000	4	6/29/2023	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$409,894
														Subtotal = $409,894

Issue Date FY: 2022 ( Subtotal = $421,783 )
2022	2022	WEILL MEDICAL COLLEGE OF CORNELL UNIVERSITY	1300 YORK AVE	NEW YORK	NY	10065	NEW YORK	USA	Biomedical Research and Research Training	000	3	9/6/2022	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$421,783
														Subtotal = $421,783

Issue Date FY: 2021 ( Subtotal = $421,783 )
2021	2021	WEILL MEDICAL COLLEGE OF CORNELL UNIVERSITY	1300 YORK AVE	NEW YORK	NY	10065	NEW YORK	USA	Biomedical Research and Research Training	000	2	6/25/2021	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$421,783
														Subtotal = $421,783

Issue Date FY: 2020 ( Subtotal = $421,783 )
2020	2020	WEILL MEDICAL COLLEGE OF CORNELL UNIVERSITY	407 E 61ST ST RM 106 1ST FL	NEW YORK	NY	10065	NEW YORK	USA	Biomedical Research and Research Training	000	1	8/31/2020	NEW	$421,783
														Subtotal = $421,783

Grand Total All Awards = $2,549,238

Top

All Categories

About

Search

Reports

Data Submission

Award Information

Improving Metagenomic Analysis with Novel Algorithms and Technologies

Award Number: R35GM138152

ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF GENERAL MEDICAL SCIENCES

OPDIV: NIH

AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY

AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 09/01/2020

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 02/28/2031

Federal Websites

Department of Health & Human Services

HHS Operating Divisions

HHS Staff Divisions

Download A Document Viewer