A goal of the NHLBI TOPMed program is to generate scientific resources that will advance precision medicine in the prevention and treatment of heart, lung, blood, and sleep disorders. The TOPMed program generates a collection of genomic, epigenomic, transcriptomic, proteomic, and metabolomic data (see details at https://topmed.nhlbi.nih.gov/) from over 200,000 well-phenotyped individuals and integrates these data with multi-omics, behavioral, imaging, environmental, and clinical data to detect and assess molecular “profiles” associated with health and diseases. This data is available for access by researchers in the BioDataCatalyst and dbGaP databases.
The goal of the TOPMed Fellowship program is to ensure that a diverse pool of highly trained scientists pursue further studies or careers in genomic data science research. With this fellowship program, TOPMed seeks to facilitate the career advancement and/or transition of participants to the next steps in their scientific careers and to develop a cadre of diverse scientists capable of leading genomic data science research in the areas relevant to heart, lung, blood, and sleep disorders. There are many benefits that result from a diverse NHLBI-supported scientific workforce, including: fostering scientific innovation; enhancing global competitiveness; contributing to robust learning environments; improving the quality of research; advancing research in health disparity populations; improving health equity, and enhancing public trust. Therefore, the NHLBI recognizes a unique and compelling need for its precision medicine program to promote inclusive excellence in genomics and its data sciences research workforce. Individuals from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups as well as individuals with disabilities are always encouraged to apply for NIH support (see NOT-OD-20-031).
Proposal Due Date: July 31, 2023
Applicants need to focus on the area within the NHLBI’s mission and propose to use existing or up-coming data to conduct discovery researches. TOPMed fellows are encouraged to use TOPMed data as either the primary or secondary dataset in their proposals. Examples of relevant topic areas and research approaches include but are not limited to:
- Collaborative projects combining TOPMed data for analysis with the data from other programs (e.g., H3Africa, MVP, AoU, UKB, etc)
- Integration of multi-omics layers in analysis
- The interaction of genes (and, more broadly, genome function) and the physical and social environment (e.g., social economic data)
- Leveraging genomics and longitudinal clinical data in AI/ML applications to identify disease-relevant molecular signatures
- Combining multiple-omics data with phenotypic and environmental exposure data, including social determinants of health (SDOH), to detect and assess molecular “profiles” associated with diseases
- Genomic basis of disease disparities
- Identifying biomarkers for disease diagnosis and prognosis
- Polygenic risk scores analysis to uncover both known and novel mechanisms towards disease susceptibility
Eligible Individuals: Any individual(s) with the skills, knowledge, and resources necessary to carry out the proposed research is invited to apply. Individuals from diverse backgrounds, including underrepresented racial and ethnic groups, individuals with disabilities, and women are always encouraged to apply for NIH support (see, e.g., NOT-OD-20-031). Applicants should be doctoral students, post-doctoral fellows, or early-career faculty investigators (i.e., those performing hands-on analysis work). Specifically, early-career investigators are defined as:
- New Investigator. An investigator who has not previously competed successfully for substantial, independent funding from NIH.
- Early-stage Investigator. A program director/principal investigator who has completed their terminal research degree or end of post-graduate clinic training, whichever date is later, within the past 10 years and who has not previously competed successfully as PD/PI for substantial NIH independent research award.