NIH Challenges and Prize Competitions

Recognizing exemplary approaches to menopause education for health care professionals.

This challenge seeks to identify, amplify, and reward curricula that comprehensively address the menopausal transition, including menopause hormone therapy, within U.S. health education programs.

Coming Soon

This challenge aims to catalyze the development of AI-powered systems capable of generating synthesized, citation-backed responses that support complex literature exploration and help biomedical researchers identify and take appropriate next steps, substantially reducing the time and cognitive burden associated with navigating and interpreting the scientific literature.

Registration opens 9/15/2026

This challenge aims to build a modern, AI-powered search engine to identify relevant biomedical research studies that explore genomic and phenotypic associations stored within the NLM Database of Genotypes and Phenotypes (dbGaP). 

Registration opens 9/15/2026

Low-cost, rapid, and accurate instruments for field quantification of illicit substances.

The goal of NIDA’s “One-Step, Rapid, Low-Cost Definitive Drug Testing at the Point of Need” Challenge is to solicit solutions (device prototypes) that can address the lack of low-cost, rapid, and accurate instruments for laboratory or field quantification of drugs of abuse and emerging threats.

Phase 1 openS on 09/15/26

NIH invites innovators to develop digital health tools that help people living with or at risk for autoimmune diseases monitor diet, nutrition, and symptoms.

Phase 1 openS On 10/01/26

This Challenge seeks meaningful, actionable, innovative, and practical strategies to foster early community engagement and build new academic-community partnerships for future research aligned with the NIDDK mission. 

Registration opens 10/1/2026

This challenge seeks to address this gap by incentivizing the development of innovative methods, tools, or frameworks that enable robust temporal embeddings and temporal reasoning in knowledge graphs.

Opens ON 10/05/26

This challenge seeks evidence packages for promising generic drug repurposing candidates to treat high-cost conditions. 

opens 11/2/2026

Driving Innovation in Aging

This challenge is intended to advance novel biomedical innovations to improve the health and well-being of older Americans.

Opens on 12/01/26

The NIH Common Fund announces the “Targeting RNA in Disease with Novel Technologies (TRDNT)” Challenge – Phase II: Stage I. TRDNT is the latest initiative from NIH’s Venture Program, which supports short-term projects with long-term impact.

Phase 2 opens 12/01/26

Recognizing exemplary approaches to nutrition education for medical and nursing professionals.

This challenge seeks to identify and reward exemplary curricula for integrating nutrition training into health care education for physicians and nurses across the nation.

open until 09/15/26

This challenge will have a special emphasis on US Maternity Care Deserts and build upon the success of the original CCMH to encourage and reward non-profit community-based organizations, advocacy organizations, and state or federally recognized Tribes to develop research capabilities and infrastructure to pursue research projects in maternal health, particularly of maternal morbidity and mortality.

Recruitment Phase open until 09/23/2026

The National Cancer Institute Office of Data Sharing Impact Prize seeks to collect ideas and strategies that advance the broad, rapid, and equitable sharing of NCI-funded cancer research outputs.

Open until 10/05/2026

The TOPx HHS Tech Sprint for AI and Invisible Illness is a fast-paced, national prize competition that puts U.S. Open Data in the hands of the public—mobilizing industry, entrepreneurs, and communities to build real-world tools using AI to address urgent health challenges. 

Phase 2 open UNTIL 10/15/26

Stimulating Excellence in Aging Research Mentorship

The National Institute on Aging's (NIA) Office of Strategic Extramural Programs (OSEP) is hosting the 2026 NIA Mentorship Prize to recognize and stimulate excellence in aging research mentorship.

Phase 1 Open Until 10/15/26

To support research ideas in the areas of drug use, misuse, and substance use disorder (SUD) that are intended to be the foundation for developing successful new startups. 

OpEn until 11/02/2026

The Childhood, Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) Cancer Data Innovation Challenge seeks innovative solutions and approaches that will enrich resources (data, methods, or tools) within the CCDI Data Ecosystem, build a federated learning health system, and enable exploration, visualization, interoperability, integration and analyses to benefit the outcome of childhood and AYA cancer patients.

Milestone 1 Open until 11/13/26

Generation and public dissemination of data on oligonucleotide toxicity in human cells.

The Oligonucleotide Toxicity Open Data Challenge incentivizes publicly accessible high-quality datasets from human cells to predict oligonucleotide toxicity from sequence and chemical modification.

Phase 2 open until 12/31/2026

Develop the next generation of accurate, scalable visual acuity technologies

The NEI Vision Precision Challenge will encourage participants to develop novel solutions that reduce reliance on controlled testing environments and specialized personnel while maintaining clinical validity and supporting use across clinical, community, and remote settings.

Register by 01/15/27

Build the future of human-based biomedical research with new approach methodologies

This challenge invites innovative combinatorial NAMs solutions from multidisciplinary teams who can demonstrate implementation of human-based solution in a practical form within a 3-year period.

Phase 2 Milestone 1 open UNTIL 03/22/2027

Solve translational biomedical problems with quantum computing.

The NIH Quantum Computing Challenge seeks to adopt, optimize, and deploy existing quantum algorithms or develop new quantum algorithms for biomedical problems, leading to a set of transformative solutions.

Stage 2 final project delivery 03/29/27

Simplifying Supplements, One Fact at a Time

The NIH Office of Dietary Supplements wants to reimagine how people learn about dietary supplements. ODS wants to transform NIH's trusted fact sheets into interactive digital experiences for everyone.

Phase 2 open until 05/21/27

This challenge is designed to stimulate the development of innovative, scalable, and clinically meaningful approaches for assessing visual function beyond traditional visual acuity testing.

Registration Open until 07/11/27

The LymeX Healthathon (innovation sprint) is a national competition to elevate the lived experiences of patients, caregivers, and clinicians and translate them into shared insights that support peer-to-peer learning and help people living with Lyme today.

closed on 08/28/26

The “Access, Delivery, Engagement, and Retention for Long-Acting HIV Prevention and Treatment in the United States” Challenge (LAUNCH Challenge) encourages and rewards innovative ideas to address persistent, well-documented barriers to the implementation and scale up of HIV prevention and treatment interventions.

Phase 1 closed on 08/06/26

The LymeX Visible Voices Prize aims to elevate patient experiences and improve understanding of Lyme and tickborne disease diagnosis. It mobilizes patients, caregivers, clinicians, and innovators to create clear, trusted educational resources that address urgent gaps in awareness and care.

CLOSED ON 07/31/26

Phase I: Planning Comprehensive RNA-Targeting Technologies

PHASE I CLOSED 07/15/26

Solve translational biomedical problems with quantum-enabled sensing technologies.

The NIH Quantum Sensing Technology Challenge aims to spur innovative applications of existing quantum-enabled sensing technologies and to adapt and optimize them for use in biomedical research and clinical settings.

Closed 06/29/26 05:00 PM EDT

The NIBIB DEBUT Challenge solicits design projects that develop innovative solutions to unmet health and clinical problems.

Closed 06/05/2026 11:59 PM EDT

Recognizing NINDS-funded investigators for their dedication to mentorship and training.

Closed 05/29/2026

Revolutionizing technology development of delivery systems for in vivo genome editing.

A $6,000,000 competition to improve in vivo delivery technologies for genome editors in two Target Areas: 1. Programmable delivery systems, and 2. Non-viral delivery across the blood-brain barrier.

Closed 05/04/26 05:00 PM EDT

Teens and young adults, create comics that tell stories about beauty standards and health!

The NIH Office of Disease Prevention invites teens and young adults ages 13 to 25 to create original comics about ways to reduce health risks from certain beauty products and behaviors.

Closed 04/02/26 11:59 PM EDT

Accelerating the development of innovative technologies for diagnosis of endometriosis.

Awarding up to $3 million in cash prizes to accelerate development of non-invasive technologies to improve diagnosis of endometriosis—a common and often debilitating gynecological disease.

Closed 03/01/26

Promoting data sharing and developing a robust metric to reward exemplary data sharers.

Testing novel ideas in drug use, misuse, and SUD to potentially become biotech startups.

closed 02/13/26 05:00 PM EST

Testing novel ideas in drug use, misuse, and SUD to potentially become biotech startups.

Closed 02/04/26 06:00 PM EST

Elevate your organization’s ability to improve health for people with disabilities.

This prize competition seeks to engage community groups and support their initiatives to improve health equity for people with disabilities.

Closed 01/20/26 05:00 PM EST

Transform and share your art to raise awareness for all rare diseases!

NCATS seeks innovative ways to raise awareness about rare diseases through art, highlighting the importance of research and advancing treatments that address multiple rare diseases.

Closed 01/02/26 11:59 PM EST

Shape the future of rigorous and replicable science.

The Replication Prize will collect ideas on important research to replicate, and creative and successful strategies to integrate replication into research practice.

Closed 12/19/25 08:00 PM EST

Join the NOURISH Autoimmunity Challenge integrating nutrition in autoimmune research.

The NOURISH Autoimmunity Challenge is a crowdsourcing competition to generate innovative ideas integrating diet and nutrition into autoimmune disease research.

Closed 12/04/25 11:59 PM EST

Seeking community-derived solutions to reduce menthol cigarette smoking

ODP is sponsoring the Quit & Thrive Challenge: Community-Derived Solutions to Reduce Menthol Cigarette Smoking  to enhance the evidence base of interventions for populations with high levels of menthol cigarette smoking.

closed 09/2/2025 11:59 p.m.

Building a large, varied, and highly skilled translational science workforce.

Raise the profile of your education or training opportunity in translational science, and help disseminate effective approaches nationally.

Closed 04/30/25 11:59 PM EDT

Entrepreneur Accelerator and Prize Competition for Aging Innovations

This Challenge aims to stimulate aging research and participation in life science entrepreneurship.

Closed 12/09/24 11:59 PM EST