The National Institutes of Health is seeking a contractor to perform whole genome sequencing on 600 samples from the HANDLS study, a long-term research project examining how genetics contribute to age-related chronic diseases. The contractor will sequence the samples using specific equipment and methods, perform quality control and data analysis, and deliver the results in standardized formats. The response deadline is September 24, 2026.
Investigators in the Healthy Aging in Neighborhoods of Diversity across the Life Span (HANDLS) study require whole genome sequencing (WGS) processing to expand our current research examining whether genetic variants contribute to age-related chronic diseases. Samples from HANDLS participants have been collected over 20 years and many are over 10 years old. A contract is required because the Government does not have available facilities or resources to perform this work consistent with other WGS performed on other HANDLS samples.
The objective of this work is expanding our current research to examine health differences associated with age-related chronic diseases through whole genome sequencing to investigate the contributions of genomics to the burden of disease incidence, prevalence, morbidity, and mortality in populations within the United States. The long-term goal is to create a consistent dataset of whole genome sequencing to complement the longitudinal HANDLS behavior and health data.
The contractor will deliver plates to the Government sufficient to run 600 samples, some of which have been stored for ten or more years. The contractor will perform whole genome sequencing, and specifically shall:
Quality control checks will include confirming sex, identifying unexpected duplicates and relatedness, confirming relatedness, providing sample performance information and sample identity confirmation against the sequencing data, in addition to confirming coverage, contamination, mapped reads, and other general quality metrics. Alignment and variant calling will be performed with the DRAGEN Germline pipeline. After quality is confirmed, joint variant calling should be performed producing a multi-sample VCF file.
Provide written summaries and documentation of the methods used to perform the whole genome sequencing pipeline. Supply the whole genome sequencing data in a mutually acceptable electronic format that preserves study participants’ confidentiality. Data delivered will include:
Following data delivery and upon request by the Government, the contractor shall provide attendance at Government laboratory staff meetings, and the contractor shall provide technical consultations as needed. The contractor will also ship overnight on dry ice any leftover samples on plates to the Biomedical Research Center in Baltimore, MD.
Please refer to the attachments for complete details, specifications and relevant information.