UU Series — Cooperative Agreements

NIH U54 Grants — Specialized Center — Cooperative Agreement

Multi-component centers with NIH program involvement

Funding

Multi-million per year

Duration

5 years

Eligibility

Multi-PI / multi-institution teams

Activity code

U54

What is the NIH U54 grant?

The U54 funds multi-component specialized centers similar to P50 but with NIH program staff substantially involved.

Recent U54 awards (last 24 months)

Live data from NIH RePORTER

408

Awards

$755,159,017

Total funding (sample)

$1,850,880

Average award

Sample reflects up to the most recent 500 NIH RePORTER awards with this activity code in the past 24 months. Total project count is the full RePORTER count.

Most recently awarded U54 grants

Virome Investigation in Diverse Human Populations

Pardis Sabeti · BROAD INSTITUTE, INC., MA · NIH

$4,060,000

FY 2026

Project: 5U54AG089325-02

Research Center in Minority Institutions (RCMI) at City College

Maria Lima · CITY COLLEGE OF NEW YORK, NY · NIH

$3,992,799

FY 2026

Project: 5U54MD017979-03

The MSM Institute of Translational Genomic Medicine’s Center for Genomic Research

Melissa Davis · MOREHOUSE SCHOOL OF MEDICINE, GA · NIH

$1,960,175

FY 2026

Project: 5U54HG013595-02

Duke Center for HIV Structural Biology

Priyamvada Acharya · DUKE UNIVERSITY, NC · NIH

$5,238,505

FY 2026

Project: 5U54AI170752-05

The Oro-Respiratory-Gut Virome Axis Over Space and Time

Ronald Collman · UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA, PA · NIH

$4,059,999

FY 2026

Project: 5U54AG089323-02

Rio Grande Valley Cancer Health Disparity Research Center

Subhash Chauhan · UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS RIO GRANDE VALLEY, TX · NIH

$3,229,138

FY 2026

Project: 5U54MD019970-03

Center for Accelerating Excellence in Translational Science (AXIS)

Jose Torres-Ruiz · CHARLES R. DREW UNIVERSITY OF MED & SCI, CA · NIH

$2,815,897

FY 2026

Project: 5U54MD007598-18

SDSU HealthLINK Center for Transdisciplinary Health Research: Strengthening Neighborhood Economic Opportunity to Prevent Adolescent Substance Use

Kristen Wells · SAN DIEGO STATE UNIVERSITY, CA · NIH

$75,239

FY 2026

Project: 3U54MD012397-08S1

Top NIH institutes funding U54

By total funding in the last 24 months

  1. 1.NIH387 · $725,914,146
  2. 2.ALLCDC21 · $29,244,871

Top funded institutions

Most U54 awards in the last 24 months

  1. 1.JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY23 awards
  2. 2.STANFORD UNIVERSITY13 awards
  3. 3.UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO13 awards
  4. 4.MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL11 awards
  5. 5.FRED HUTCHINSON CANCER CENTER9 awards
  6. 6.BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE8 awards

Who applies for U54

Multi-institution teams building NIH-coordinated centers (Rare Diseases Clinical Research Network, IDeA-CTR, etc.).

When to choose U54

When the FOA specifies U54.

When NOT to choose U54

For non-coordinated centers, P50 is the alternative.

Search tips for U54

  • U54 awards identify NIH-coordinated networks.

Search NIH grants by activity code

Open NIH grant search

Find U54-funded PIs

Open PI Finder

U54 funding trends

Open trend search

Related NIH grant types

PP50

Specialized Center Grant

Topic-specific multi-component research center (e.g., SPORE)

UU01

Research Project — Cooperative Agreement

Investigator-led research with NIH staff substantial involvement

UUM1

Multi-Component Cooperative Agreement

Large multi-component research with NIH involvement