CRISPR and gene editing — NIH Funding Overview
Reviewed by Dr. Meng ZhaoLast reviewed June 9, 2026Data refreshed June 9, 2026Editorial standards
CRISPR-based gene editing is one of the fastest-growing categories of NIH investment, spanning therapeutic editing, base editing, prime editing, epigenome editing, and high-throughput screens. Funding cuts across NHGRI, NIAID, NCI, NHLBI, NIDDK, and NICHD depending on disease focus.
Funding snapshot
Award data on this page reflects a snapshot of NIH RePORTER records last refreshed on June 9, 2026. For live numbers, use the interactive trends view.
Why this matters now
The first FDA-approved CRISPR therapeutic for sickle cell disease (Casgevy, 2023) shifted CRISPR from a research tool to a clinical platform, expanding NIH investment in delivery, off-target characterization, and regulatory science. The Somatic Cell Genome Editing program is a cross-NIH initiative supporting this transition.
How NIH funds this area
CRISPR awards span R01 mechanism-of-action studies, U01/U19 program projects, R21 exploratory grants, and DP2 high-risk awards from the Common Fund. Activity codes vary by institute. The data below reflects awards across all NIH ICs that mention CRISPR in title, abstract, or terms.
How to use this funding brief
Use this page to separate technique-led genome-editing opportunities from disease-led applications. If delivery, safety, or editor performance is the central innovation, inspect cross-NIH and Common Fund programs; if the disease question leads, compare the relevant disease institute first.
Official source: NIH Common Fund: Somatic Cell Genome Editing
Search tactics
- Search specific systems like "Cas9", "Cas12", "base editor", "prime editor" for technique-focused research.
- For disease-targeted programs, combine CRISPR with disease keywords (e.g., search both terms separately for cross-reference).
- NHGRI and NIAID consistently appear among top funders for tool development; NCI and NHLBI for therapeutic applications.
What the data shows
- Funding peaked in FY2025 at $2.4B. The FY2025 total of $2.4B is +23% versus FY2021.
- The number of awards fell about 8% in FY2025 even as total dollars grew — funding is concentrating in fewer, larger awards.
- About 84% of FY2026 dollars so far are renewals and continuations. Mid-year snapshots overweight renewals because non-competing continuations are issued early in the fiscal year, but the share still indicates how much of the portfolio is committed before new applications compete.
- The average FY2025 award was $573K, and R01 was the most common mechanism in the recent window.
Editorial read
The CRISPR portfolio shows a classic maturing-field pattern: FY2025 funding reached a record while the award count fell about 8% from FY2024. Dollars are concentrating into fewer, larger projects — delivery platforms, clinical translation, and R35-style program awards — rather than first-generation editing R01s. A proposal that reads as an incremental editing application now competes against that consolidation, which favors framing the work around delivery, safety, or a hard disease problem.
Yearly NIH Awards for CRISPR and gene editing
Counts and total funding per fiscal year from NIH RePORTER. Recent fiscal years may understate final totals because of reporting lag.
| Fiscal Year | Project Count | Total Funding | Avg Award |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2021 | 4,256 | $1,990,125,324 | $467,605 |
| FY2022 | 4,542 | $2,155,002,230 | $474,461 |
| FY2023 | 4,578 | $2,229,714,600 | $487,050 |
| FY2024 | 4,619 | $2,319,255,371 | $502,112 |
| FY2025 | 4,259 | $2,438,909,752 | $572,648 |
| FY2026 | 1,872 | $952,254,643 | $508,683 |
Open the full interactive trends view for CRISPR and gene editing →
Top NIH Institutes (last 90 days)
Which NIH institutes funded the most CRISPR projects in the most recent 90-day window.
| Institute | Awards (90d) | Funding (90d) |
|---|---|---|
| NIH | 500 | $262,117,705 |
Common Activity Codes (last 90 days)
Which grant mechanisms (R01, R21, U01, P30, etc.) appeared most often for CRISPR in the recent period.
Most Active Institutions (last 90 days)
Universities and research organizations with the most CRISPR awards in the most recent 90-day window.
- UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO — 19 awards
- UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA — 14 awards
- STANFORD UNIVERSITY — 14 awards
- BOSTON CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL — 11 awards
- JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY — 11 awards
- ICAHN SCHOOL OF MEDICINE AT MOUNT SINAI — 11 awards
- YALE UNIVERSITY — 11 awards
- BRIGHAM AND WOMEN'S HOSPITAL — 11 awards
Recently Awarded CRISPR and gene editing Grants
Twelve most recent awards mentioning CRISPR, drawn from NIH RePORTER. Click through to Find PIs for the full investigator search.
A Roadmap to Uncover RPE Plasticity
5R01EY034980-04Katia Del Rio-Tsonis · MIAMI UNIVERSITY OXFORD, OH · $361,250 · awarded Jun 5, 2026 · R01Abstract Degenerative retinal diseases represent an enormous public health burden and demand innovative strategies to replace retinal neurons. Ideal solutions will overcome innate barriers associated with terminal differentiation to endogenously regenerate retinal neurons. Retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cells hold promise for this application, as these…
The Warburg Effect and Diabetic Retinopathy
5R01EY034964-04Ahmed Ibrahim · WAYNE STATE UNIVERSITY, MI · $385,000 · awarded Jun 5, 2026 · R01Project Summary/Abstract Retinal neovascularization (RNV) is a debilitating complication of advanced diabetic retinopathy, which despite the use of anti-VEGF and laser treatments continues to cause blindness. Less is known as to why RNV develops only after patients have had diabetes for decades. Although endothelial cell (EC) angiogenic activation is a…
Enhancing the Effectiveness of Immunotherapies by T Cell Epigenetic Reprogramming
5R01AI170926-04Hazem Ghoneim · OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY, OH · $640,056 · awarded Jun 5, 2026 · R01PROJECT SUMMARY Cancer and chronic virus infections are significant causes of morbidity and mortality. While cytotoxic CD8 T cells are the main killers of tumors or virus-infected cells, persistent stimulation of CD8 T cells during chronic infections or cancer results in a gradual loss of their cytotoxic function as T cells progress towards a fully-…
Contribution of Mast Cells in Non-Allergic Ocular Inflammation
5R01EY029727-08Sunil Chauhan · SCHEPENS EYE RESEARCH INSTITUTE, MA · $492,500 · awarded Jun 5, 2026 · R01This is a competitive renewal application to further investigate the mechanisms by which IgE-independent activation of mast cells contributes to ocular inflammation. Mast cells have garnered much attention over the past decade for their diverse IgE-independent effector function in the setting of non-allergic inflammatory diseases. Nevertheless, fundamental…
Developing new therapeutic strategies for pediatric tumors that lack clinically actionable mutations
2R01CA260060-06Paul Geeleher · ST. JUDE CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITAL, TN · $597,537 · awarded Jun 5, 2026 · R01SUMMARY / ABSTRACT Pediatric cancers carry very few mutations compared to adults and are often driven by loss of tumor- suppressor genes. This means oncogene-targeted therapies and immunotherapies have had limited applications in pediatrics. Thus, most children rely on cytotoxic chemotherapies, which are frequently ineffective and highly toxic. Large-scale…
Control of HIV-1 latency and reservoir persistence in primary cells
1R01AI197904-01A1Paul Bieniasz · ROCKEFELLER UNIVERSITY, NY · $2,373,000 · awarded Jun 5, 2026 · R01ABSTRACT The latent HIV-1 reservoir that persists despite the effect antiretroviral therapy (ART) comprises infected cells with intact integrated proviruses that are transcriptionally near silent. The existence and maintenance of this reservoir in essentially all ART-treated individuals is a major barrier to curative interventions in HIV-1 infection, and…
Towards Safe and Efficacious Medical Therapy for Patients with Clinically Non-Functioning Pituitary Tumors
1R01CA295582-01A1ANTHONY HEANEY · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES, CA · $475,401 · awarded Jun 5, 2026 · R01Abstract Clinically non-functioning pituitary tumors (CNFTs) account for one-third of all pituitary adenomas. Unlike functioning lactotroph, somatotroph and corticotroph pituitary tumors, the majority of CNFTs derive from the gonadotroph cell lineage (~70%) and do not typically cause clinical and/or biochemical evidence of tumor- related hormone…
Stanford Mendelian Genomics Research Center
3U01HG011762-05S1Stephen Montgomery · STANFORD UNIVERSITY, CA · $2,452,994 · awarded Jun 5, 2026 · U01ABSTRACT Rapid advances in genomics have ushered in new opportunities for Mendelian disease discovery and diagnosis. In the last decade, exome and genome sequencing have moved from the research domain to clinical practice. These approaches have identified new disease genes and causative variants for ~30% of individuals suffering from a rare genetic disease.…
Decoding Long Noncoding RNA Networks in Lineage Plasticity and AR-Targeted Therapy Resistance in Prostate Cancer
1K99CA312735-01Yaru Xu · YALE UNIVERSITY, CT · $115,076 · awarded Jun 5, 2026 · K99Resistance to androgen receptor (AR)-targeted therapies remains a major clinical challenge in the management of metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC). Emerging evidence highlights lineage plasticity, the ability of tumor cells to transition from an AR-dependent luminal state to alternative, AR-independent phenotypes, as a key driver of…
Genetic basis of circadian rhythms and sleep disorders
5R35GM156357-02CHOOGON LEE · FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY, FL · $416,788 · awarded Jun 5, 2026 · R35Project Abstract Our long-term goal is to understand the genetic and molecular organization of circadian rhythms in mammalian models and humans, and the molecular mechanisms underpinning disorders of circadian rhythms and sleep. In doing so, we will provide important insights for treating a wide variety of diseases in which sleep disorders are major causes,…
Genetic and immunological dissection of coinhibitory crosstalks between human T cells and cancer cells
5K00CA274708-05Masato Ogishi · STANFORD UNIVERSITY, CA · $103,162 · awarded Jun 5, 2026 · K00PROJECT SUMMARY / ABSTRACT The goal of this proposal is to identify novel coinhibitory checkpoint molecules operating orthogonally to currently targeted checkpoints in cancer patients, such as PD-1. Despite the unprecedented success of checkpoint blockade immunotherapy as a therapeutic approach against multiple types of cancer, significant inter-individual…
Targeting Epigenetic Vulnerabilities in Osteosarcoma to Enhanced Immunotherapy
1R21CA299552-01A1Tao Yue · UT SOUTHWESTERN MEDICAL CENTER, TX · $426,828 · awarded Jun 5, 2026 · R21PROJECT SUMMARY Osteosarcoma (OS) is the most common bone sarcoma in children and the 8th most common childhood cancer. Currently, limited immunotherapies are available for OS due to two main obstacles: immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment and secondary immune toxicity. OS resistance mechanisms to immunotherapy can largely be categorized into tumor…
Explore further
Related topics
Related guides
Background reading on grant strategy and how to interpret the numbers above for CRISPR and gene editing.
NIH R01 Grant: The Complete Guide to the Gold Standard of Research Funding
Everything researchers need to know about the NIH R01 — eligibility, application components, review process, scoring, pay lines, timeline, and strategies for first-time applicants.
R21 vs R01: How to Choose the Right NIH Grant Mechanism for Your Research
A detailed comparison of R21 and R01 grants covering budget, duration, success rates, and strategic considerations for choosing the right mechanism.
Understanding NIH Grant Trends: What the Data Tells You and What It Does Not
A methodological guide to reading NIH funding trends responsibly, comparing years, and avoiding false conclusions from noisy data.