The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is launching a government-aligned initiative to reduce the time required for scientific discovery with the help of AI.
“Our goal is to cut in half the time it takes for a scientific discovery to reach the people who need it within the next ten years,” NIH director Jayanta “Jay” Bhattacharya, MD, PhD, stated in his letter announcing the new initiative.
Earlier the same day, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy announced expanded funding and new challenges for the Genesis Mission, a national initiative to harness AI to accelerate scientific discovery and translate breakthroughs into practical benefits for the United States. The broader initiative aims to maintain U.S. leadership in emerging areas of science and technology and focuses on energy dominance, scientific discovery, and national security.
“Patients living with cancer, chronic disease, and rare conditions cannot afford to wait decades for scientific discoveries to reach them,” Dr. Bhattacharya said in the government press release. “Through the Bio Genesis Mission, we are harnessing artificial intelligence and advanced computing to help researchers uncover the root causes of disease, accelerate the development of new treatments, and build a biomedical research ecosystem that delivers lifesaving innovations to patients faster, while upholding the rigorous scientific standards and responsible stewardship that earn the public’s trust.”
One of the Genesis Mission’s challenges is to discover new cures for pediatric cancers. As part of this effort, the organization aims to establish the nation’s first learning system integrating multimodal pediatric cancer data.
The NIH director then released a letter announcing the agency’s Bio Genesis Mission, the NIH's contribution to the broader Genesis Mission focused on accelerating biomedical discovery. The NIH effort aims to encourage researchers and institutions to collaborate across resources and infrastructure to address larger biomedical challenges.
“By pairing artificial intelligence and advanced computing with new approaches to policy, governance, and partnership, we intend to reimagine how researchers, institutions, data, and infrastructure work together, so that promising science moves at the speed patients deserve,” Dr. Bhattacharya wrote.
The Bio Genesis Mission focuses on:
Using AI to model and predict the behavior of complex biological systems
Accelerating the translation of biological discoveries into domestic biomanufacturing
Strengthening national biosecurity and biosurveillance capabilities to enable earlier detection of biological threats
Applying AI to accelerate pediatric cancer research
Shortening the timeline from drug discovery to treatment
Using AI and advanced data resources to investigate the drivers and root causes of chronic illness
The NIH has committed more than $1.2 billion in fiscal year 2026 and planned fiscal year 2027 funding to support these challenge areas, with additional funding opportunities to be announced.
Dr. Bhattacharya also acknowledged that the promise of AI in biomedical research and discovery is not new, nor is the skepticism surrounding it.
“I recognize that promises of faster discovery through AI are not new, and that skepticism is warranted whenever a powerful new tool meets the complexity of human biology and the sensitivity of patient data,” Dr. Bhattacharya noted in his letter. “That skepticism is healthy, and it is why this initiative is built around responsible governance and data security from the outset, not as an afterthought. AI will not replace the scientific judgment, rigor, and peer review that have always driven medical progress; rather, it will extend their reach.”
ASCO AI in Oncology is published by Conexiant under a license arrangement with the American Society of Clinical Oncology, Inc. (ASCO®). The ideas and opinions expressed in ASCO AI in Oncology do not necessarily reflect those of Conexiant or ASCO. For more information, see Policies.