Illumina Pilot Grant Program for Northwestern Investigators
To support genomics research at Northwestern University and assist investigators in preparing for upcoming NIH/NSF grant submissions, Illumina will provide a limited quantity of sequencing reagents at no charge to the Northwestern University NUSeq (Genomics) Core Facility. NUSeq, in turn, will offer pilot grant awards that include free sequencing and reduced staff charges—if library preparation is needed—to help NU investigators generate preliminary data for future grant applications.
A typical award is expected to provide support for up to 800 million sequencing reads. This can be used for up to 32 samples for bulk RNA-seq or whole exome sequencing, 8 samples for single cell RNA-seq when using Illumina’s Single Cell 3’ RNA Prep T2 kit (capturing up to 2,000 cells per sample), or 3 Visium HD capture areas for spatial transcriptomics. These are just some examples; all NGS applications are supported. NUSeq will provide consultation on experimental design if needed.
For awarded projects requiring single cell RNA-seq library preparation using an Illumina Single Cell 3’ RNA Prep kit, Illumina will provide a 40% special discount on the kit to further offset library preparation cost.For projects involving non-single-cell RNA-seq library preparation—such as mRNA or total RNA Prep for bulk RNA-seq, or DNA Prep for whole genome or exome sequencing—Illumina will provide the required library preparation kits free of charge.
To apply for this pilot program, please submit an application using the online form. Please contact NUSeq’s Project Coordinator Skye Scherer with any questions. The submission deadline is July 3, 2025, and award notices will be issued by July 18, 2025. Each PI is limited to one project submission.
Projects will be evaluated and supported with the reagents and technologies that best match their experimental designs. If library prep is requested, the award notice will include a quote for reduced staff charges. For projects using Illumina Single Cell 3’ RNA Prep, the discounted kit cost will also be included. Bioinformatics data analysis will be available if needed but is notcoveredbythisaward.
NUSeq will make every effort to deliver results in a timely manner to facilitate full proposal submissions. However, timely delivery is not guaranteed, especially if samples are submitted close to major funding deadlines.
Awardees must use the Illumina Pilot Grant by June 30, 2026.
Illumina and NUSeq may follow up with awardees on project progress to generate outcome metrics that support future pilot funding opportunities. Illumina is excited to partner with the Northwestern research community and administration to enable new, world-class discoveries on campus.