Dfam: smarter, bigger library of repetitive DNA elements to help genomes be understood
Official title: Dfam: sustainable growth, curation support, and improved quality for mobile element annotation
Funded at Institute for Systems Biology · NIH-11391251 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A public, open-access database that improves how scientists identify and annotate repetitive DNA elements across many species.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Institute for Systems Biology NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Seattle, United States) |
| Project start | August 15, 2018 |
| Project end | June 30, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $476,848 |
| NIH project number | 5U24HG010136-09 |
| Project ID | NIH-11391251 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Not applicable (database project, not a patient-facing trial).
✕Less likely to help
No direct patient involvement or benefit in this grant.
What this research studies
This grant funds ongoing work to expand and refine Dfam, a database of repetitive DNA families; researchers use profile models to better recognize transposable elements in genomes. The project aims to scale the resource to support thousands of species and improve annotation accuracy for researchers who study genome structure and evolution. By enhancing curation tools and documentation, the team helps scientists correctly classify complex DNA repeats and apply consistent standards to their analyses.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this resource will help researchers more accurately annotate genomes, enabling better understanding of evolution, disease-associated genome variation, and comparative genomics.
How similar studies have gone: Previous work showed that profile HMMs improve annotation sensitivity for transposable elements.
Where this research is happening
-
Institute for Systems Biology
Seattle, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Hubley, Robert Macdonald — Institute for Systems Biology
- Study coordinator: Hubley, Robert Macdonald
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.