The National Institutes of Health (NIH) invites you to join the NOURISH Autoimmunity Challenge, a national crowdsourcing competition designed to spark innovative ideas that integrate diet and nutrition into autoimmune disease research.
Autoimmune diseases affect millions of Americans, yet the role of nutrition in their onset, progression, and management remains underexplored. Through NOURISH, we seek bold, community-driven ideas that can transform research and improve lives.
Led by the NIH Office of Autoimmune Disease Research (OADR), the Nutrition for OUR Immune System Health (NOURISH): Autoimmunity Challenge was a national crowdsourcing competition
Watch the recording below to learn about the NOURISH Autoimmunity Challenge Winners and their innovative concepts!
This challenge is open to:
Science belongs to everyone. We welcome all voices and experiences to shape the future of autoimmune disease research.
Watch the recording below to learn about the NOURISH Autoimmunity Challenge, key dates, and how to get involved.
Join the Office Hours to ask questions, get feedback, and discuss your progress directly with the NIH and Ensemble Challenge team. We can help you walk through the registration and submission process and provide clarity on the Challenge submission requirements to ensure your work is well aligned with the goals of the Challenge. There is no need to register, simply join and leave as your schedule permits during the hours below.
Please see the details for the two sessions below and save to your calendar.
NIH NOURISH Challenge: Office Hours #1
NIH NOURISH Challenge: Office Hours #2
If you are unable to attend either of these sessions but would like to talk to the NIH and Ensemble Challenge team, feel free to reach out to OADRinfo@nih.gov to request a meeting.
We invite submissions that explore:
Up to 15 prizes of $10,000 each may be awarded
Register for the Informational Webinar
Learn about the challenge and ask questions.
Register for the Challenge
Complete the Registration Microsoft Form and sign up for a user account on Challenge.gov.
Design Your Solution
Develop your innovative idea.
Submit by December 4, 2025
Upload your package on Challenge.gov.
Explanation of the idea including the proposed dietary or nutritional intervention and the background to support this intervention. The scientific rationale for the proposed intervention and measured autoimmune or immune system outcomes should be well-described with rigorous outcome measures identified.
Description of Submitting Individual, Team, or Entity and Community Engagement in the ideation process: Description of the submitting individual, team, or entity. Description of the engagement of interdisciplinary experience or expertise including perspectives from individuals living with autoimmune disease(s), patient advocacy groups, physicians, allied health professionals, scientists and caregivers.
Description of the potential impact of the proposed idea or the dietary or nutritional intervention on people living with autoimmune diseases.
Description of how the proposed idea or intervention is designed to advance autoimmune disease research and how it might be scaled to broader autoimmune disease populations.
Description of the novelty and innovation of the proposed idea and approach.
Judges will evaluate ideas based on the following criteria
All criteria are weighted equally
Eligibility requirements
To be eligible to win a prize under this Challenge, a Participant (whether an individual, group of individuals, or entity):
Rules
1. Participants (whether individuals, groups of individuals, or entities) may not use federal funds from a grant award or cooperative agreement to develop their Challenge submissions or to fund efforts in support of their Challenge submissions.
2. Federal contractors may not use federal funds from a contract to develop their Challenge submissions or to fund efforts in support of their Challenge submissions.
3. By participating in this Challenge, each Participant (whether an individual, group of individuals, or entity) agrees to assume any and all risks and waive claims against the federal government and its related entities, except in the case of willful misconduct, for any injury, death, damage, or loss of property, revenue, or profits, whether direct, indirect, or consequential, arising from participation in this Challenge, whether the injury, death, damage, or loss arises through negligence or otherwise.
4. Based on the subject matter of the Challenge, the type of work that it will possibly require, as well as an analysis of the likelihood of any claims for death, bodily injury, property damage, or loss potentially resulting from Challenge participation, no Participant (whether an individual, group of individuals, or entity) participating in the Challenge is required to obtain liability insurance, or demonstrate financial responsibility, or agree to indemnify the federal government against third party claims for damages arising from or related to Challenge activities in order to participate in this Challenge.
5. A Participant (whether an individual, group of individuals, or entity) shall not be deemed ineligible because the Participant used federal facilities or consulted with federal employees during the Challenge if the facilities and employees are made available to all Participants participating in the Challenge on an equitable basis.
6. By participating in this Challenge, each Participant (whether an individual, group of individuals, or entity) warrants that they are sole author or owner of, or has the right to use, any copyrightable works that the submission comprises, that the works are wholly original with the Participant (or is an improved version of an existing work that the Participant has sufficient rights to use and improve), and that the submission does not infringe any copyright or any other rights of any third party of which the Participant is aware.
7. By participating in this Challenge, each Participant (whether an individual, group of individuals, or entity) grants to the NIH an irrevocable, paid-up, royalty-free nonexclusive worldwide license to reproduce, publish, post, link to, share, and display publicly the submission on the web or elsewhere, and a nonexclusive, nontransferable, irrevocable, paid-up license to practice, or have practiced for or on its behalf, the solution throughout the world. Each Participant will retain all other intellectual property rights in their submissions, as applicable. To participate in the Challenge, each Participant must warrant that there are no legal obstacles to providing the above-referenced nonexclusive licenses of the Participant’s rights to the federal government. To receive an award, Participants will not be required to transfer their intellectual property rights to NIH, but Participants must grant to the federal government the nonexclusive licenses recited herein.
8. Each Participant (whether an individual, group of individuals, or entity) agrees to follow all applicable federal, state, and local laws, regulations, and policies.
9. Each Participant (whether an individual, group of individuals, or entity) participating in this Challenge must comply with all terms and conditions of these rules, and participation in this Challenge constitutes each such Participant’s full and unconditional agreement to abide by these rules. Winning is contingent upon fulfilling all requirements herein.
10. As a condition for winning a cash prize in this Challenge, each Participant (whether an individual, group of individuals, or entity) that has been selected as a winner must complete and submit all requested winner verification and payment documents to NIH within 20 business days of formal notification. Failure to return all required verification documents by the date specified in the notification may be a basis for disqualification of a cash prize winning submission.
The NOURISH: Autoimmunity Challenge is an NIH-led prize competition to crowdsource innovative ideas on how to integrate diet and nutrition into autoimmune disease research.
The NOURISH: Autoimmunity Challenge is open to everyone, including:
Eligible participants must be:
Federal employees (acting in official capacity), NIH staff, and Challenge judges may not participate. See Challenge Rules for full eligibility details.
NIH will award up to $150,000 in total prizes. It is anticipated that up to 15 prizes of $10,000 each may be awarded.
You must register by logging into www.challenge.gov and completing and electronically submitting the Challenge Registration Form. Applications that have not completed the Challenge Registration Form will not be judged.
Submit a Challenge Registration Form through the Microsoft Form, and submit a PDF narrative (max 6 pages, English, 11-pt Calibri, 1-inch margins) through the NOURISH: Autoimmunity Challenge page. The narrative must cover: (1) scope and scientific rationale, (2) submitter and community engagement, (3) potential impact, (4) feasibility, and (5) innovation. Upload via Challenge.gov by December 4, 2025, following the portal steps to attach your file and certify the rules before submitting.
Full submission requirements can be found on NOURISH: Autoimmunity Challenge page under the “How to Enter” tab.
Step 1: Go to www.challenge.gov
Step 2: Find the NOURISH: Autoimmunity Challenge and read the instructions
Step 3: Submit the Challenge Registration Form
Step 4: Build your team
Step 5: Brainstorm and Collaborate on your Ideas
Step 6: Write your Submission Narrative
Step 7: Upload your Submission Package to www.challenge.gov
Judges will evaluate ideas, equally weighting each of these criterion:
Full judging criteria can be found on NOURISH: Autoimmunity Challenge under the “Judging” tab.
Entries will be judged by a group of judges. All criteria will be weighted equally.
Answer: Yes. The six-page limit for the concept paper submission includes any references, appendices, figures, and tables. All content must fit within this constraint.
Answer: Use the same participant’s name that you use on the registration form (i.e. Entity, Individual or Team leader) as follows:
For example: AutoImmuneResearchCenter_GreatIdea_NOURISHchallenge_entry.pdf for an Entity, or: DoeJane_GreatIdea_NOURISHchallenge_entry.pdf for an Individual or Team.
Please also include your Entity, Individual or Team Leader’s name and proposal title in the pdf document, so that we can correctly link your registration and submission.
The NOURISH Challenge is an ideation prize competition, which means you submit a concept paper (an idea you believe should be tested and why it represents an important and impactful question). Challenge Prizes are awarded for the best concepts based on the judging criteria outlined. There are no expectations of implementation plans or for describing how the prize money would be spent. In contrast, NIH Grants (like R01s) require you to submit a research proposal outlining the work you plan to do in the future with the awarded funds, including a detailed research plan and budget justification. Funding is then awarded to perform that proposed work.
The NOURISH challenge seeks innovative ideas to shape future research on nutrition and autoimmune diseases.
Answer: No.
Eligibility for this challenge is limited to United States citizens and permanent residents, or entities incorporated in and maintaining a primary place of business in the U.S. Non-U.S. citizens and non-permanent residents may participate as a member of a team that otherwise satisfies the eligibility criteria. Please carefully review the detailed eligibility rules here (https://www.challenge.gov/?challenge=nourish-autoimmunity-challenge&tab=rules).
To be eligible to win a prize under this Challenge, a participant registering on behalf of themselves or a group must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident or register as a U.S.-based entity. Non-U.S. citizens and non-permanent residents may participate as a member of a team that otherwise satisfies the eligibility criteria. Please carefully review the detailed eligibility rules here (https://www.challenge.gov/?challenge=nourish-autoimmunity-challenge&tab=rules).
Answer: Email us at oadrinfo@nih.gov and submit a new registration so we can track your registration and submission.
Answer: Yes.
Participants may submit more than one concept paper for this challenge, but as with everything in life, quality matters more than quantity!
Answer: Yes.
A participant may be listed on multiple submissions, as the lead individual applicant or as a member of a team.
We are committed to making this challenge accessible to all. Materials are Section 508-compliant. If you need additional accommodations or assistance, please contact us at oadrinfo@nih.gov.
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Office of Autoimmune Disease Research (OADR-ORWH)
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