The projects in the NGMI place a special emphasis on organoid, assembloid, and other in vitro 3D tissue and organ models, which are organ-like assemblies of tissues grown in a lab environment. These models add depth to mechanistic studies, which focus on the mechanism of action for a disease. They are also more tractable to drug screening, meaning researchers can more easily test whether a drug is more likely to be effective on any given disease target.

Additionally, NGMI includes some next-generation in vivo models focused on NF1-associated brain tumors, peripheral tumors, and behavioral manifestations related to the disease.