health · HHS-NIH11

NIH Director’s New Innovator Award (DP2 Clinical Trial Optional)

National Institutes of Health · RFA-RM-27-002

Closed

Award Range

$475K – $475K

Total Program Funding

$23.0M

Expected Awards

Deadline

August 17, 2026

GRANTQUICK SUMMARYPlain-English Overview

NIH's most prestigious early-career award: the New Innovator Award gives exactly $475K/year (with direct costs flexibility) to early-stage investigators proposing exceptionally creative, high-risk/high-reward biomedical research. 30 awards from $23M. You do NOT need preliminary data — NIH wants bold ideas from new faculty, not incremental extensions of established research. Any biomedical topic is fair game.

Who Should Apply

Early-stage investigators (within 10 years of terminal degree or residency) at US research institutions who have NOT yet received a substantial NIH R01 or equivalent. Must be proposing highly innovative research. Domestic institutions only.

Who Should NOT Apply

Established investigators who already hold R01s, foreign institutions, purely clinical projects without research innovation, or investigators proposing incremental science.

Key Requirements (Plain English)

•Must be an Early Stage Investigator (ESI) by NIH definition
•Must NOT have received a major NIH research award previously
•Must propose highly innovative, potentially transformative research
•No preliminary data required
•Must be at a domestic (US) institution

💡 GrantQuick Tip

This is about THE IDEA, not the data. NIH explicitly says no preliminary data needed. The review criteria weight innovation and potential impact above everything else. Write your application like a bold vision for a new field, not a traditional R01 with aims and experiments. Past New Innovator awardees often proposed things that seemed crazy at the time (and many succeeded spectacularly). If your research is safe and incremental, this is the wrong mechanism — apply for an R01 instead.

Competitiveness: High — 30 awards from hundreds of applications. But the "early-stage" requirement filters out most established scientists, and the emphasis on innovation (over data) levels the playing field for genuinely creative junior faculty.

What This Grant Funds

The NIH Director"s New Innovator Award supports early-stage investigators of exceptional creativity who propose bold and highly innovative research projects with the potential to produce a major impact on broad, important areas relevant to the mission of NIH. Applications in any area within the biomedical sciences are welcome; topics may involve basic, translational, or clinical research. The NIH Director's New Innovator Award complements other ongoing efforts by NIH and its Institutes and Centers to fund early-stage investigators. The NIH Director"s New Innovator Award is a component of the High-Risk, High-Reward Research (HRHR) program of the NIH Common Fund.

Attachments

PDF

RFA-RM-27-002-Full-Announcement.html

Who Can Apply

Refer to Section III. Eligibility Information in the NOFO for additional information on eligibility.Foreign Organizations/International Collaborations:Non-domestic (non-U.S.) Entities (Foreign Organizations) are not eligible to apply.Non-domestic (non-U.S.) components of U.S. Organizations are not eligible to apply.Foreign components, as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement, are allowed.

Eligible Applicant Types

Other (see NOFO for details)Federally Recognized Tribal GovernmentsCounty GovernmentsNonprofits without 501(c)(3)Private Colleges & UniversitiesSpecial District GovernmentsState GovernmentsFor-Profit OrganizationsOther Tribal OrganizationsIndependent School DistrictsPublic Colleges & UniversitiesCity/Township GovernmentsSmall BusinessesPublic And Indian Housing Authorities501(c)(3) Nonprofits

Funding Details

Minimum Award: $475K
Maximum Award: $475K
Total Program Funding: $23.0M
Expected Number of Awards: 30
Cost Sharing Required?: No
Funding Instrument: grant

Key Dates

Posted: June 26, 2026

Application Deadline: August 17, 2026 (0 days remaining)

Agency Contact

NIH Director's New Innovator Award Program NewInnovatorAwards@mail.nih.gov

NewInnovatorAwards@mail.nih.gov

Ready to apply?

View the full NOFO and submit your application on Grants.gov

View on Grants.gov