health · HHS-NIH11

NIH Director’s Transformative Research Award for Individual and Group Science (R01 Clinical Trial Optional)

National Institutes of Health · RFA-RM-27-003

15 days left

Total Program Funding

$8.0M

Expected Awards

Deadline

September 3, 2026

GRANTQUICK SUMMARYPlain-English Overview

NIH's most transformative research award: funding for individual scientists or groups proposing groundbreaking, paradigm-shifting research that could create entirely new scientific fields or clinical approaches. $8M total, only 7 awards. No budget cap specified — awards are sized to what the research requires. This is NIH's bet on moonshot science — ideas too unconventional for regular study sections.

Who Should Apply

Established or early-career investigators at domestic research institutions proposing genuinely transformative ideas. Can be individuals or research groups/teams. Must be US-based institution. Any biomedical/behavioral science topic.

Who Should NOT Apply

Foreign institutions, incremental researchers (if your science is "important but expected," use R01), or anyone unable to articulate why their idea could fundamentally change a field.

Key Requirements (Plain English)

•Must propose transformative, paradigm-shifting research
•Must have potential to create new scientific fields or clinical approaches
•No preliminary data required
•Must be at a domestic (US) institution
•Individual OR group applications accepted

💡 GrantQuick Tip

Only 7 awards from the entire NIH portfolio — this is the most competitive and most prestigious NIH grant mechanism. The review panel is looking for ideas that make them say "if this works, it changes everything." Don't propose a better version of existing research — propose something that established scientists would call risky or impossible. The entire point is to fund what normal study sections would reject as too speculative.

Competitiveness: Extremely high — 7 awards nationally. But if your idea is genuinely transformative (and you can articulate why), the standard R01 criteria don't apply here. It's about the idea, not the track record.

What This Grant Funds

The NIH Director"s Transformative Research Award supports individual scientists or groups of scientists proposing bold, groundbreaking, exceptionally innovative, original, and/or unconventional research with the potential to create new scientific paradigms, establish entirely new and improved clinical approaches, or develop transformative technologies. Applications in any area within the biomedical sciences are welcome; topics may involve basic, translational, or clinical research. No preliminary data are required. Projects must clearly demonstrate, based on the strength of the logic, a compelling potential to produce a major impact in a broad area of relevance to the NIH. The NIH Director"s Transformative Research Award is a component of the High-Risk, High-Reward Research (HRHR) program of the NIH Common Fund.

Attachments

PDF

RFA-RM-27-003-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

Special District Governments501(c)(3) NonprofitsSmall BusinessesPublic Colleges & UniversitiesCity/Township GovernmentsNonprofits without 501(c)(3)State GovernmentsPrivate Colleges & UniversitiesFor-Profit OrganizationsPublic And Indian Housing AuthoritiesOther (see NOFO for details)Federally Recognized Tribal GovernmentsCounty GovernmentsIndependent School DistrictsOther Tribal Organizations

Funding Details

Total Program Funding: $8.0M
Expected Number of Awards: 7
Cost Sharing Required?: No
Funding Instrument: grant

Key Dates

Posted: June 29, 2026

Application Deadline: September 3, 2026 (15 days remaining)

Agency Contact

NIH Director's Transformative Research Award Program Transformative_Awards@mail.nih.gov

Transformative_Awards@mail.nih.gov

Ready to apply?

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

View on Grants.gov