Eligibility

• Applicants must meet the definition of an Early Stage Investigator (ESI) at the time of application. An ESI is a new investigator (defined as a PD/PI who has not competed successfully for a significant NIH independent research award) who is within 10 years of completing his/her terminal research degree or end of post-graduate clinical training.
• See the Office of Extramural Research website for a complete list that do not disqualify a PD/PI as a new investigator and for frequently asked questions about the NIH Early Stage Investigator (ESI) Policy.
• Applicants must hold an independent research position at a domestic (U.S.) institution by September 1, 2022.
• Applicants may submit or have an NIH R01 or other equivalent grant application pending concurrently with their NIH Director’s New Innovator Award application if it does not overlap substantially with their New Innovator Award application. However, if that pending grant becomes active prior to the NIH Director’s New Innovator Award, the applicant is no longer eligible to receive the New Innovator Award.

Funding Priorities

• The emphasis is on innovation and creativity; preliminary data are not required but may be included.
• The review process emphasizes the individual’s creativity, the innovativeness of the research approaches, and the potential of the project, if successful, to have a significant impact on an important biomedical or behavioral research problem.
• The NIH Director's New Innovator Award is part of the High-Risk, High-Reward Research program funded through the NIH Common Fund, which supports cross-cutting programs that are expected to have exceptionally high impact.

Additional Information

• Awards will be up to $1,500,000 in direct costs (the equivalent of $300,000 in Direct Costs each year for five years) plus applicable Facilities and Administrative (F&A) costs to be determined at the time of award.
• Awardees are required to commit at least three person-months (25%) of their research effort each year to activities supported by the New Innovator Award.