NIH offers New Innovator Award

NIH offers New Innovator Award

To ease some of the problems arising from tight budgets at NIH Institutes and Centers and encourage new investigators and innovative research, NIH Director Elias Zerhouni recently announced a new funding mechanism, the NIH Director’s New Innovator Award. This grant program will support new investigators who propose highly innovative research projects with the potential for exceptional impact on biomedical or behavioral science.

The application period opens on April 25 and closes on May 22, 2007. NIH expects to make at least 14 awards in September 2007. Each grant will be for five years and up to a total of $1.5 million in direct costs plus applicable facilities and administrative costs.

New investigators who have not yet obtained an NIH R01 or similar grant are eligible to apply. Applicants must hold an independent research position at an institution in the US and must have received their most recent doctoral degree (such as PhD, MD, DD., DVM or equivalent) or completed medical internship and residency in 1997 or later. NIH encourages applications from women and members of groups that are underrepresented in biomedical or behavioral research.

The proposed research may be in any scientific area relevant to the NIH mission. The project description in the grant application will be briefer than that required for R01 grant application and should emphasize the significance of the research, what makes the approach exceptionally innovative, how the applicant will address challenges and risks, and the applicant’s qualifications for the grant. The review criteria will emphasize the importance of the scientific problem, the potential impact of the project, the novelty of the approach, and evidence of the applicant’s potential for innovative and creative research. Applicants are allowed, but not required, to present preliminary data relevant to the project. Letters of reference will not be accepted. Application instructions are at http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-RM-07-009.html.

For more information, including frequently asked questions, visit the NIH Director’s New Innovator Award Web page. Send questions to newinnovator@nih.gov or call 301-594-4469.

Source: NIH Extramural Nexus, March 2007, http://grants.nih.gov/grants/partners/0307Nexus.htm