NIH Director’s New Innovator Award (DP2 Clinical Trial Optional)
Supports early-stage investigators at eligible U.S. institutions to pursue exceptionally creative, high-risk, high-reward biomedical research projects in any area of the NIH mission, including basic, translational, or clinical work.
⚑ Early-stage investigators only; see NOFO eligibility details. · Foreign organizations and non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are not eligible; foreign components are allowed. · High-risk/high-reward program; applications should be exceptionally innovative.
Unit fits — one characterization, each unit's own rules
| Physical Sciences & Engineering (demo) | 80 strong | technical depth: substantial; funds basic research |
| IPPRA | 48 partial | outside portfolio topics; social/behavioral work is minor; funds basic research; biomedical core — IPPRA health lane is communication/crisis/policy (capped); clinical-trial/biomedical core — IPPRA angle is policy/community (capped) |
| Tom Love Innovation Hub | 30 weak | prototyping/demonstration stage; deep-tech content |
Description
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.
Eligibility
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.
Apply
View on Grants.gov → CONTACT: National Institutes of Health <NewInnovatorAwards@mail.nih.gov>
Proposal brief SEE AN EXAMPLE →
A one-page internal memo: fit assessment, submission requirements, document scaffold, and next steps dated back from the deadline — tailored to your project idea if you add one.
Proposal shell · National Institutes of Health conventions SEE AN NIH EXAMPLE →
Funder-faithful document skeletons — National Institutes of Health's document set with section headings, page limits, reviewer guidance, and writing prompts; add a project idea to get [DRAFT] starter bullets. Download as .md for Word or Overleaf.