Are You "New"?

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When beginning an independent research career, you get some breaks:

• Different expectations from peer reviewers, who look more at potential than achievement.
  • Reviewers expect new investigators to have fewer preliminary data, resources, and publications than more established researchers do.
  • To compensate, they look closely at your academic and research background.
• Different paylines (funding cutoff points) and funding policies may apply, e.g., a higher R01 payline. Go to our Paylines and Budget page for details.
• At NIAID, we have two programs, selective pay and R56-Bridge awards, to fund some high-quality R01 applications that score beyond the payline. Read more at Programs for New PIs.
• NIH also has special programs. Find links under Web Resources.
• For applications reviewed at the NIH Center for Scientific Review, you can send an amended R01 for consecutive review cycles, saving four months. 

"New" Defined

To qualify as an NIH "new" investigator, you cannot have been a principal investigator (PI) on a major NIH grant that you applied for.

You are "new" even if you have been a PI on one of these smaller research awards --

• NIH Pathway to Independence Award (R00)
• Small Grant (R03)
• Academic Research Enhancement Award (R15)
• Exploratory/Developmental Grant Phase I (R21) -- except R21/R33
• Science Education Award (R25)
• NIAID Clinical Trial Planning Grant (R34)
• Dissertation Award (R36)
• Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I (R41)
• Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I (R43)
• Shannon Award (R55)
• High Priority, Short Term Project (R56-Bridge)
• Fellowships
• Early career: K01, K08, K22, K23, K25, K30, or K99/R00

but not if you received one of these major research awards --

• R01
• R21/R33
• R29 (no longer used)
• Senior career: K02, K05, K06 (NIAID is not accepting new applications), K24, and K26 (NCRR only)

You still qualify as "new" if you serve as PI on a grant you did not apply for, for example, if your institution assigned you to be the PI of an existing grant.

You are not "new" if you were one of the applicants on a funded multiple PI application (unless it is one of the types in the first list above). On a multiple PI application, you can qualify as "new" only if all the PIs are "new."

Flag Yourself!

Though NIH staff are on the lookout for new investigators, you should self-identify.

• Check the "new" box on the PHS 398 Cover Page Supplement, so NIH and reviewers can readily identify you. Your biosketch should also state that you are a new investigator.
• Many people fail to check the new investigator box, despite the benefits.
• Read more about the advantages of being a new PI under Do You Qualify for Independent Support?

Find more information online:

• New Investigator Advice questions and answers
• NIH's Resources for New Investigators

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