With the goal of improving public health, NHLBI seeks to fund the best scientific research projects that are submitted and within the budget.  The peer review system evaluates each project for its merit, the ability of the investigator to accomplish the proposed work and scientific quality.  Your project must be unique. By law, NIH cannot support a project already funded or pay for research already done.  And you may not send the same application to more than one Public Health Service (PHS) at the same time.

But proposing elegant science is not enough.  Reviewers can't read minds and if you don't write the information into your application, it might as well not exist. This section is designed to help you in writing an application and will answer the following questions about preparing and submitting a proposal:

• How can I find funding opportunities?
  
  
• What do I need to know before submitting a clinical research application?
  
  
• Am I a new investigator and what if this is my first NIH application?
  
  
• Which NHLBI staff can help me?
  
  
• Is my study considered clinical research?
  
  
• Is my study observational or interventional?
  
  
• What is the best award mechanism for my clinical research proposal?
  
  
• What if my project exceeds $500,000 in direct costs in any given year?
  
  
• Where can I get help with writing the application?
  
  
• What must I include in Section E: Human Subjects Research?
  
  
• How do I submit my application?