NIH Director Launches Program for Innovative
New Investigators
NIH Director Elias A. Zerhouni, M.D., today announced a special
program to fund new investigators who propose highly innovative
research projects that could have an exceptionally great impact
on biomedical or behavioral science. The NIH Director’s New Innovator
Award offers grants of up to $1.5 million in direct costs over
five years.
“New investigators are the future of science, and innovative ideas
are its lifeblood. This flagship program underscores NIH’s commitment
to supporting these two critical elements of the research enterprise.
The New Innovator Award, funded through the NIH Roadmap Common
Fund, complements longstanding activities in both areas at the
NIH level and at its institutes and centers,” said Zerhouni.
The application period opens on April 25 and closes on May 22,
2007. NIH expects to make at least 14 awards in September 2007.
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 United States and must
have received a doctoral degree or completed a medical internship
and residency in 1997 or later.
“We want proposals in a broad range of scientific areas relevant
to the NIH mission and from a diverse pool of applicants,” Zerhouni
said. “We’re shortening the application and emphasizing 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. We aren’t requiring applicants to
present preliminary data, although we’ll allow it if they choose
to do so,” he added.
Application instructions are at http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-RM-07-009.html.
More information on the NIH Director’s New Innovator Award is
at http://grants.nih.gov/grants/new_investigators/innovator_award/.
The Office of the Director, the central office at NIH, is responsible
for setting policy for NIH, which includes 27 Institutes and Centers.
This involves planning, managing, and coordinating the programs and
activities of all NIH components. The Office of the Director also
includes program offices which are responsible for stimulating specific
areas of research throughout NIH. Additional information is available
at http://www.nih.gov/icd/od/.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) The Nation's
Medical Research Agency is comprised of 27 Institutes
and Centers and is a component of the U. S. Department of Health
and Human Services. It is the primary Federal agency for conducting
and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research,
and investigates the causes, treatments, and cures for both common
and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs,
visit www.nih.gov. |