Early-Stage and New Investigators

Find Support Appropriate to You

Use these graphics to see which award may be appropriate for you.

• Support by Career Stage -- M.D.
• Support by Career Stage -- Ph.D.

Note: All training and career development awards (except K99/R00) require U.S. citizenship or permanent resident status.

Get Help From NIAID

Talk to a program officer to learn about grant types and opportunities; get advice about whether your area of science fits NIAID's mission.

• Contact Staff for Help
• When to Contact an NIAID Program Officer
• Health and Research Topics

Learn About Getting an Independent Award

Find advice in the New Investigator Guide to NIH Funding:

• Do You Qualify for Independent Support?
• Are You "New"? -- do you qualify as a new PI for an R01?
• Checklist for New Investigators. Read action items, advice, and pitfalls.

If you are not seeking an independent research grant, go to the Training and Career portal.

Understand Grant Writing

These materials are geared toward the R01.

• NIH Grant Cycle: Application to Renewal. Advice on how to plan and write an application and manage a grant.
• Samples and Examples
  • Sample R01 Applications and Summary Statements
• R01 Planning to Award Timeline by Review Cycle
• R01 Application Considerations for Each Review Cycle

Find more tutorials and tools at All About Grants.

Read Related Newsletter Articles

• "Good News for New Investigators: More Time to Resubmit Your R01" -- April 2011 (NIAID Funding News)
• "What's Next for Our New Investigator Series" -- November 2010 (NIAID Funding Blog)
• "New Investigator Policy Levels the Playing Field" -- November 2010 (NIAID Funding Blog)

NIAID Funding Newsletter and Email Alerts Subscription Center -- Subscribe

For application advice, read articles in our New Investigator Series.

1. "Gearing Up as a New PI" -- June 2010
2. "Cruising for Grant Type? Don't Set Sail Alone" -- June 2010
3. "How to Pick a Project" -- July 2010
4. "Application Approach: What Are Your Choices?" -- July 2010
5. "Are You Ready to Conduct Your Research?" -- August 2010
   • "Team Science -- Sharing the Sandbox " -- August 2010
6. "A Long Hard Look at Application Timing" -- August 2010
7. "Your Application Takes Center Stage" -- September 2010
8. "Your Project's Scope: Plot Your Boundaries" -- September 2010
9. "Can You Bypass Policy Speed Bumps?" -- September 2010
10. "May the Force Be With Your Application" -- October 2010
11. "Laying the Groundwork for Your Research Plan" -- October 2010
12. "Start Writing Your Application" -- January 2011
13. "Writing the Research Strategy" -- January 2011
14. "Create an Appealing, Blemish-Free Application" -- February 2011
15. "Tips for Other Application Parts" -- February 2011
16. "Finishing Touches for Your Application" -- March 2011
17. "Ready, Get Set, Submit Your Application" -- March 2011
18. "Stay on Top of Your Application Even After You Apply" -- March 2011
19. "How We Decide Which Applications to Fund" -- April 2011 
20. "Application Snag: What to Do if You Get Bad News" -- April 2011
21. "Your Application Did Not Succeed -- What's Next?" -- May 2011
22. "Getting and Managing Your Grant" -- May 2011

Enhanced Peer Review Changes

• "It's More Critical Than Ever to Request a Study Section and Institute" -- April 2010
• "How Much Detail for Your Shorter Application?" -- November 2009
• "The Art of Application" -- November 2009

Find more articles on the Peer Review portal.

Learn About Peer Review and Applying

Go to the Grant Application and Peer Review portals.

Understand Funding Decisions

Get advice in Part 10. Funding Decisions in the NIH Grant Cycle: Application to Renewal

Learn more on the Paylines and Funding portal.

• Check Paylines at NIAID Paylines.
• Learn about funding decisions and what to do if your application did not succeed.

Find More Information

• Standard Operating Procedures
  • Early-Stage Investigators section
  • Training and Career Awards, Fellowships, and Supplements section
• Questions and Answers
  • Early-Stage Investigators section
  • Training and Career Awards, Fellowships, and Supplements section

Keep Up With Policy Changes

• NIAID Newsletter and Funding Blog -- biweekly newsletter
• Subscribe to Email Alerts -- newsletter, funding opportunities, paylines, and other interest areas.
• Special Announcements -- all NIAID-relevant NIH Guide announcements except funding opportunities.
• Top Policy Changes -- summary of major policy announcements for one year.

Subscribe to NIH Announcements

• NIH Guide
  • Listserv
• NIH Extramural Nexus
  • Listserv
• eRA Commons News
  • Listservs

Other Useful Links

• Center for Scientific Review
  • Descriptions of the Integrated Review Groups, Study Sections, and Small Business Activities
  • CSR Study Section Roster Index
  • NIH Peer Review Revealed. See a video of a mock study section.
• Electronic Submission
  • eRA Commons News
  • Listservs
  • Parent Announcements for Investigator-Initiated Applications
• eRA Commons
  • Help Desk
• Grants -- NIH
• Grants Policy Statement
• Grants.gov
• Lab Management Resources for the Development of Early-Career Scientists -- Howard Hughes Medical Institute
• Loan Repayment Programs
• My NCBI -- go to the My Bibliography tool
• National Library of Medicine's LocatorPlus
• NIH Forms and Applications
• NIH New Investigators Program
• NIH PubMed
• NIH PubMed Central
• NIH Research Training and Career Opportunities
• NIH Resources for New Investigators
• Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare
• PI Salary Cap and Stipends
• Research Portfolio Online Reporting Tool (RePORT) -- get award information and data
  • Award Data for Individual Organizations
  • NIH Reporter -- search the database
• SF 424 Application Guides
• Standard NIH Submission Dates
• Success Rates
  • Research Project Success Rates for NIAID

More NIAID Grant Portals

For more information, go to our other Grants portals by stage, audience, and science area.

Look It Up

• career development award (K)
• Center for Scientific Review (CSR)
• early-stage investigator
• fellowship (F)
• integrated review group (IRG)
• investigator-initiated
• new investigator
• overall impact score
• parent program announcement
• peer review
• principal investigator (PI)
• PubMed
• PubMed Central
• renewal
• Research Plan
• research supplement
• Significance
• study section
• training grants (T)

See the Glossary for more terms.