At a glance
NIH Director’s Pioneer Award (DP1 Clinical Trial Optional) is a federal competitive grant from National Institutes of Health for the science & technology sector. Funding is up to $700K. Eligible applicants: Special district governments; County governments; Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments); City or township governments; State governments; Native American tribal governm. The application deadline is September 9, 2026. Apply via the official listing at www.grants.gov.
- Amount
- Up to $700K
- Deadline
- Sep 9, 2026
- Type
- Competitive
- Status
- Closing soon
About this program
The NIH Director"s Pioneer Award supports individual scientists 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. To be considered pioneering, the proposed research must reflect substantially different scientific directions from those already being pursued in the investigator"s research program or elsewhere. Applications in all topics relevant to the broad mission of NIH are welcome. Research may involve basic, translational, or clinical research. The NIH Director"s Pioneer Award is a component of the High-Risk, High-Reward Research (HRHR) program of the NIH Common Fund.
Who can apply
Special district governments; County governments; Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments); City or township governments; State governments; Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized); Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education; Public and State controlled institutions of higher education; For profit organizations other than small businesses; Private institutions of higher education; Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education; Independent school districts; Small businesses; Others (see text field entitled "Additional Information on Eligibility" for clarification). 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.
How to apply
Apply through Grants.gov using funding opportunity number RFA-RM-27-001. Register your organization (SAM.gov + Grants.gov) before the deadline, then submit the application package listed in the official notice.
Apply at official sourceRelated grants
- NSF Astronomy and Astrophysics Postdoctoral Fellowships NSF · Up to $110K · Oct 15, 2026 Open
- NHLBI Career Transition Award for Intramural Postdoctoral Fellows and Research Trainees (K22 Independent Clinical Trial Not Allowed) NIH · See listing · Jul 12, 2027 Open
- Enhancing Mechanistic Research on Precision Probiotic Therapies (R33 Clinical Trial Optional) NIH · Up to $25K · Jun 2, 2027 Open
- Mind and Body Interventions to Restore Whole Person Health via Emotional Well-Being Mechanisms (R61/R33 Clinical Trial Required) NIH · See listing · Jun 7, 2028 Open