NIH Director’s Transformative Research Awards (R01 Clinical Trial Optional)
Funding Agency:
- National Institutes of Health
The NIH Director's Transformative Research Award supports collaborative investigative teams or individual scientists who propose unusually bold and innovative research projects, which, if successful, would have a major impact in a broad area of relevance to the NIH. To be considered transformative, projects must have the potential to create or overturn fundamental scientific paradigms through novel concepts or perspectives, transform the way research is conducted through the development of novel tools or technologies, or lead to major improvements in health through the development of highly innovative diagnostic, therapeutic, or preventive strategies.
Several key features of this NOFO are designed to emphasize to applicants and peer reviewers that Transformative Research applications are very different from conventional, investigator-initiated research applications. The Transformative Research application focuses on the importance of the problem, the novelty of the hypothesis and/or the proposed methodology, and the magnitude of the potential impact rather than on preliminary data or experimental details. Reviewers will be instructed to emphasize the significance and innovation of the application in their evaluations. Applicants and reviewers should keep the goal of the Transformative Research Award initiative in mind throughout the process– to solicit and fund unusually innovative and potentially transformative research.
To support innovative and novel research across the NIH mission, the NIH recognizes the need to foster a diverse research workforce across the nation. Talented researchers from diverse backgrounds (including individuals from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups, individuals with disabilities, individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds, and women; see Notice of NIH's Interest in Diversity), are strongly encouraged to work with their institutions to develop applications for this funding opportunity. As outstanding research is conducted at a broad spectrum of institutions, applications from the full range of eligible institutions (institutions that provide services to underrepresented or underserved communities, those that may be less research-intensive, and from all domestic geographic locations) are encouraged to apply. Applications are welcome in all research areas broadly relevant to the mission of NIH. These areas include, but are not limited to, the behavioral, medical, natural, social, applied, and formal sciences. Research may be basic, translational, or clinical. The primary requirements are that the research be highly innovative and have the potential for unusually broad impact.
Towards the objective of funding the best possible science, the Office of Strategic Coordination and the Center for Scientific Review are piloting a process for initial peer review of applications received in response to this NOFO in which the identity of the investigators and institutions are withheld until the last phase of review. Instructions for anonymizing components of the application are given in Section IV and must be carefully followed. If anonymization instructions are not followed, the application will be administratively withdrawn. A description of the review process is given in Section V.
Prospective applicants are invited to a pre-application webinar on June 26, 2024, from 3:30-5:00 PM EDT. NIH staff will discuss the initiative and answer questions about the application and review process. Questions for the webinar should be submitted ahead of time to Transformative_Awards@mail.nih.gov by 11:59 PM local time on June 21, 2024. Additional questions may be taken during the webinar if time allows. Register for the webinar and join on Webex. The webinar will be recorded and posted on the Transformative Research Award website.
The NIH Director's Transformative Research Award is part of the High-Risk, High-Reward Research program funded through the NIH Common Fund, which supports cross-cutting programs that are expected to have exceptionally high impact. All Common Fund initiatives invite investigators to develop bold, innovative, and often risky approaches to address problems that may seem intractable or to seize new opportunities that offer the potential for rapid progress.
Application budgets are not limited but must be commensurate with the scope of the proposed research.
September 03, 2024
Patricia Labosky, Ph.D.
Office of the Director (OD)