NIBIB Trailblazer Award for New and Early Stage Investigators (R21 Clinical Trial Optional) | PAR 20 084

Opportunity Information: Apply for PAR 20 084

The NIBIB Trailblazer Award for New and Early Stage Investigators (PAR-20-084) is an NIH R21 funding opportunity from the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) designed to help launch bold, early independent research programs that sit at the intersection of engineering and the physical sciences with the life and behavioral sciences. The program is aimed specifically at investigators who are new to independence (including Early Stage Investigators) or who have not previously received substantial NIH support, and it is meant to give them room to pursue ideas that are genuinely new rather than incremental extensions of past work. Projects can be exploratory, developmental, proof-of-concept, or explicitly high-risk/high-impact, and the research approach can be technology design-directed, discovery-driven, or hypothesis-driven. Clinical trials are optional under this announcement, meaning applicants may propose a clinical trial if it fits the aims, but it is not required.

A defining feature of the Trailblazer FOA is its strong stance on preliminary data: none are required, expected, or encouraged. The intent is to remove the usual pressure to build a large dataset before applying and instead reward creativity, originality, and the potential for a major leap forward. If an applicant feels a small amount of evidence is truly necessary to establish the basic premise, the FOA allows only minimal preliminary data, narrowly defined as material the applicant generated independently that has not yet been published in a peer-reviewed journal. Even then, this material must be clearly labeled as preliminary data and strictly limited to one-half page total, and that half page may contain no more than one figure. Applications that exceed these limits (more than half a page of preliminary data or more than one figure) are considered noncompliant with the FOA instructions, which can jeopardize review. If any figures include previously published data, citations must appear directly in the figure legend, and any published material placed anywhere in the application (research plan, biosketch, or other sections) must be cited next to each occurrence and clearly identified as published. The FOA also accepts references and data from widely available preprints as long as the preprints have a Digital Object Identifier (DOI).

Eligibility is broad across many U.S.-based organizations, reflecting NIH's typical institutional eligibility categories and NIBIB's interest in reaching a wide range of research environments. Eligible applicants include state, county, city or township, and special district governments; independent school districts; public and state-controlled and private institutions of higher education; federally recognized Native American tribal governments; tribal organizations that are not federally recognized; public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; nonprofit organizations with or without 501(c)(3) status (other than institutions of higher education); for-profit organizations (other than small businesses); and small businesses. The FOA also explicitly highlights additional eligible applicant types and settings such as Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, AANAPISI institutions, Hispanic-serving institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), faith-based and community-based organizations, eligible federal agencies, regional organizations, and U.S. territories or possessions. At the same time, it draws clear boundaries around foreign involvement: non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities and foreign institutions are not eligible to apply, non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are not eligible, and foreign components (as defined by NIH Grants Policy) are not allowed.

Administratively, this is a discretionary grant opportunity under the health funding activity category (CFDA 93.286). The opportunity listing notes an original closing date of January 7, 2023 (with a creation date of January 7, 2020). While the summary record does not provide an award ceiling or an expected number of awards, the core message of the program is clear: NIBIB is looking for early-career investigators proposing ambitious, non-incremental, potentially transformative research that blends engineering and physical sciences with biomedical and behavioral applications, and it is intentionally structured so that applicants can compete without having to assemble extensive preliminary results in advance.

• The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "NIBIB Trailblazer Award for New and Early Stage Investigators (R21 Clinical Trial Optional)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.286.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2020-01-07.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2023-01-07. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Independent school districts, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, For-profit organizations other than small businesses, Small businesses, Others.

Apply for PAR 20 084

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