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Find similar grantsExploratory/Developmental Research Grant Awards (R21) is sponsored by National Institutes of Health (NIH). This opportunity supports mission-aligned projects and measurable outcomes.
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Exploratory/Developmental Grants (R21) | Grants & Funding U.S. Department of Health and Human Services National Institutes of Health Exploratory/Developmental Grants (R21) To encourage the development of new research activities in categorical program areas. (Support generally is restricted in level of support and in time.) Application and Submission Information R21 Parent Announcements are available.
Not all NIH institutes and centers participate on all parent announcements. Check the participating organization in the funding opportunity before applying.
Application Characteristics Except when stated otherwise in the funding opportunity: Project period of up to two years Budget for up to $275,000 total in direct costs for the two years, with no more than $200,000 in any year No preliminary data are required, but most opportunities allow it if available Research Strategy may not exceed 6 pages.
The page limit may be different when combined with other activity codes, such as R21/R33 Investigators are strongly encouraged to consult with NIH Scientific/Research staff (see Section VII. Agency Contacts of the funding opportunity) during the concept development stage of the application to determine if an R21 application is appropriate.
After identifying a funding opportunity, follow guidance in the How to Apply – Application Guide instruction call-outs, except where instructed to do otherwise in the funding opportunity or related notices. Standard Due Dates apply.
AIDS and AIDS-Related Applications Beginning with applications for Advisory Council Review in January 2027 (i.e., application due dates on or after May 25, 2026), NIH will no longer accept applications submitted on dedicated AIDS application due dates. ( NOT-OD-26-029 ) Standard Application Due Dates (when applicable) Participating Funding Organizations Each funding opportunity specifies the participating organizations.
Applications must fit within the mission of at least one participating funding organization and meet all opportunity-specific requirements. The following funding organizations participate on at least one active funding opportunity.
Division of Program Coordination, Planning and Strategic Initiatives, Office of Disease Prevention Division of Program Coordination, Planning and Strategic Initiatives, Office of Research Infrastructure Programs Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Fogarty International Center National Cancer Institute National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute National Human Genome Research Institute National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences National Institute of Mental Health National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke National Institute of Nursing Research National Institute on Aging National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders National Institute on Drug Abuse National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities National Library of Medicine Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research Office of Research on Women's Health Tribal Health Research Office Your organization's sponsored programs office or grants administrators can answer many internal and agency policy and process questions.
Understand NIH Staff Roles details how and when to find the right NIH contacts: Before you apply, check your chosen funding opportunity for application submission, scientific/research, peer review, and financial/grants management contacts. After you apply, find NIH staff assignments in the Status module of eRA Commons . For technical issues E-mail OER Webmaster
According to the current listing, eligibility includes: Investigators pursuing new, exploratory, and developmental research projects. Confirm the full requirements in the official notice before applying.
Exploratory/Developmental Research Grant Awards (R21) is funded by National Institutes of Health (NIH). Verify program details on the funder's official page before applying.
Start from the official opportunity page linked in this listing — it carries the sponsor's submission instructions.
Smart Health and Biomedical Research in the Era of Artificial Intelligence and Advanced Data Science (SCH) is sponsored by National Science Foundation (NSF) and National Institutes of Health (NIH). This interagency program supports transformative, high-risk/high-reward advances in computer and information science, engineering, mathematics, statistics, behavioral, and/or cognitive research to address pressing questions in biomedical and public health. It encourages scientific and engineering innovations by interdisciplinary teams to develop novel methods to collect, sense, connect, analyze, and interpret data from individuals, devices, and systems, enabling discovery and optimizing health. This includes applying AI in healthcare.
NIH NCI Pathway to Independence Award for Early-Stage Postdoctoral Researchers (K99/R00) is a grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) / National Cancer Institute (NCI) that funds early-stage postdoctoral researchers in cancer-related fields to transition to independent research careers. The award provides a mentored phase (K99) followed by an independent phase (R00), supporting investigators who do not require an extended period of supervised training beyond their doctoral degrees. Eligible applicants must hold a research or clinical doctoral degree and be postdoctoral fellows who have not yet established independent research careers. The March 11, 2026 due date applies; award amounts vary by project.
NIH R25 Summer Research Education Experience Program is a grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) that funds universities and institutions of higher education to provide summer research experiences in environmental health sciences to high school students, college undergraduates, and science teachers. Administered through the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), the program aims to attract young people to scientific careers and help teachers communicate about the scientific process more effectively. Eligible applicants are U.S. institutions eligible for NIH grants. The application deadline was March 17, 2026.
NIH's June 1 omnibus reset added Direct-to-Phase II to the STTR program for the first time. The change compresses university spinouts' funding timeline from three years to fifteen months, but the 30% research-institution subaward, feasibility-evidence rules, and IP licensing mechanics are not yet sorted at most universities.
Read articleNIH committed $402 million across 601 multiyear-funded grants in the first eight months of FY 2026 — more than four times the pace of two years ago. The mechanism front-loads obligations into a single fiscal year, leaving less budget for new project starts and squeezing FY 2026 success rates. What researchers and institutions should be doing now.
Read articlePAR-26-042 funds NLM-priority clinical informatics R01 grants up to $250,000 in direct costs per year through March 6, 2029, with standard NIH cycles on October 5, February 5, and June 5. The notice explicitly defines non-responsive applications: incremental tool improvements, projects primarily focused on social determinants of health, and projects primarily focused on ethical/legal/social issues. With NIH SBIR/STTR just reopened and the OMB Uniform Grants Regulation rewrite reshaping discretionary awards, the NLM clinical informatics line is one of the few stable, well-defined biomedical funding streams left at the agency. Here is how to read it.
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