NIH Grants

NIH Advanced Development and Validation of Emerging Technologies for Basic and Clinical Cancer Research (R33 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) is sponsored by National Institutes of Health (NIH). This program supports the advanced development and validation of emerging technologies that have the potential to significantly impact basic and clinical cancer research.

High-Risk, High-Reward Immunology Innovation (ExCITe NOSI) is sponsored by National Cancer Institute (NCI)/National Institutes of Health (NIH). The ExCITe initiative funds exploratory projects in early discovery immunology. It is ideal for researchers investigating underexplored mechanisms of immune regulation, metastasis, or immune evasion. This would be relevant for innovative approaches in ablation immunotherapy combinations.

Bridge2AI Stage 2 advances NIH's flagship biomedical AI initiative from creating ethically sourced, machine-learning-ready datasets to delivering deployable AI tools for specific health challenges. Stage 2 funds Innovation Funnels that use the Stage 1 AI-ready datasets (voice biomarkers, clinical cardiology, salutogenesis, AI/ML for precision public health) to build diagnostic algorithms, drug discovery platforms, and clinical decision support systems. It also establishes a Network for AI Health Science to develop safety protocols, responsible AI implementation guidance, and ethics frameworks for biomedical AI. Strong emphasis on FAIR data principles, transparent model documentation, equity, and public trust.

Innovations for Healthy Living - Improving Minority Health and Eliminating Health Disparities (R43/R44 - Clinical Trial Optional) is sponsored by National Institutes of Health (NIH) - National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS). Invites eligible United States small business concerns (SBCs) to submit Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant applications to develop products, processes, or services for commercialization that improve minority health and/or reduce and eliminate health disparities.

Innovations for Healthy Living - Improving Minority Health and Eliminating Health Disparities (R43/R44 - Clinical Trial Optional) is sponsored by National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) / National Institutes of Health (NIH). This program supports research and development by small businesses of innovative technologies with commercial potential or significant societal benefits, specifically focusing on improving health in populations that experience health disparities. This includes the development of diagnostic tools, monitoring and informatics devices, wearable technologies, mobile applications, and other digital health and wellness tools to improve heart, lung, blood, and sleep (HLBS) health in historically underserved, low-resource, and remote communities.

NIH Small Business Transition Grant for New Entrepreneurs (PAR-27-039 SBIR) is sponsored by National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). This SBIR program funds small businesses led on a project by a first-time Principal Investigator, combining research and development funding with mentorship and entrepreneurial training for that PI. It is returning for fiscal year 2027 and will allow clinical trials. This would be relevant for a small business startup in medical devices for wound healing where the PI is a new entrepreneur.

NIH SBIR/STTR (NIH Seed Fund) is sponsored by U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH). Federal grants for US small businesses developing health and life science products. Applications are due on three standard dates a year under NIH's SBIR and STTR funding opportunities. This program supports the critical startup and development stages of health innovation.

Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) grants is sponsored by National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), National Institutes of Health (NIH). The NIEHS STTR Program provides funding to U.S. small businesses in collaboration with research institutions for cooperative research and development, focusing on technological innovation relevant to environmental health and alternative toxicity testing.

PHS 2023-2 Omnibus Solicitation of the NIH, CDC and FDA for Small Business Innovation Research Grant Applications (Parent SBIR [R43/R44], Clinical Trial Not Allowed) is sponsored by Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) - National Institutes of Health (NIH), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and Food and Drug Administration (FDA). This omnibus solicitation invites Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant applications from small business concerns (SBCs) for research and development projects relevant to the missions of NIH, CDC, and FDA.

Funding Opportunities for Test Method Developers is sponsored by National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) SBIR/STTR Program, National Institutes of Health (NIH). This funding supports U.S. small businesses developing innovative high-throughput or high-content assays/model systems, computational toxicology approaches, and other related New Approach Methodologies (NAMs) for toxicity testing and understanding effects on human health and disease.

PHS 2024-2 Omnibus Solicitation of the NIH and CDC for Small Business Innovation Research Grant Applications (Parent SBIR [R43/R44] Clinical Trial Not Allowed) is sponsored by National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). This omnibus solicitation supports researcher-initiated ideas in health-related scientific research and development that have strong potential for commercialization and impact on public health, without requiring a clinical trial.

Unveiling Health and Healthcare Disparities in Non-Communicable and Chronic Diseases in Latin America: Setting the Stage for Better Health Outcomes Across the Hemisphere (R01 - Clinical Trials Not Allowed) is sponsored by NIH National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD). Supports research addressing health disparities in non-communicable and chronic diseases in Latin America.

NLM Institutional Grants for Research Training in Biomedical Informatics, Data Science, and AI is sponsored by National Library of Medicine (NLM) / National Institutes of Health (NIH). This grant funds institutions to create or renew training programs that prepare researchers in biomedical informatics, data science, and AI/ML to tackle complex health and biomedical challenges.

Digital Health Technology and Reciprocal Innovation to Improve Clinical and Public Health Outcomes is sponsored by Fogarty International Center (FIC) - National Institutes of Health (NIH). This initiative supports research on the development, validation, feasibility, and effectiveness of innovative digital health interventions or tools (including mobile health) specifically suited for underserved settings in the U.S. and globally. It emphasizes reciprocal innovation methodologies.

Digital Health Technology and Reciprocal Innovation to Improve Clinical and Public Health Outcomes (PAR-28-039) is sponsored by National Institutes of Health (NIH). This initiative will support research on the development, validation, feasibility, and effectiveness of innovative digital health interventions or tools (including mobile health) specifically suited for underserved settings in the U.

Expanding the Target Landscape by Drugging the Undruggable (R21 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) is sponsored by National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS/NIH). This R21 grant opportunity focuses on expanding the understanding of therapeutic targets and developing strategies to 'drug the undruggable' in various disease areas. Clinical trials are not allowed.

Digital Twins and/or Synthetic Data Population Modeling for Whole-Person Health to Mitigate Chronic Disease Disparities Grand Challenge is sponsored by National Institutes of Health (NIH). A challenge to develop validated whole-person digital twins and/or synthetic data population simulation models for biomedical, behavioral, mental health, healthcare, and public health research to mitigate chronic disease disparities.

NIH Pragmatic Trials Conducted in Health Care Systems is sponsored by National Institutes of Health (NIH). This funding opportunity will support large-scale pragmatic trials that test intervention effectiveness in routine clinical care and/or implementation trials that evaluate strategies for delivering interventions within health care settings. These trials are intended to directly inform decision-makers about the comparative benefits, burdens, and risks of biomedical or behavioral interventions.

NIDA SBIR/STTR Programs (Digital Health Technologies to Address the Social Determinants of Health in context of SUDs) is sponsored by National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), National Institutes of Health (NIH). NIDA's SBIR/STTR programs have a specific interest in digital health technologies to address social determinants of health in the context of Substance Use Disorders (SUDs). This includes developing innovative technologies targeting SUDs, which aligns with behavioral health technology app innovation.

Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Grant Applications for the modification or development of new screening technologies for mild hearing loss in infants and young children is sponsored by National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Grant Applications for the modification or development of new screening technologies for mild hearing loss in infants and young children is sponsored by National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (…

PAR-25-131 funds development of computational and AI-driven approaches to scale up curation of biomedical research assets including datasets, models, software, ontologies, and literature. Funded scope includes large language model-based extraction and normalization of biomedical entities and relations, AI-enabled metadata generation and FAIR-ification, generative AI for ontology mapping and harmonization, automated dataset quality assessment and provenance tracking, model card and data sheet generation, knowledge graph construction at scale, and human-in-the-loop AI curation systems. Strong fit for NLP, knowledge representation, and AI-for-science teams.

Partnerships for Indigenous-led ELSI Research (PIER) is sponsored by National Human Genome Research Institute (NIH). This grant supports tribally-led genomic research aimed at addressing American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) health disparities. The initiative focuses on strengthening meaningful collaboration with AI/AN communities and AI/AN-serving health systems in Alaska and Oklahoma to promote Indigenous-driven approaches to genomic research. It also includes a Community Scholars program to support researchers interested in Tribal health research.

Shared Instrumentation Grant (SIG) Program (S10 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) is sponsored by National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of Research Infrastructure Programs (ORIP). This program provides funds to purchase or upgrade a single item of expensive, specialized, commercially available research instrument or an integrated instrumentation system that can only be justified on a shared-use basis and is needed for NIH-supported projects in basic, translational, or clinical biomedical/behavioral research. This includes radiology imaging systems like high field MRI, PET/MRI imagers, and electron microscopes. Indirect costs are not allowed.

School Mental and Behavioral Health: Expanding Access to Evidence-Based Interventions and Services is sponsored by National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), National Institutes of Health (NIH). This highlighted topic encourages research focused on optimizing and testing school-based mental and behavioral health interventions and service delivery models. It emphasizes research-informed approaches that can be rapidly deployed and sustained in school and afterschool program settings using available resources and personnel. Relevant research includes validating sustainable strategies for operationalizing mental health risk, detecting students at risk, and matching students to appropriate interventions and services, including referring to specialty mental health care when needed.

Grant to study vision-threatening condition (Diabetic Retinopathy) is sponsored by National Institutes of Health (NIH). This five-year grant supports research into diabetic retinopathy (DR), focusing on discovering promising treatments. Specifically, the project investigates the impact of disturbed circadian rhythms on the development of DR and explores whether regulating these rhythms could be a treatment strategy, with a focus on Müller cell dysfunction.

Academic Research Enhancement Award (AREA) for Undergraduate-Focused Institutions (R15) is sponsored by NIH. This program supports small-scale research grants at institutions that do not receive substantial funding from the NIH, with an emphasis on providing biomedical research experiences primarily for undergraduate students, and enhancing the research environment at applicant institutions.

NIH Small Research Grant Program (Parent R03 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) is sponsored by National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS)/NIH. This program supports small research projects that can be used to develop new research directions or technologies. Projects involving preliminary studies on peptide synthesis, characterization, or initial biological activity would be appropriate.

PAR-25-136 funds laboratory-based research developing, optimizing, and rigorously testing AI-enabled digital mental health interventions and technologies. Funded scope includes adaptive intervention design using reinforcement learning, just-in-time adaptive interventions (JITAI), AI-driven personalization of therapeutic content, large language model-based therapy assistants, computer vision and audio analysis for symptom assessment, predictive models for crisis detection, AI-enabled cognitive behavioral therapy delivery, and digital phenotyping for depression, anxiety, psychosis, and other mental health conditions. Emphasizes mechanistic understanding of intervention components and component selection through SMART, MOST, and factorial trial designs.

The Role of Work in Health Disparities in the U.S. (R01 Clinical Trials Optional) is sponsored by National Institutes of Health (NIH) / National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) (with participation from NIEHS and NICHD). This program supports innovative population-based research on how work or occupation influences health outcomes and health status among health disparity populations, and how work functions as a social determinant of health.

Advancing Healthcare for Older Adults from Populations that Experience Health Disparities (R01 - Clinical Trial Optional) is sponsored by National Institutes of Health (NIH) — National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) and National Institute on Aging (NIA). This program supports innovative, multi-level healthcare and clinical research targeting older adults from populations experiencing health disparities.

NIH Research Project Grant (Parent R01 Clinical Trial Required) is sponsored by National Institutes of Health (NIH) (participated in by NIGMS). NIGMS participates in the NIH Research Project Grant (Parent R01 Clinical Trial Required) funding opportunity. This mechanism supports health-related research and is a common funding mechanism for investigator-initiated research projects.

Elucidating Immunometabolic Responses to HIV Infection that Increase TB or HBV Risk (R01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) is sponsored by NIH. This funding opportunity supports research project grant (R01) applications for discrete, specified, circumscribed projects (up to 5 years) to be performed by named investigator(s) in an area representing the investigator's specific interest and competencies, focusing on immunometabolic responses to HIV infection that increase TB or HBV risk. Preliminary data is required.

Maximizing Investigators' Research Award (MIRA) (R35 - Clinical Trial Optional) is sponsored by National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS), National Institutes of Health (NIH). MIRA provides support for the program of research in an investigator's laboratory that falls within the mission of NIGMS. The goal is to increase funding efficiency by providing investigators with greater stability and flexibility over five-year grant periods, enhancing scientific productivity and the potential for important breakthroughs. This program also aims to distribute funding more widely among talented researchers. Early Stage Investigators should apply through PAR-27-032.

Digital Twins for Biomedical, Biological and Behavioral Research is sponsored by NIH. This NIH highlighted topic encourages innovative research and prototype development of digital twin technologies for biomedical, biological, and behavioral research and human health. It emphasizes fit-for-purpose digital twins that accelerate scientific discovery and support intelligent medical technologies, aligning with physics-informed AI through the need for predictive models of biological systems updated with real-time data.

Digital Twins for Biomedical, Biological and Behavioral Research is sponsored by National Institutes of Health (NIH). This highlighted topic encourages innovative research and prototype development of digital twin technologies for biomedical, biological, and behavioral research and human health. The goal is to advance fit-for-purpose digital twins to accelerate scientific discovery, support intelligent medical technologies, and enable decision support across clinical, laboratory, and healthcare settings. Areas of interest include verification, validation, and uncertainty quantification (VVUQ) methodology, BDT technology that adapts to social and environmental changes, and physical BDT assets incorporating real-time sensor measures.

Grant to combat sight damage from diabetes (Role of Programmed Cell Death Pathways in Bacterial Keratitis) is sponsored by National Eye Institute of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). This five-year grant funds research investigating biological processes that contribute to defects in immune response in the eyes of those with diabetes and identifying methods to reverse them. The study focuses on the 'Role of Programmed Cell Death Pathways in Bacterial Keratitis.'

Research Enhancement Awards (R15) - Research Enhancement Award Program (REAP) for Health Professional Schools and Graduate Schools is sponsored by National Institutes of Health (NIH). This program supports small-scale research projects at health professional schools and graduate schools that have not been major recipients of NIH support. The goal is to expose students to research and strengthen the research environment of the institution.

High-resolution in vivo imaging of inner ear using photon-counting-detector computed tomography and artificial intelligence is sponsored by National Institutes of Health (NIH). This R01 grant supports research in high-resolution in vivo imaging of the inner ear using photon-counting-detector CT and artificial intelligence. While specific to the inner ear, it aligns with the broader focus on advanced photon-counting CT applications in medical imaging.