This grant, the NIH Director’s Transformative Research Award, is for individual scientists or groups proposing bold, groundbreaking, and exceptionally innovative research. It aims to support projects with the potential to create new scientific paradigms, establish improved clinical approaches, or develop transformative technologies across the broad NIH mission, including behavioral, social, biomedical, and clinical sciences. Encouraging applications from diverse backgrounds and institutions, this grant emphasizes the potential for major impact rather than requiring preliminary data. It is a key component of NIH’s High-Risk, High-Reward Research Program, fostering unconventional research with significant societal benefits.
Opportunity ID: 358874
General Information
| Document Type: | Grants Notice |
| Funding Opportunity Number: | RFA-RM-25-003 |
| Funding Opportunity Title: | NIH Directors Transformative Research Awards (R01 Clinical Trial Optional) |
| Opportunity Category: | Discretionary |
| Opportunity Category Explanation: | – |
| Funding Instrument Type: | Grant |
| Category of Funding Activity: | Health |
| Category Explanation: | – |
| Expected Number of Awards: | – |
| Assistance Listings: | 93.310 — Trans-NIH Research Support |
| Cost Sharing or Matching Requirement: | No |
| Version: | Synopsis 1 |
| Posted Date: | Jun 16, 2025 |
| Last Updated Date: | Jun 16, 2025 |
| Original Closing Date for Applications: | Sep 03, 2025 |
| Current Closing Date for Applications: | Sep 03, 2025 |
| Archive Date: | Oct 09, 2025 |
| Estimated Total Program Funding: | – |
| Award Ceiling: | – |
| Award Floor: | – |
Eligibility
| Eligible Applicants: | County governments 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 Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized) Small businesses City or township governments Others (see text field entitled “Additional Information on Eligibility” for clarification) Private institutions of higher education Independent school districts Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education For profit organizations other than small businesses State governments Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments) Special district governments |
| Additional Information on Eligibility: | Other Eligible Applicants include the following: Eligible Agencies of the Federal Government; Faith-based or Community-based Organizations; Indian/Native American Tribal Governments (Other than Federally Recognized); Regional Organizations; U.S. Territory or Possession; 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. |
Additional Information
| Agency Name: | National Institutes of Health |
| Description: | The NIH Directors Transformative Research Award Program supports individual scientists or groups of scientists proposing bold, groundbreaking, exceptionally innovative, original, and/or unconventional research with the potential to create new scientific paradigms, establish entirely new and improved clinical approaches, or develop transformative technologies. To support innovative and novel research across the vast NIH mission, individuals from diverse backgrounds (including those from underrepresented groups; see Notice of NIHs Interest in Diversity) and from the full spectrum of eligible institutions in all geographic locations are encouraged to apply to this Notice of Funding Opportunity. Applications in all topics relevant to the broad mission of NIH are welcome in all topic areas relevant to the broad mission of NIH, including, but not limited to, behavioral, social, biomedical, applied, and formal sciences and topics that may involve basic, translational, or clinical research. No preliminary data are required. Projects must clearly demonstrate, based on the strength of the logic, a compelling potential to produce a major impact in a broad area of relevance to the NIH. The NIH Directors Transformative Research Award is a component of the High-Risk, High-Reward Research (HRHR) Program of the NIH Common Fund. 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 FOA 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. A description of the review process is given in Section V. |
| Link to Additional Information: | https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-RM-25-003.html |
| Grantor Contact Information: | If you have difficulty accessing the full announcement electronically, please contact:
NIH Grants Information
grantsinfo@nih.gov Email:grantsinfo@nih.gov |
Version History
| Version | Modification Description | Updated Date |
|---|---|---|
Related Documents
Folder 358874 Full Announcement-RFA-RM-25-003 -> RFA-RM-25-003-Full-Announcement.pdf
Packages
| Agency Contact Information: | NIH Grants Information grantsinfo@nih.gov Email: grantsinfo@nih.gov |
| Who Can Apply: | Organization Applicants |
| Assistance Listing Number | Competition ID | Competition Title | Opportunity Package ID | Opening Date | Closing Date | Actions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FORMS-I | Use for due dates on or after January 25, 2025 | PKG00290973 | Aug 03, 2025 | Sep 03, 2025 | View |
Package 1
Mandatory forms
358874 RR_SF424_5_0-5.0.pdf
358874 PHS398_CoverPageSupplement_5_0-5.0.pdf
358874 RR_OtherProjectInfo_1_4-1.4.pdf
358874 PerformanceSite_4_0-4.0.pdf
358874 RR_KeyPersonExpanded_4_0-4.0.pdf
358874 PHS398_ResearchPlan_5_0-5.0.pdf
358874 PHSHumanSubjectsAndClinicalTrialsInfo_3_0-3.0.pdf
Optional forms
358874 RR_Budget_3_0-3.0.pdf
358874 RR_SubawardBudget30_3_0-3.0.pdf
358874 PHS398_ModularBudget_1_2-1.2.pdf
358874 PHS_AssignmentRequestForm_4_0-4.0.pdf
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