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NIH Director's Transformative Research Award

NIH Director's Transformative Research Award

Supports flexible multidisciplinary teams pursuing cross-field science with paradigm-shifting goals.

OpenNIH Common FundUnited States
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About

The NIH Director's Transformative Research Award (TRA) is part of the NIH Common Fund's High-Risk, High-Reward (HRHR) Research Program. Established in 2009, it is the only one of the four HRHR awards that accepts both individual principal investigators and multi-PI teams, making it the mechanism of choice for cross-disciplinary collaborations targeting a paradigm-level shift in biomedical or behav…

What this grant funds

Funds individuals or multi-PI teams at any career stage pursuing paradigm-shifting cross-disciplinary biomedical or behavioral research with potential to overturn fundamental scientific paradigms, over five years with a flexible budget.

Key facts
CycleiHow often this grant runs — e.g. annually, on a rolling basis, or a one-off call.Annual
Next deadlineiThe next date applications are due. Rolling means you can apply any time.3 Sept 2026
Decision timeiTypical time from the deadline to the funder's decision.—
Project durationiHow long the funded work is expected to run.60 months
Award typeiThe form of funding — grant, equity, loan, tax credit, etc.Grant
Match fundingiThe share of project costs you must cover yourself. 0% = fully funded.0%
Funding pooliThe total budget available across all awards in this round.$31.2M
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Last verified: 24 Jul 2026Source: commonfund.nih.gov