NIH Funding New Transformative R01 Program

The National Institutes of Health has published the first Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) for the new Transformative R01 (T-R01) program. With the FOA, NIH is soliciting transformative Research Project Grant (R01) applications for ‘‘exceptionally innovative, high risk, original and/or unconventional research with the potential to create new or challenge existing scientific paradigms. Projects must clearly demonstrate potential to produce a major impact in a broad area of biomedical or behavioral research.’’ NIH plans to to commit $25 million dollars in fiscal year 2009 to fund up to 60 applications. Applications are due January 29, 2009.

NIH intends to invest more than $250 million in the program, which was developed as an NIH Roadmap Initiative, over the next five years. The T-R01 program will support original studies that will:

• Forge the synthesis of new paradigms for biomedical or behavioral sciences.
• Reflect an exceptional level of creativity in proposing bold and ground-breaking approaches to fundamental problems.
• Promote radical changes in a field of study with a profound impact in other scientific areas.
• Be evaluated by new procedures being piloted by the NIH Center for Scientific Review that are distinct from the traditional NIH peer review process.

NIH is encouraging applications for projects in any area of NIH interest that meet the transformative criteria. Areas of highlighted need include:

• Understanding and Facilitating Human Behavior Change
• Complex 3-Dimensional Tissue Models
• Functional Variation in Mitochondria in Human Disease
• Transitions from Acute to Chronic Pain
• Formulation of Novel Protein Capture Reagents
• Providing an Evidence Base for Pharmacogenomics

For more information:

• Roadmap Transformative R01 Program (R01) Request for Applications: RFA-RM-08-029
• NIH Announces New Transformative R01 Funding Program
• NIH Roadmap for Medical Research: Transformative R01 Program Overview