Good news for the boldest ideas in your research portfolio: the NIH Common Fund’s High-Risk, High-Reward Research (HRHR) program has reissued its full slate of funding opportunities for FY2026. If you’ve got ideas that are more “paradigm shift” than “safe bet,” this program is built for you.
The program spans four distinct awards, each with its own deadline this cycle:
- NIH Director’s Pioneer Award (DP1) — for investigators at any career stage proposing bold new research directions. Due September 9, 2026.
- NIH Director’s New Innovator Award (DP2) — for early-career, early stage investigators with high-impact, innovative project ideas. Due August 17, 2026.
- NIH Director’s Transformative Research Award (TR01) — for individuals or teams pursuing unconventional, paradigm-challenging research. Due September 3, 2026.
- NIH Director’s Early Independence Award (DP5) — for exceptional junior scientists ready to skip the postdoc and launch an independent lab. Due September 10, 2026.
These mechanisms are very competitive but worth pursuing if they are a good fit. Last year, I had a client with a truly innovative idea who kept getting triaged on the parent R01. I suggested the TR01 and he landed it! It may seem counterintuitive to suggest a more competitive mechanism for a project that keeps getting triaged at the parent R01. But fit to the mechanism is of paramount importance!
Remember that while you cannot have the same science in review at the same time at two different places in NIH, you can submit simultaneously to NIH and another federal agency or a private foundation. Some federal agencies welcome risk (e.g., CDMRP), as do some foundations. It might be worth considering a shotgun approach when seeking funding for a high-risk idea.
Note the deadlines above for the HRHR portfolio, which are coming up quickly! They each have a SINGLE deadline per year, so get cracking! We’ll be featuring each of these opportunities in upcoming content, breaking down what reviewers are really looking for and how to position your application within a tight window. So keep checking back — and if one of these deadlines has your name on it, now’s the time to start drafting.
