Trialect

Active

NHLBI Outstanding Investigator Award (OIA) (R35 Clinical Trial Optional)

National Institutes of Health

The purpose of the NHLBI Outstanding Investigator Award (OIA) is to promote scientific productivity and innovation by providing long-term support and increased flexibility to experienced Program Directors/Principal Investigators (PDs/PIs) who are currently PDs/PIs on at least two NHLBI R01-equivalent awards or an NHLBI R35 award in the 6th or 7th year of funding and whose outstanding record of research demonstrates their ability to make major contributions to heart, lung, blood and sleep (HLBS) research. The OIA is intended to support an investigator's research program, rather than a research project, by providing the primary and most likely sole source of NHLBI funding on individual grant awards.

The OIA will support the research program of NHLBI-funded investigators for up to seven years and will provide investigators with freedom to conduct research that breaks new ground or extends previous discoveries in new directions. It will also allow PDs/PIs to take greater risks and to pursue research that requires a longer time frame. Research supported by the OIA must be within the scope of the NHLBI mission .

It is anticipated that the OIA will:

Provide a stable funding environment, thereby improving productivity and facilitating ambitious and creative research;
Accelerate scientific innovation by enabling flexibility in pursuing new research directions as they arise, since PDs/PIs will not be bound to specific aims proposed in advance of the studies;
Reduce the time researchers spend writing grant applications and managing multiple grant awards, thereby allowing more time to be devoted to conducting research;
Facilitate commitment of PDs/PIs to research through increased stability of funding; and
Enable PDs/PIs to devote more time and energy to mentoring students and junior scientists and providing scientific service.

Deadlines:

Letter of Intent Due Date(s): 30 days prior to the application due date
Application Due Date(s): Feb 19, 2025; Feb 19, 2026; Feb 19, 2027
AIDS Application Due Date(s): April 28, 2025; April 28, 2026; April 28, 2027

RFA-HL-26-002 Expiration Date April 29, 2027

Specialties

Medical

Medical - Clinical Science

Medical - Basic Science

Medical - Translational

Eligibility Requirements

Only single PD/PI applications are allowed. Applications with multiple PD(s)/PI(s) will not be accepted. Applications that do not meet eligibility requirements will not be reviewed.

Eligibility is determined by NHLBI after the receipt of the applications on the intended application due date. Eligibility to apply to this NOFO is limited to PDs/PIs who meet all the following criteria.

Are currently PD/PI of an NHLBI R35 award in the 6th or 7th year of support (please refer to NHLBI R35 FAQ for additional guidance) OR
Are currently PD/PI on at least two NHLBI R01-equivalent (defined here as R01, DP1, or DP2) awards.
- At least one of the R01-equivalent awards must meet all the following requirements :
  - Be a single-PD/PI award, AND
  - Not be in a no-cost extension (NCE), AND
  - Not be an NIH-defined clinical trial, unless that clinical trial meets the definition of a mechanistic clinical trial or a BESH trial, as defined in Section I of this NOFO.
- The additional qualifying R01-equivalent(s) can be multiple-PD/PI, and/or in a first NCE, and/or an NIH-defined clinical trial.
PDs/PIs must commit six person months (i.e., the equivalent of 50% effort on a full-year appointment, 66.67% on a 9-month appointment, or 100% on a 6-month appointment) throughout the duration of the OIA.
PDs/PIs must have received continuous R01-equivalent support from the NHLBI for at least the past four years as a PD/PI. Continuous support is defined having an active NHLBI support as PD/PI for an eligible NHLBI R01-equivalent grant in each Federal Fiscal Year (FY) beginning in FY 2022 (for February 2025 submission) or beginning in FY 2023 (for February 2026 submission) or beginning in FY 2024 (for February 2027 submission).