NIH, in acknowledgment of the changing face of biomedical research*, is
announcing a new program, The NIH Director’s Pioneer Award.
History suggests that leaps in knowledge frequently result from exceptional
minds willing and able to explore ideas that were considered risky at their
inception, especially in the absence of strong supportive data. Such
individuals are more likely to take such risks when they are assured of
adequate funds for a sufficient period of time, and with the freedom to set
their own research agenda. The NIH Director’s Pioneer Award (NDPA) program is
being established to identify and fund investigators of exceptionally creative
abilities and diligence, for a sufficient term (five years) to allow them to
develop and test far-ranging ideas. Awardees are expected to commit the major
portion of their effort to activities supported by the NDPA. The program is not
intended to support ongoing research projects or simply expand the funding of
persons already well supported.
The only constraint on the research to be done with this Award will be that it
must be relevant to the NIH mission.
Background
The spectacular advances made in the biological and medical sciences in the last
few decades have opened doors to even greater opportunities in the 21st
century. The National Institutes of Health has been, and will continue to be, a
major player in the support of this groundbreaking research. Much of the NIH
success derives from its reliance on investigator-initiated research proposals
(the bedrock R01 award) and its dual system of peer review and advisory council
oversight. However, there is evidence that some additional means may be
necessary to further accelerate advances in medical science and the resulting
gains in the health and well-being of the American people.
The face of biomedical research is changing. Many of the new opportunities for
research involve crossing traditional disciplinary lines and bringing forward
different conceptual frameworks as well as methodologies. These developments
appear to justify support for more aggressive risk-taking and innovation. While
the current NIH funding system will continue to support groundbreaking research
and innovation within the context of its traditional research grant mechanisms,
additional avenues seem necessary to encourage high risk/high impact research
in this new context.
To address this issue, NIH convened a group of highly distinguished outside
consultants with expertise in biomedical, behavioral and social sciences,
physical sciences, and engineering, representing academia, foundations,
business and industry. This group proposed that NIH implement novel programs
targeted specifically to identify, encourage, and support the people and
projects that will produce tomorrow’s conceptual and technological
breakthroughs. These programs would complement the other NIH research grants
programs and would provide additional opportunities to those afforded within
the Institutes and Centers for research that contests the status quo across the
breadth of the NIH mission. A first step in this process is the establishment
of a new NIH program to support exceptionally creative individual scientists.
Summary of the Award Process
The award process is summarized briefly below and in detail at
http://nihroadmap.nih.gov/highrisk/initiatives/pioneer/faq.aspx.
Eligibility
Nominees for the NDPA must be U. S. citizens, non-citizen nationals, or
permanent residents who are currently engaged in research. The research need
not be related to conventional biomedical or behavioral disciplines; if the
individual’s experience is in non-biological areas there must be evidence of
interest in exploring topics of biomedical relevance. If selected, individuals
must show evidence of infrastructure support. Investigators at early stages of
their career as well as those who are established will be eligible.
The Nomination Process
In the first phase of the application process, nominations will be submitted by
mentors, colleagues, institutions, or by the individuals themselves. Only a
single nomination package may be submitted for each person. The nomination
package will include a letter and the nominee’s curriculum vita or
resume, each no more than two pages in length.
The letter will explain why the nominee should be considered exceptional and
therefore highly likely to pursue original avenues of inquiry directed at very
challenging biomedical problems. Although creativity comes in many forms,
aspects common to innovative people include an interest in, and the ability to
integrate, diverse sources of information, an inclination to challenge
paradigms and take intellectual risks, resilience in the face of failure, an
ability to attract the right collaborators, and the diligence and concentration
necessary to plan and execute effective strategies for accomplishing goals. The
letter should also provide evidence of the nominee’s interest in the types of
biomedical problems that are particularly overdue for fresh approaches.
Nominations will be submitted via the Internet to
http://nihroadmap.nih.gov/highrisk/initiatives/pioneer. The website
will be open to receive nominations from March 1, 2004 through midnight April
1, 2004, Eastern Standard Time.
The Selection Process
All nominations will be evaluated by NIH staff for eligibility and by outside
experts to identify promising candidates who will be invited formally to apply
for the NDPA. In the second phase of this process beginning mid June, the
candidates will be asked to provide an essay of 3–5 pages describing their
views on the major challenges in biomedical and behavioral research to which
they feel they can make seminal contributions. No detailed scientific plan
should be provided since the research plan will be expected to evolve during
the tenure of the grant. In addition, each candidate will submit a copy of
his/her most significant publication or achievement and arrange for direct
submission of letters of support from three individuals who may or may not have
been nominators. A subset of the candidates will be interviewed in August
-September 2004, by a panel of outside experts. Additional input will be
provided by the Advisory Committee to the Director and final selections will be
completed and announced by the end of September, 2004.
Awards
To inaugurate this program sufficient funds have been set aside in 2004 to
provide 5-10 awards. The awards will be up to $500,000 direct costs each year,
for five years. Although there are no stipulations on the research agenda, the
awardee will be required to submit an annual report of activities conducted
during the year and to participate in an annual symposium on the NIH campus.
This symposium will allow awardees to share their ideas, progress, and
experience with each other, the research community, and NIH staff.
* While the term biomedical research is used throughout this
document it should be broadly interpreted to include the scientific
investigations of biomedical, behavioral, social, physical, chemical and
computer scientists; engineers; and mathematicians.
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