November 2005

NIH launches 2006 Pioneer Award Program

The National Institutes of Health announces the opening of the 2006 NIH Director’s Pioneer Award program, a key component of the NIH medical research program. Unlike other NIH grants, which support research projects, the Pioneer Award supports individual scientists.

“The Pioneer Award supports exceptionally creative scientists who bring their talents, expertise, and perspectives to bear on some of the biggest challenges in biomedical research,” said NIH Director Elias A. Zerhouni, MD.

The award gives recipients the intellectual freedom to pursue new research directions and highly innovative ideas that have the potential for unusually great impact.

The program is open to scientists at all career levels. The scientists may currently be engaged in any field of research provided they are interested in exploring biomedically relevant topics and willing to commit the major portion of their effort to Pioneer Award research.

Awardees must be U.S. citizens, non-citizen nationals, or permanent residents.

In September 2006, NIH expects to make five to 10 new Pioneer Awards of up to $2.5 million in direct costs over a five-year period. The first nine Pioneer Awards were made in September 2004 and 13 scientists received awards in September 2005.

The electronic application process includes a three- to five-page essay, a biographical sketch, identification of the applicant’s most significant publication or achievement, and three letters of reference. Applications may be submitted between January 15 and February 27, 2006.

“To maximize the diversity of those considered for Pioneer Awards, we continue to encourage women, members of groups that are underrepresented in biomedical research, individuals in the early to middle stages of their careers, and scientists working in a broad range of fields to apply,” said Jeremy M. Berg, PhD, director of the National Institute of General Medical Sciences.

The complete Pioneer Award request for applications is at http://grants1.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-RM-06-005.html.

The Pioneer Award Web site is at http://nihroadmap.nih.gov/pioneer.

Source: National Institutes of Health, www.nih.gov.

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