Trailblazer Award for New and Early Stage Investigators (R21 Clinical Trial Optional) | PAR 24 022

Opportunity Information: Apply for PAR 24 022

The Trailblazer Award for New and Early Stage Investigators (PAR-24-022) is an NIH R21 funding opportunity designed specifically for NIH-defined New Investigators and Early Stage Investigators to launch bold, integrative research programs that connect engineering and the physical sciences with the life and/or biomedical sciences. The core idea is to give newer investigators room to try unconventional approaches and take meaningful technical or conceptual risks, especially where the work could open up a new line of inquiry or enable a new capability in biomedicine. Projects can be exploratory or developmental, proof-of-concept in nature, or framed as high risk-high impact studies. NIH is open to different scientific styles here, including technology design-directed projects (building or refining a tool or platform), discovery-driven studies (finding new patterns or phenomena), or hypothesis-driven work (testing a defined mechanistic idea). Clinical trials are optional under this announcement, meaning an applicant may propose a clinical trial if it fits the project, but a clinical trial is not required.

A defining feature of this opportunity is its stance on preliminary data. Unlike many NIH applications where strong pilot data can be essential, this FOA is intentionally structured so that preliminary data are not required, not expected, and not encouraged. Applicants are expected to propose approaches where there are minimal or no preliminary data, which reinforces the program’s emphasis on innovation and early exploration rather than mature, heavily de-risked projects. If an applicant does have some limited preliminary work, it is allowed but tightly constrained: it must be clearly labeled as preliminary data and restricted to no more than one-half page total, with no more than one figure. NIH is explicit that exceeding that limit (more than half a page or more than one figure) makes the application noncompliant, and a noncompliant application will not proceed to peer review. The FOA also clarifies what counts as preliminary data in this context: material independently produced by the applicant that has not yet been published in a peer-reviewed journal.

From an eligibility standpoint, the opportunity is broadly available across many U.S.-based organization types, reflecting NIH’s interest in supporting early-career innovation in a wide range of settings. Eligible applicants include state, county, city/township, and special district governments; independent school districts; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; federally recognized Native American tribal governments; tribal organizations that are not federally recognized; public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; and a wide spectrum of nonprofit and for-profit entities (including small businesses and for-profit organizations other than small businesses). The FOA also highlights additional eligible organization categories such as Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, AANAPISI institutions, Hispanic-serving institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), faith-based or community-based organizations, eligible federal agencies, regional organizations, tribal governments that are not federally recognized, and U.S. territories or possessions.

There are also important geographic and foreign involvement rules. Non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities and non-domestic (non-U.S.) institutions are not eligible to apply as the applicant organization. Likewise, non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are not eligible to apply. However, foreign components, as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement, are allowed, which generally means that a U.S.-based applicant can include certain justified international elements or collaborations as part of the project while still keeping the applicant organization domestic and compliant with NIH policy.

Administratively, this is a discretionary grant program run by the National Institutes of Health under the health funding activity category, with CFDA numbers 93.286, 93.866, and 93.867 listed for the opportunity. The award instrument is an R21, which typically supports early-stage, exploratory work rather than large, long-term programs. The listed award ceiling is $400,000. The opportunity’s original closing date is January 7, 2026, and the posting indicates a creation date of November 18, 2022.

• The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Trailblazer Award for New and Early Stage Investigators (R21 Clinical Trial Optional)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.286, 93.866, 93.867.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2022-11-18.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2026-01-07. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $400,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Independent school districts, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, For-profit organizations other than small businesses, Small businesses, Others.

Apply for PAR 24 022

[Watch] Creating a grant proposal using the step-by-step wizard inside the applicant portal: