What Award Should You Apply For?

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• Do not choose an award type on your own. Read Which Award Type Suits You Best? in the NIH Grant Cycle and call a program officer for help.
• Many people who have preliminary data apply for an R01. Read What's an R01? and Why You Should Consider an R01 in this tutorial.
• If you don't have preliminary data, you could apply for a Small Grant (R03) or Exploratory/Developmental Research Grant Award (R21) to pay for time and resources to collect the data needed for an R01 application.

Do you have senior-level collaborators? Consider asking about applying as a subproject on their program project grant. You would not be an independent PI, but you would have your own project.

If you're not ready for independent support, NIAID has Training Grants, Fellowships, Career Development Awards, and Research Supplements to help early-stage investigators along their career paths. Read more at Starting a Research Career in this tutorial.

For questions about your situation, contact our training director, Dr. Milton Hernández, at 301-496-3775 or mh35c@nih.gov.

Read more in Part 2. Game Plan in the NIH Grant Cycle: Application to Renewal.

Award Type Resources

• Award Types questions and answers
• When to Contact an NIAID Program Officer
• PHS 398 Cover Page Supplement -- check box for "new" investigators

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