Funding News Edition: December 01, 2021 See more articles in this edition
NIH defines an early-stage investigator (ESI) as a program director/principal investigator (PD/PI) who has completed his or her terminal research degree or end of post-graduate clinical training within the past 10 years and has not previously competed successfully as PD/PI for a substantial NIH independent research award.
When you create a user account in eRA Commons, before applying for a grant, you’ll input the date you completed your terminal research degree or post-graduate clinical training on your profile page. NIH’s electronic systems will check whether that date is within the past 10 years and if you’ve not yet received a substantial grant award. If you meet both conditions, your Personal Profile will display ESI status.
See NIH’s Early-Stage Investigator Policies for further details.