The Trailblazer R21 Award is an opportunity for New and Early Stage Investigators to pursue research programs of high interest to the NIBIB at the interface of the life sciences with engineering and the physical sciences.  The Trailblazer Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) employs an R21 Exploratory/Developmental Research Grant mechanism, enhanced to provide $400,000 in direct costs over three years, allowing sufficient time and resources to pursue a new or emerging research program. A Trailblazer project may be exploratory, developmental, proof of concept, or high risk-high impact, and may be technology design-directed, discovery-driven, or hypothesis-driven.  Importantly, applicants are expected to propose research approaches for which there are minimal or no preliminary data.

Access the Trailblazer announcement here.

To find out if you are eligible, see the NIH definition of New and Early Stage Investigators.

For more information about the NIBIB R21 Trailblazer, see our Frequently Asked Questions.