The National Institute of Diabetes & Digestive & Kidney Diseases

NIH offers Resources for New Investigators. Some of the NIH Institutes have also created outstanding resources for new investigators. Be sure to look at the NIAID All About Grants Tutorials and the NIGMS Tips for New Investigators. NIAID also offers an Annotated R01 Grant Application which is an example of an outstanding application written by a new PI.

Finally, your NIDDK Program Officer is an excellent source of advice about funding opportunities. Go to the NIDDK page for your scientific area of interest to find contact information.

NIH defines New Investigators based the individual’s ERA Commons profile.  A subset of New Investigators are considered Early Stage Investigators (ESI) if he/she are within 10 years of completing his/her terminal research degree or are within 10 years of completing medical residency (or the equivalent). The career stage of the applicant will be considered at the time of review and award. For more information and definitions related to new and early stage investigators, please visit the NIH's New and Early Stage Investigator Policies. 

As a new PI applicant seeking independent funding, is it better to apply for a small grant, like an R21?

No. The R21 is intended to support innovative, high pay-off, paradigm-shifting projects. It is not a small grant or miniature R01. Not many new investigators will have R21-appropriate research, because they will generally be focused on establishing their laboratories with less risky research. Please look at the NIDDK R21 page for a more detailed discussion. In general, a new independent investigator should apply for the R01 regular research project grant. You may submit an R01 applicaton on any topic relevant to the NIH, and NIDDK has several relevant funding opportunities for R01s.

How soon can I revise and resubmit my application?
New investigator applications receive their summary statements within a very short time following review, and can be immediately revised and resubmitted for special receipt dates only a few weeks later (see “NOT-OD-07-083”). Whereas this immediate resubmission is appropriate for those grants that need only improved writing or inclusion of missing detail, it may not be the most efficient path to success for those where additional preliminary data or reagents are needed to address the reviewers’ concerns. New investigators should contact their program director (contact information is found on the summary statement, or check NIDDK scientific areas of interest to find the right staff) to help decide when to resubmit a revised grant.

What does NIDDK do when a new PI applicants misses the R01 payline?
NIDDK has a payline that is two percentile points more generous for new PIs. In addition, if a new investigator’s R01 application is within 10 percentile points of the payline, it will receive enhanced second-level review for a reduced budget R01 or for a High Priority, Short-Term Project Award (R56). Your NIDDK Program Officer can also provide guidance and feedback about the review, which might help you as you prepare to revise your grant.

What kinds of fellowships and career awards does NIDDK support?

NIDDK supports many kinds of training awards, fellowships, and career development awards. For more information, see Training and Career Development.