Grants 360°: Navigating NIH Funding Opportunities

NIH Grant Opportunities

Some NIH grant types include K (training grants), R21 & R01 (research project grants), U01-U54, T32, etc.
Find former and new grant funding opportunities through this link: https://grants.nih.gov/funding/searchguide/index.html#/; Researchers should check regularly and can filter by grant types and institutes.
Consider subscribing to weekly grant alerts here: https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/manage-subscriptions.html
Special calls are marked with RFA, PAR, or PAS and are usually open for a limited time.

NIH review criteria may change for different types of applications
Generally, scoring is made within 5 criteria: significance, innovation, approach, investigators, environment, and an overall impact score. Scoring is on a scale of 1-5, with 1 being the best.
Generally, there are at least 3 scoring reviewers.
Applicants should look for opportunities to be very responsive to scoring comments. You are able to push back with strong justification if unsatisfied with specific comments.
Clairy and repetition are essential for these grants
Finding paylines and success rates:
- https://www.niaid.nih.gov/grants-contracts/niaid-paylines
- https://report.nih.gov/funding/nih-budget-and-spending-data-past-fiscal-years/success-rates

Use NIH reporter and other tools for finding the right fit
Its beneficial to aim for the same reviewers
Researchers can upload their abstracts through this link to help identify potential review sections: https://art.csr.nih.gov/ART/selection.jsp

ESI’s are a priority for NIH funding
ESI can receive a one-time bonus during the review for R-type grants
Determine your ESI status here:https://grants.nih.gov/policy/early-stage/determining-status