Trailblazer Award for New and Early Stage Investigators (R21 Clinical Trial Optional)

The summary for the Trailblazer Award for New and Early Stage Investigators (R21 Clinical Trial Optional) grant is detailed below. This summary states who is eligible for the grant, how much grant money will be awarded, current and past deadlines, Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) numbers, and a sampling of similar government grants. Verify the accuracy of the data FederalGrants.com provides by visiting the webpage noted in the Link to Full Announcement section or by contacting the appropriate person listed as the Grant Announcement Contact. If any section is incomplete, please visit the website for the National Institutes of Health, which is the U.S. government agency offering this grant.

Trailblazer Award for New and Early Stage Investigators (R21 Clinical Trial Optional): This Trailblazer Award is an opportunity for NIH-defined New and Early Stage Investigators (https://grants.nih.gov/policy/early-investigators/index.htm) to pursue research programs that integrate engineering and the physical sciences with the life and/or biomedical sciences. 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 must propose research approaches for which there are minimal or no preliminary data. A distinct feature for this FOA is that no preliminary data are required, expected, or encouraged. However, if available, minimal preliminary data are allowed. Preliminary data are defined as material which the applicant has independently produced and not yet published in a peer-reviewed journal. All preliminary data should be clearly marked and limited to one-half page, which may include one figure. Applications including data more than one-half page or more than one figure will be considered noncompliant with the FOA instructions and will not go forward to review.

Federal Grant Title:	Trailblazer Award for New and Early Stage Investigators (R21 Clinical Trial Optional)
Federal Agency Name:	National Institutes of Health (HHS-NIH11)
Grant Categories:	Health
Type of Opportunity:	Discretionary
Funding Opportunity Number:	PA-25-169
Type of Funding:	Grant
CFDA Numbers:	93.286, 93.866, 93.867
CFDA Descriptions:	Information not provided
Current Application Deadline:	January 7th, 2026
Original Application Deadline:	January 7th, 2026
Posted Date:	January 8th, 2025
Creation Date:	January 8th, 2025
Archive Date:	February 12th, 2026
Total Program Funding:
Maximum Federal Grant Award:
Minimum Federal Grant Award:
Expected Number of Awards:
Cost Sharing or Matching:	No
Last Updated:	January 8th, 2025

Applicants Eligible for this Grant: State governments - County governments - City or township governments - Special district governments - Independent school districts - Public and State controlled institutions of higher education - Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized) - Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities - Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments) - Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education - Nonprofits that do not have a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education - Private institutions of higher education - For-profit organizations other than small businesses - Small businesses - Others (see text field entitled "Additional Information on Eligibility" for clarification.)
Additional Information on Eligibility: Other Eligible Applicants include the following: Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions; Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISISs); Eligible Agencies of the Federal Government; Faith-based or Community-based Organizations; Hispanic-serving Institutions; Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs); Indian/Native American Tribal Governments (Other than Federally Recognized); Non-domestic (non-U.S.) Entities (Foreign Organizations); Regional Organizations; Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs) ; U.S. Territory or Possession; Non-domestic (non-U.S.) Entities (Foreign Organizations) are not eligible to apply. Non-domestic (non-U.S.) components of U.S. Organizations are not eligible to apply. Foreign components, as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement, are allowed.
Link to Full Grant Announcement: https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-25-169.html
Grant Announcement Contact: NIH Grants Information
[email protected]
See Section VII. Agency Contacts within the full opportunity announcement for all other inquires.
Similar Government Grants: • New Approaches for Measuring Brain Changes Across Longer Timespans (R01 Clinical Trial Opt...; • Bioengineering Partnerships with Industry (U01 Clinical Trial Optional); • High-End Instrumentation (HEI) Grant Program (S10 Clinical Trial Not Allowed); • Building Biomedical Engineering Education, Research, and Innovation at Historically Black ...; • Exploratory Grants (P20) for NIBIB Quantum Projects; • Nibib Research Supplements to Promote Clinical Resident Research Experiences; • Innovation in Molecular Imaging Probes
More Grants from the National Institutes of Health: • Single Source: National Centralized Repository for Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementi...; • Tobacco Regulatory Science Small Grant Program for New Investigators (R03 Clinical Trial O...; • Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Cohort Data and Biospecimen Acces...; • Expanding the Target Landscape by Drugging the Undruggable (R21 Clinical Trial Not Allowed...; • Limited Competition: Regenerative Medicine Innovation Project (RMIP) Investigator-Initiate...