NHLBI Outstanding Investigator Award (OIA) (R35 Clinical Trial Optional) | RFA HL 26 002

Opportunity Information: Apply for RFA HL 26 002

The NHLBI Outstanding Investigator Award (OIA) (R35, Clinical Trial Optional) is a long-term funding opportunity from the National Institutes of Health aimed at highly accomplished, experienced investigators who have already demonstrated sustained NHLBI-funded success. Its central goal is to boost scientific productivity and spark innovation in heart, lung, blood, and sleep (HLBS) research by giving investigators stable support and much more freedom in how they pursue their science over time. Unlike traditional NIH mechanisms that fund a tightly defined project with fixed specific aims, this award is designed to support an investigator's broader research program, letting them adapt, pivot, and explore new directions as discoveries emerge.

A key feature of the OIA is that it targets established Program Directors/Principal Investigators (PDs/PIs) who are currently PDs/PIs on at least two NHLBI R01-equivalent awards and who have an outstanding track record indicating they are likely to continue making major contributions to HLBS research. The award is meant to become the primary, and most likely the sole, source of NHLBI support for the investigator's individual grant funding during the award period, which is intended to reduce fragmentation across multiple awards and streamline oversight. The project period can extend up to seven years, which is unusually long by NIH standards and is specifically intended to encourage ambitious research programs that need time to mature, including higher-risk ideas and research directions that are hard to justify within the shorter horizons and rigid aim structures of standard grants.

The opportunity emphasizes flexibility and efficiency as major outcomes. NHLBI expects the OIA to create a more stable funding environment that improves productivity, enables nimble and creative research, and accelerates innovation because investigators are not locked into specific aims written years earlier. It is also intended to reduce the time investigators spend writing multiple grant applications and managing numerous awards, freeing up more time for actual research. Another explicit goal is to strengthen the broader scientific ecosystem by allowing investigators to devote more time to mentoring students and early-career scientists and to providing scientific service, supported by the stability that comes with long-term program-level funding.

Research supported through the OIA must fall squarely within the NHLBI mission, meaning the proposed program should clearly align with NHLBI priorities in cardiovascular, pulmonary, hematologic, and sleep-related science and health. The FOA is labeled "Clinical Trial Optional," which means applicants may propose a program that includes a clinical trial component if appropriate, but a clinical trial is not required.

On eligibility, the applicant organizations include a wide range of U.S.-based entities typically eligible for NIH grants, such as public and private institutions of higher education, nonprofits (with or without 501(c)(3) status), for-profit organizations (other than small businesses), small businesses, and multiple levels of government (state, county, city/township, special districts), as well as certain housing authorities and tribal entities. The opportunity explicitly calls out additional eligible applicant types that NIH often highlights for outreach and inclusion, including Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic-serving institutions, Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, and Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs), along with faith-based or community-based organizations, eligible federal agencies, regional organizations, and U.S. territories or possessions. At the same time, the FOA makes clear that non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities are not eligible to apply, and non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are not eligible. However, foreign components, as NIH defines them in the NIH Grants Policy Statement, are allowed, which can permit certain international collaborations under specific conditions while keeping the applicant organization itself U.S.-based.

Administratively, this is an NHLBI-discretionary grant opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number RFA-HL-26-002) within NIH's health-related funding categories and associated CFDA numbers (93.233, 93.837, 93.838, 93.839, 93.840). The posted original closing date is April 28, 2027. The source text does not provide an award ceiling or the expected number of awards, so applicants would need to consult the full FOA or NHLBI guidance for budget and programmatic details. Overall, the award is best understood as a mechanism for sustaining and empowering top-tier NHLBI investigators by consolidating support into one long-duration, flexible program grant that encourages bold science, reduces administrative churn, and strengthens mentoring and scientific leadership in the HLBS research community.

• The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "NHLBI Outstanding Investigator Award (OIA) (R35 Clinical Trial Optional)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.233, 93.837, 93.838, 93.839, 93.840.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2024-04-26.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2027-04-28.
• Eligible applicants include: 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.

Apply for RFA HL 26 002

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