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Grants / Department of Health and Human Services / National Institutes of Health

PAR-24-022: Trailblazer Award for New and Early Stage Investigators (R21 Clinical Trial Optional)

Closed Closed January 7, 2025 Opportunity PAR-24-022

This grant is closed. Who won this program's grants before is below, and similar open grants are at the end of the page. It is in our archive of National Institutes of Health notices from 2022.

National Institutes of Health offered grants of up to $400,000 to nonprofits, colleges and universities, state and local governments, tribes, small businesses and businesses. Applications closed on January 7, 2025.

From the official notice on Grants.gov, last changed January 8, 2025. Checked November 7, 2026.

About this NIH notice

Projects funded under PAR-24-022 were run by National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB, 61 projects), National Institute on Aging (NIA, 12 projects) and National Eye Institute (NEI, 5 projects). Contact the program officer at the institute that fits your project before you apply; the notice lists them.

Application due dates, page limits and budget limits are set in the notice. Read PAR-24-022 in the NIH Guide.

Other notices with this title

National Institutes of Health has posted this title under other numbers: earlier or later rounds, or the same competition for another area. Each has its own dates and may change its rules.

NoticePostedDeadlineStatus
PA-25-169January 8, 2025Closed May 7, 2026Closed

Key dates

PostedNovember 18, 2022
DeadlineJanuary 7, 2025
Archived by Grants.govFebruary 6, 2025

Who can apply

This opportunity was open to nonprofits, colleges and universities, state and local governments, tribes, small businesses and businesses.

All 15 applicant types the notice lists

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 Institutions) 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.

More grants for nonprofits, colleges and universities, state and local governments, tribes, small businesses, businesses.

Is this a realistic fit?

What the grant funds

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.

Category: Health.

Funded under PAR-24-022 so far

NIH funded 78 projects under PAR-24-022 in fiscal 2023 to 2026, at 57 institutions. The median yearly award was $213,782.

Most projects: Johns Hopkins University (Maryland), 5, Massachusetts General Hospital (Massachusetts), 5, University of California, San Diego (California), 4, UT Southwestern Medical Center (Texas), 2, Utah State Higher Education System--University of Utah (Utah), 2.

Recently funded projects
ProjectInstitutionFiscal yearAward
Computationally designed, small molecule-responsive cell receptors for treating solid tumors R21Columbia University Health Sciences2026$164,500
Longitudinal MRI imaging of clock gene expression in mice brains R21UT Southwestern Medical Center2026$205,000
A gaze-controlled neck exoskeleton for dropped head syndrome R21Utah State Higher Education System--University of Utah2026$183,536
Three-dimensional imaging of radiopharmaceutical distribution in multicellular organism at cellular resolution R21University of Wisconsin Milwaukee2026$149,508
A Deep Learning-based Miniature Microscope for Imaging Aging and Alzheimer's Disease Brains R21Johns Hopkins University2026$618,410
Miniaturized No-Moving-Parts Scanning Light Endoscope R21Massachusetts General Hospital2026$247,500
In situ formed microneedle-like depots for spatiotemporally controlled drug delivery R21Old Dominion University2026$249,749
Autonomous Gaze Coaching for Virtual Reality Telesurgical Simulators R21Case Western Reserve University2026$181,037

From NIH RePORTER, which lists each project once per fiscal year it was funded. Amounts are the yearly award.

Who has won Aging Research grants before

From fiscal 2021 to 2025, Aging Research (93.866) awarded $19 billion across 11,026 grant awards, an average of $1.7 million per award.

Largest recipients, fiscal 2021 to 2025
RecipientStateAwardsAmount
The Regents of the University of California, San FranciscoCalifornia337$575 million
The Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New YorkNew York242$574 million
University of Southern CaliforniaCalifornia203$572 million
The Washington UniversityMissouri210$556 million
Regents of the University of MichiganMichigan232$538 million

Top states: California ($3.4 billion), New York ($2.0 billion), Massachusetts ($1.8 billion), Pennsylvania ($1.0 billion), Texas ($912 million).

Who has won Vision Research grants before

From fiscal 2021 to 2025, Vision Research (93.867) awarded $3.4 billion across 3,275 grant awards, an average of $1.0 million per award.

Largest recipients, fiscal 2021 to 2025
RecipientStateAwardsAmount
The Johns Hopkins UniversityMaryland137$139 million
The Leland Stanford Junior UniversityCalifornia87$96.5 million
The Regents of the University of California, San FranciscoCalifornia78$89.9 million
Duke UniversityNorth Carolina79$75.5 million
The Trustees of the University of PennsylvaniaPennsylvania57$73.9 million

Top states: California ($598 million), New York ($327 million), Massachusetts ($313 million), Texas ($221 million), Pennsylvania ($188 million).

Who has won Discovery and Applied Research for Technological Innovations to Improve Human Health grants before

From fiscal 2021 to 2025, Discovery and Applied Research for Technological Innovations to Improve Human Health (93.286) awarded $1.8 billion across 1,983 grant awards, an average of $886,380 per award.

Largest recipients, fiscal 2021 to 2025
RecipientStateAwardsAmount
The General Hospital CorporationMassachusetts75$83.5 million
The Johns Hopkins UniversityMaryland68$83.5 million
The Leland Stanford Junior UniversityCalifornia64$53.0 million
Brigham & Womens Hospital IncMassachusetts41$49.5 million
The Trustees of the University of PennsylvaniaPennsylvania44$48.3 million

Top states: Massachusetts ($277 million), California ($264 million), New York ($165 million), Maryland ($111 million), Pennsylvania ($94.9 million).

Applying now

This notice no longer takes applications. Agencies often post the same opportunity again under a new number, so check the program's notices on Grants.gov and the similar open grants below.

The notice on Grants.gov keeps its full text and attachments, which is useful for planning a resubmission.

Questions people ask

Is PAR-24-022 still open?

No. It closed on January 7, 2025.

Who can apply for Trailblazer Award for New and Early Stage Investigators (R21 Clinical Trial Optional)?

National Institutes of Health accepted applications from nonprofits, colleges and universities, state and local governments, tribes, small businesses and businesses. The notice adds further conditions, so read its eligibility section.

What is the deadline for Trailblazer Award for New and Early Stage Investigators (R21 Clinical Trial Optional)?

Closed January 7, 2025. Applications are no longer accepted; the program's newer notices are on this page when there are any.

How much funding is available?

Awards of up to $400,000 each.

Who has been funded under PAR-24-022?

NIH RePORTER lists 78 projects funded under PAR-24-022 in fiscal 2023 to 2026, at 57 institutions. The most were at Johns Hopkins University, Massachusetts General Hospital, University of California, San Diego.

Who has won Discovery and Applied Research for Technological Innovations to Improve Human Health grants before?

The largest recipients over five fiscal years were The General Hospital Corporation, The Johns Hopkins University, The Leland Stanford Junior University. The program made 1,983 awards worth $1.8 billion in that time.

Similar open grants