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Program Snapshot
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Part of the High-Risk, High-Reward Research program, the award supports individuals or teams proposing transformative projects that are inherently risky and untested but have the potential to create or overturn fundamental paradigms and may require very large budgets.
- Open to all career stages
- Open to individuals or teams
- No preliminary data required
- Research effort commensurate to project needs
- Flexible budgets
- No prior approval required for large budget requests
View Current Funding Opportunities
Join our Listserv or contact us at Transformative_Awards@mail.nih.gov.
Award Overview
The NIH Director’s Transformative Research Award (R01 mechanism), established in 2009, supports exceptionally innovative and/or unconventional research projects with the potential to create or overturn fundamental paradigms. Multiple Principal Investigators and large budget applications are welcome. Though the application uses the standard R01 application, the requested information is very different from the standard R01. No detailed experimental plan or preliminary data are required. In the “Research Strategy” component, the investigators are asked to describe the challenge or problem being addressed, why it is important, and why the proposed approaches to addressing this major challenge or problem are unusually innovative. In addition, the investigators are asked to use the “Specific Aims” component to distill their proposal into a one-page summary in which they explicitly address the challenge, innovation, and impact of what they propose and the rationale of their approach.
View the Transformative Research Award Slideshow
Information & Help
Funded Research
| PI Name | Institution Name | Title |
|---|---|---|
| PATAPOUTIAN, ARDEM (contact) TASIC, BOSILJKA YE, LI | SCRIPPS RESEARCH INSTITUTE | Building a somatosensory atlas for interoception |
| CUI, BIANXIAO | STANFORD UNIVERSITY | Targeting cancer metastasis by inhibiting curvature-induced kinase activation |
| JAIN, ISHA HIMANI | J. DAVID GLADSTONE INSTITUTES | A Revitalized Framework for Vitamin Biology: New Sensors, Pathways and Precision Therapies |
| WILLIAMS, MICHAEL ROLAND (contact) RITOLA, KIMBERLY | HENRY FORD HEALTH + MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY HEALTH SCIENCES | I/O Tags: Genetically Encoded Tags for Trans-Neuronal Control Across Specific Synapse Classes |
| HULTMAN, RAINBO (contact) STEVENS, HANNA E | UNIVERSITY OF IOWA | Networking the parental brain: Transformation of brain-wide electrical networks |
| SCOTT, RODNEY CRAIG (contact) MAHONEY, JOHN MATTHEW | NEMOURS CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL, DELAWARE | Restoring Cognitive Function through Precision Neurostimulation: A Disease-Agnostic Approach Based on Convergent Hippocampal Dynamics |
| PI Name | Institution Name | Title |
|---|---|---|
| BERRO, JULIEN (contact) GREEN, ALEXANDER ARTHUR SU, XIAOLEI | YALE UNIVERSITY | Programming cellular behavior by mechanical forces |
| DRANOVSKY, ALEX | NEW YORK STATE PSYCHIATRIC INSTITUTE DBA RESEARCH FOUNDATION FOR MENTAL HYGIENE, INC | Astrocytes as the integrators of neuromodulator signals |
| FLYNN, RYAN ALEXANDER | BOSTON CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL | Functional characterization of cell surface RNA biology |
| HANSEN, ANDERS SEJR | MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY | Resolving transcription factor target search mechanisms |
| KALANTRY, SUNDEEP | UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR | Evolution of Mammalian Sex Chromosome Dosage Compensation |
| LONGMAN, RANDY S (contact) GUO, CHUN-JUN WRIGHT, AARON TODD | WEILL MEDICAL COLL OF CORNELL UNIV | Activity Probes to Guide Precision Microbiome Therapy |
| LU, RONG (contact) ELOWITZ, MICHAEL B | UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA | A spatial view of hematopoietic regeneration dynamics in the bone marrow |
| PI Name | Institution Name | Title |
|---|---|---|
| CARVUNIS, ANNE-RUXANDRA (contact) ATIANAND, MANINJAY K JOGLEKAR, ALOK SUBRAMANIAM, ARVIND | UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH AT PITTSBURGH | Unraveling microprotein biology with an evolutionary-immunological framework |
| KODADEK, THOMAS J | UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA | Development of Ubiquitin-Independent Degraders |
| RINBERG, DMITRY | NEW YORK UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE | Odorprint Based Disease Diagnostics |
| ROUKES, MICHAEL L | CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY | Next-generation spatial -omics: High-throughput, single-molecule proteomic imaging with subcellular resolution |
| SHIN, LISA MARIE (contact) ALLEN, AERIELLE SOMMERS, SAMUEL | TUFTS UNIVERSITY MEDFORD | Effects of Racism on Brain and Physiological Pathways to Health Disparities |
| TYNES, BRENDESHA MARIE | UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA | Using Immersive Virtual Reality and Media Literacy to Enhance Adolescents' Coping Skills in the Face of Traumatic Online Experiences |
| PI Name | Institution Name | Title |
|---|---|---|
| BELLAMKONDA, RAVI V | DUKE UNIVERSITY | Tumor Tractor Beam for Diffuse Cancers |
| BLACK, BEN E (contact) LAMPSON, MICHAEL | UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA | Mendelian Inheritance of Artificial Chromosomes |
| GITAI, ZEMER (contact) ABOU DONIA, MOHAMED MURPHY, COLEEN TARA | PRINCETON UNIVERSITY | Small RNAs as Novel Modulators of Microbe-Host Interactions |
| KIMBRO, KEVIN SEAN (contact) NAVARRO, HERNAN A WILLIAMS, KEVIN PETER | NORTH CAROLINA CENTRAL UNIVERSITY | Addressing the Biology of Health Disparities by Targeting Geographical Ancestry-Driven Variants of Immunity |
| NAAR, SYLVIE (contact) ANDERSON, NORMAN B PETTUS-DAVIS, CARRIE | FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY | Transforming Health Equity Research in Integrated Primary Care: Antiracism as a Disruptive Innovation |
| OKWAN-DUODU, DERICK | CEDARS-SINAI MEDICAL CENTER | High Dimensional Atlas of Circulating Neutrophils as Reporters of Solid Organ Functional Status |
| POSPISILIK, JOHN ANDREW (contact) NADEAU, JOSEPH H | VAN ANDEL RESEARCH INSTITUTE | Master Regulators of Unexplained Variation in Disease Risk |
| ROBERTS, TODD F (contact) HAMRA, F KENT TAKAHASHI, JOSEPH S | UT SOUTHWESTERN MEDICAL CENTER | The Genetic Basis of Vocal Learning |
| WESEMANN, DUANE R | BRIGHAM AND WOMEN'S HOSPITAL | Flipped Germinal Centers |
| YUN, SEOK-HYUN ANDY | MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL | Laser Particles for Multi-Dimensional Single-Cell Analysis |
The Accelerating Leading-edge Science in ALS (ALS2) initiative issued an opportunity to support ALS research through several Transformative Research Awards. The initiative aims to dramatically advance the understanding of what triggers and drives the rapid progression of ALS.
| PI Name | Institution Name | Title |
|---|---|---|
| DONNELLY, CHRISTOPHER JAMES (contact) BELZIL, VERONIQUE HEIMAN, MYRIAM KELLIS, MANOLIS | UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH AT PITTSBURGH | Identification of TDP-43 Modifiers Through Single-Cell Transcriptional and Epigenomic Dissection of ALS and FTLD-MND |
| FELDMAN, EVA LUCILLE (contact) BATTERMAN, STUART A GOUTMAN, STEPHEN SARTOR, MAUREEN AGNES | UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR | Developing Novel Strategies for Personalized Treatment and Prevention of ALS: Leveraging the Global Exposome, Genome, Epigenome, Metabolome, and Inflammasome with Data Science in a Case/Control Cohort |
| LU, QUN | EAST CAROLINA UNIVERSITY | Homeostatic Reset as a New Therapeutic Paradigm for Slow Progression Diseases |
| PHATNANI, HEMALI (contact) HOLT, LIAM JOSEPH YAMAMOTO, AI | COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY HEALTH SCIENCES | The Physical Biology of Neurodegeneration in Sporadic Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis/Frontotemporal Dementia |
| PI Name | Institution Name | Title |
|---|---|---|
| ALLBRITTON, NANCY L (contact) BULTMAN, SCOTT J GOMEZ, SHAWN MICHAEL MAGNESS, SCOTT T | UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL | Development of Human Intestinal Simulacra |
| BADAWI, RAMSEY D (contact) CHERRY, SIMON R | UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT DAVIS | EXPLORER: Changing the Molecular Imaging Paradigm with Total Body PET |
| BARKER, THOMAS HARRISON | GEORGIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY | Mechanosensors that Detect and Treat Lung Fibrosis |
| DOLINOY, DANA | UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN | Development of piRNAs for Target-Specific Methylation |
| HETZER, MARTIN W | SALK INSTITUTE FOR BIOLOGICAL STUDIES | The Role of Long-Lived Proteins in the Survival of Nerve Cells |
| HOTOPP, JULIE | UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND BALTIMORE | Extent and Significance of Bacterial DNA Integrations in the Human Cancer Genome |
| TAVAZOIE, SAEED F | COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY HEALTH SCIENCES | Massively Parallel Mapping of All Molecular Interactions in a Single Tube |
| ZHANG, FENG | BROAD INSTITUTE, INC. | Massively-Parallel Functional Interrogation of Psychiatric Genetics |
| PI Name | Institution Name | Title |
|---|---|---|
| ARNOLD, DONALD B (contact) FRASER, SCOTT E KESSELMAN, CARL | UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA | Dynamic Mapping of the Complete Synaptome Using Recombinant Probes |
| GIMELBRANT, ALEXANDER | DANA-FARBER CANCER INSTITUTE | Mechanism and Function of Autosomal Analog of X Inactivation |
| JAIN, SANJAY | JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY | Novel Imaging Tracers for Rapid and Noninvasive Assessment of Bacterial Infection |
| KIM, DENNIS H (contact) SCHROEDER, FRANK CLEMENS | MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY | Antimicrobial Discovery from Metabolomics of Nematode Pathogen Interactions |
| LIM, WENDELL A | UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SAN FRANCISCO | Redesigning the T cell: Using Synthetic Biology to Engineer Therapeutic Cells |
| MCMANUS, MICHAEL T | UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SAN FRANCISCO | Tracing Cell Lineages |
| MOCARSKI, EDWARD S | EMORY UNIVERSITY | Innate Activation and Death Signals in Health and Disease |
| RAFII, SHAHIN | WEILL MEDICAL COLL OF CORNELL UNIV | Deciphering Molecular Determinants of Vascular Heterogeneity for Organ Repair |
| SMITH, STEPHEN J (contact) BURNS, RANDAL | ALLEN INSTITUTE OF BRAIN SCIENCE | Synaptomes of Mouse and Man |
| PI Name | Institution Name | Title |
|---|---|---|
| CARNES, MOLLY L (contact) DEVINE, PATRICIA G FORD, CECILIA E | UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON | Exploring the Science of Scientific Review |
| KORDING, KONRAD P (contact) BOYDEN, EDWARD S CHURCH, GEORGE M | REHABILITATION INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO | Recording Neural Activities onto DNA |
| MANDEL, GAIL (contact) ADELMAN, JOHN P BREHM, PAUL ROSENTHAL, JOSHUA J C | OREGON HEALTH AND SCI UNIVERSITY | Site-Directed RNA Editing: A New Method to Correct Disease Causing Mutations |
| OCHOA, AUGUSTO C | LOUISIANA STATE UNIV HSC NEW ORLEANS | Metabolic Approaches to Treat Severe Viral and Inflammatory Diseases |
| RELMAN, DAVID ARNOLD (contact) HOLMES, SUSAN P | PALO ALTO INSTITUTE FOR RES & EDU, INC. | Predicting Resilience in the Human Microbiome |
| TING, ALICE Y | MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY | Spatially-Resolved Proteomic Mapping of Living Cells |
| WANG, LIHONG | WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY | In Vivo Imaging of Single Circulating Cells |
| WYSSCORAY, TONY (contact) RANDO, THOMAS A | PALO ALTO INSTITUTE FOR RES & EDU, INC. | A New Muscle-Brain Axis Underlying the Cognitive Benefits of Physical Activity |
| YANNOPOULOS, DEMETRI | UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA | Reperfusion Injury Protection Strategies during Basic Life Support |
| YIN, PENG | HARVARD UNIVERSITY (MEDICAL SCHOOL) | Super-Resolution Imaging via Programmable Autonomous Blinking |