NIH New R01 Program

Enhancing Purdue’s NIH Research Portfolio

Office of Research
Purdue University
West Lafayette, IN 47907

Deadlines

Proposals

Due date of October 1, 2025 by 5:00 pm ET.

Please note that there is only one review cycle for the 2025-2026 fiscal year.

Notification

Funding will be available by January 1, 2026.

Overview and Purpose

The Office of Research supports an increase in the success rates of new R01 applications from Purdue University investigators. Pilot funding through this mechanism may provide an opportunity to validate specific project aims and acquire strong preliminary data that will increase the probability of funding success.

Eligibility

Tenure-track/tenured and research faculty who anticipate submitting an NIH R01 application within 18 months of the funding start date (January 1, 2026) or the 2027 NIH Cycle II Due Date (whichever is later) are eligible to apply for this program. Priority will be given to faculty who do not have access to startup or discretionary funding. Please review the FAQ below prior to submission.

Note: PIs are limited to a single submission to the NIH incentive programs per cycle, i.e., they can apply to either the NIH New R01 Program or the NIH Competing Renewal R01 Program.

Maximum Award

Requests are limited to $50,000 and below.

Application and Submission Process

The faculty should apply through the InfoReady application portal here: https://purdue.infoready4.com/#competitionDetail/1990688.

Applicants do not need to go through Sponsored Programs Pre-Award Services for the submission process.

Applications must use Arial 11 point font with 0.5 inch margins, single line spacing and must follow the supplied NIH R01 template.  Applications should contain the following components:

1. Abstract (30-line limit)
2. Specific Aims (one-page limit):
• These are the aims for the proposed R01 grant submission.
3. Narrative (four-page limit; including the following):
• Discuss how funding from this incentive program will enhance the competitiveness of your application by:
• Identifying which specific aim(s) you are targeting with this incentive award and detailing the experiments/data that will be collected with funding,
• Discussing the importance of the proposed research, and
• Discussing rigor and feasibility.
4. Cited Literature (2-page limit)
5. NIH Biosketch plus current and completed projects for the PI and Co-PI(s)
6. Budget and budget justification: A ROM budget template is provided here.
7. Prior summary statements must be included along with an introduction (one-page limit) that addresses comments from the previous R01 submission and outlines why the incentive funds will address a perceived need if a previous R01 has been submitted.
8. Optional appendix (three-page limit)
   • Preliminary data (figures, charts, graphs, tables, etc.) may be included.

Incomplete applications and/or applications that do not meet these requirements will be returned without review.

Allowed Costs

• The intent of this pilot program is to provide funds for student/staff effort, reagents, and services that will enable the needed preliminary data for a new R01 application. The appropriateness of other funding items will be taken on a case-by-case basis and must be well justified.
• Equipment purchases are not envisioned as part of this pilot program. However, specialized equipment that would bring significant new capabilities to a project may be considered if carefully justified.

Cost Sharing or Matched Funding

Cost-sharing or matched funding is not required.

Requirement

Recipients must submit a new R01 application to the NIH within 18 months following the award. Failure to do so may result in the recipient becoming ineligible to receive future funding from the Office of Research.

Review Criteria

Proposals will be evaluated on the impact they are likely to have on the success of the investigator’s NIH R01 submission. The application narrative should focus on experiments that will be conducted to support the proposed aims. Clear and cogent presentation of proposed aims/experiments and how they support the overall R01 application will be weighted heavily. If the R01 is a resubmission, clear description of how the incentive funding will support a responsive resubmission will be review criteria.

Post-Award and Reporting Requirements

The Principal Investigator must send an email reporting the date the new R01 was submitted to (nihnewR01program@purdue.edu).

Additional Information

Questions may be directed to Perry Kirkham (pkirkham@purdue.edu) or Emily Stevenson (steve201@purdue.edu). Applicants are encouraged to reach out to Perry Kirkham prior to submission to discuss proposal.

After obtaining your business office and department head approvals, please submit any prior approval requests directly to nihnewR01program@purdue.edu.

Frequently Asked Questions

• Why were specific funding mechanisms (e.g., R01) chosen and not others (e.g., R21)?

  The funding mechanisms chosen were based on the results of a review of the distribution of awards within Purdue’s current NIH funding portfolio and considerations of requirements for preliminary data.

• Are R35 applications eligible as a target funding opportunity for this program?

  No, only R01 funding mechanisms are eligible.

• Will this be an annual initiative?

  For the 2025-26 academic year, the program will be held once during the academic year.  Our goal is to continue offering the program in following years. 

• What is the goal of this program and whom does it target?

  The goal of the program is to increase the NIH R01 funding portfolio at Purdue. The program targets faculty who are applying for new R01 grants.

  Who is eligible to apply to the program?

  All faculty (tenure-track/tenured and research) who are employed by Purdue University.

• Do consulting costs fall under the category of services?

  Yes.

• How many awards will be made?

  We anticipate awarding 2-3 proposals in this cycle.