NIH Support for Early Stage Investigators in FYs 2024 and 2025

Today, we are reporting on the number of early stage investigators (ESIs) supported on R01-equivalent awards in fiscal years (FYs) 2024 and 2025. ESIs are those who are within 10 years of their terminal degree or completion of clinical training and who have not yet been awarded a substantial NIH grant (R01-equivalent or more). When we last provided similar data in FY 2023, NIH supported 1,587 ESI awardees, a slight decrease compared to FY 2022. 

We remain concerned about the challenges faced by ESIs pursuing careers in an increasingly competitive funding and hiring environment. The strength and stability of the biomedical research enterprise rely on a continuum of highly trained investigators who can generate new insights, develop innovative ideas, and advance the translation of scientific research into improved health for all. 

NIH Director Dr. Bhattacharya has also repeatedly stated the need for a sustained commitment to supporting early career researchers' growth and continuity (listen to this NIH Director's Desk podcast episode as an example). To this end, we continue making considerable efforts to enhance support for ESIs pursuing NIH support, such as: 

• Prioritizing ESI applications for funding
• Separating ESI applications from established investigators during review
• Implementing a simplified framework for peer review to create a fairer and more transparent evaluation process for emerging researchers.
• Integrating the needs of early career investigators directly into core funding tenets as part of the recently released NIH Unified Funding Strategy
• Prioritizing funding for the New Innovator and Katz Awards encouraging early career researchers to pursue innovative and possibly high-risk, high-reward research questions that will advance the NIH’s mission  

In this post, for simplicity we refer to investigators applying for and receiving awards. But, as a reminder, NIH makes awards to institutions (not individual researchers). 

Table 1 shows the number of principal investigators (PIs) applying for or receiving an R01-equivalent grant in FYs 2021 to 2025, disaggregated by career stage. NIH supported 1,423 and 1,144 ESIs in FYs 2024 and 2025, respectively. The decrease seen in FY 2025 may likely be due in part to NIH implementing a requirement to use 50% of its remaining competing Research Project Grant (RPG) funds (starting in June 2025) for full-year funded competing RPGs, which was expected to lead to fewer awards and support fewer researchers overall.   

Table 1. PIs on Type 1 R01-Equivalent Applications and Awards by Career Stage: FYs 2021-2025

* New, non-ESI are new to the NIH system but more than 10 years beyond their terminal degree or completion of clinical training. 

** At-Risk Investigators are those who have received a prior substantial NIH award but will have no funding the following fiscal year if they are not successful in securing a competing award this year. 

*** Established investigators have received a prior substantial NIH award and will have NIH funding the following fiscal year irrespective of the outcome of this year’s competitions. 

Table 2 shows the number of R01-equivalent applications submitted, discussed during review, and awarded by career stage in FYs 2021 to 2025. The Discussion Rate is a person-based metric that is the percent of applicants (people designated as PIs on an application) who had at least one application make it to the discussion stage of peer review. 

Table 2. Discussion and Funding Rates for PIs on Type 1 R01-Equivalent Applications and Awards in FYs 2021-2025 Disaggregated by Career Stage 

Table 3 shows the age of researchers at different career stages at the time of application and first award between FYs 2021-2025. The median age for ESIs in FYs 2024 and 2025 was 40, lower than the other career stages. 

Table 3. Type 1 R01-Equivalent Age by Career Stage of all Applicants and Awardees: FY 2021-2025 

**** Applicant counts are lower in Table 3 than Tables 1 and 2 as this reflects the number of researchers who self-reported age information (which is optional).  

NIH will continue to closely monitor challenges faced by early career investigators and implement programs and other initiatives targeting barriers to career progression. Information on these and other workforce related programs is available on the NIH Grants and Funding site.