NHLBI Funding Policies and Considerations

Funding Strategy

The goal of NHLBI funding policies is to maximize the scientific impact of investments in investigator-initiated biomedical research to drive fundamental scientific discoveries that advance understanding of human health and disease. To accomplish this goal, the NHLBI supports a broad research portfolio and therefore does not have a “payline” or strict cutoff in scores that it will fund.

Funding decisions are based upon several factors, including:

• Scientific and technical merit of the proposed project, informed by scientific peer review;
• National Heart, Lung, and Blood Advisory Council (NHLBAC) recommendations;
• Relevance to NHLBI’s strategic research priorities and agency priorities;
• Overall programmatic portfolio balance;
• Development of the biomedical workforce;
• Potential for high public health impact

FY2026 Competing and Non-competing Award Commitments

Inflationary increases for future year commitments will not be  provided for competing and non-competing research grant awards issued by the NHLBI. However, adjustments for unanticipated budgetary requests, such as equipment or additional personnel, will be considered on a case-by-case basis given sufficient justification and available funds. 

Research Project Grant Duration

The NHLBI will fund approved investigator-initiated R01 competing applications for up to four years. Exceptions include awards made to Early Stage Investigators (ESIs), clinical studies and clinical trials with patient accrual and follow-up timelines that cannot be accomplished within four years. Funding for these types of applications will generally span the full length of their NHLBAC recommended project periods.

Early Stage Investigators

NHLBI will continue to foster careers of Early Stage Investigators (ESIs) in accordance with NIH guidelines (see NOT-OD-18-214 and NOT-OD-17-101). NHLBI’s commitment to ESIs is reflected in both funding priority and period of support.

Phased Grant Mechanisms

NHLBI ESI funding advantage applies to phased mechanisms/transitional grants. However, upon transition to the second phase of the research (the substantial, independent research grant) the NHLBI ESI status for the PD/PI(s) will no longer apply. This includes combined, transitional awards like the R21/R33, R61/R33, and UH2/UH3.

First Competing Renewals (Type 2) or New (Type 1) R01 Application for Investigators with an NHLBI Early Stage Investigator Award

To extend timely support for the next generation of heart, lung, blood, and sleep researchers, the NHLBI will fund all years recommended by the NHLBAC when all of the following criteria are met:

• The initial (Type 1) application was funded as an NHLBI ESI application and is currently in the last project period year or within two fiscal years beyond the last project period year
• The individual is not and has not been a principal investigator on an Independent Scientist (K02) or other non-mentored career award, on another R01, or on any other “major award” that disqualifies one from being considered an NIH Early Stage Investigator (i.e., other awards not included on List of Smaller Grants & Awards that Maintain ESI Status)
• The application must be from a domestic institution

Please Note: This is a special NHLBI program, therefore the competing renewal applications will not be flagged by the NIH grant system. Rather, NHLBI staff will identify applications eligible for special funding consideration under this Program. To be eligible for this NHLBI program, all PIs on multiple-PI applications must meet the criteria described above.

NHLBI Interim Funding Using the R56 (High Priority, Short-Term Project) Award

NHLBI participates in the R56 award mechanism to allow preliminary data collection in support of an NIH R01 application (see NOT-HL-13-188). Pending the availability of funds, the R56 mechanism may be leveraged to provide limited, interim research support to competing R01 applications requesting less than $500,000 in direct costs per year. Applications with animal subjects, human subjects, or inclusion concerns that preclude timely award may be considered ineligible for this program.