NIH Receives 20,000 Applications for Challenge Grants

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) received approximately 20,000 applications for Challenge Grants, a new program under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). This large number of applications is approximately equal to the total number of applications NIH receives in one of the agency’s three major review rounds each year.

Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius, commented:"President Obama is committed to supporting science and research that has the potential to improve public health and save lives. These grants and other Recovery Act investments will strengthen our scientific community and help our economy grow as we create new jobs invest in new laboratories, buildings and equipment."

President Obama and Vice President Biden believe federally funded scientific research should play an important role in advancing science and technology in the classroom and in the lab.

The Challenge Grant program is designed to spur new areas of research and trigger an influx of research dollars into communities across the nation. NIH requested applications on topics in fifteen broad scientific areas the agency believes will benefit from a jumpstart or in which scientific challenges need to be overcome. They include bioethics, translational science, genomics, health disparities, enhancing clinical trials, behavioral change and prevention, and regenerative medicine.

The Center for Scientific Review (CSR) will check the applications for compliance and review them in a two-phase process. Reviewers with expertise in the specialized topic areas were recruited to do the first phase reviews. Their reviews and the applications will be further assessed by one of about 30 study sections comprising researchers who will focus on overall significance and impact.

All Challenge Grant applications will receive a summary statement containing critiques with criterion scores from three assigned reviewers. More than 18,000 scientists are expected to be involved in the Challenge Grant peer review process.

CSR typically reviews 16,000 applications with the help of about 8,000 reviewers in each of the three main yearly review rounds. Including Challenge Grants and other ARRA grants, CSR will assess about 40,000 applications this round with about 28,000 reviewers.

The deadline for Challenge Grant applications was April 27. Scores and summary statements will be available in August 2009. Challenge Grant awards will be issued by September 30, 2009.

NIH expects to devote at least $200 million in ARRA funding to Challenge Grants. In addition to the approximately 200 Challenge Grants that will be funded by the NIH Office of the Director, it is likely that more than 200 ARRA-related grants will be funded by NIH Institutes or Centers.