DDP Series — NIH Director's Awards

NIH DP2 Grants — NIH Director's New Innovator Award

Bold, untested ideas from early-stage investigators

Funding

$1.5M direct over project

Duration

5 years

Eligibility

Early-stage investigators within ~10 years of terminal degree

Activity code

DP2

What is the NIH DP2 grant?

The DP2 (New Innovator Award) funds early-stage investigators (within ~10 years of terminal degree) for bold, high-risk research ideas. Selection emphasizes innovation and the investigator's potential.

Recent DP2 awards (last 24 months)

Live data from NIH RePORTER

197

Awards

$156,870,326

Total funding (sample)

$796,296

Average award

Sample reflects up to the most recent 500 NIH RePORTER awards with this activity code in the past 24 months. Total project count is the full RePORTER count.

Most recently awarded DP2 grants

Programmable depletion and rescue platform to screen dynamic regulatory events during cellular differentiation.

Sara Zaccara · COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY HEALTH SCIENCES, NY · NIH

$85,639

FY 2026

Project: 3DP2HD118273-01S1

Move, Eat, Trap, or Kill: Decoding the molecular logic used by innate immune cells to decide between functional programs

Benjamin Winer · NEW YORK UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE, NY · NIH

$508,500

FY 2026

Project: 1DP2AI184743-01

High-throughput discovery of protein energy landscapes in natural and designed proteomes

Gabriel Rocklin · NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY AT CHICAGO, IL · NIH

$36,417

FY 2026

Project: 3DP2GM140927-01S1

THWART-TB : Testing Health Workers At Risk to advance our understanding of TB infection

Ruvandhi Nathavitharana · BETH ISRAEL DEACONESS MEDICAL CENTER, MA · NIH

$111,645

FY 2026

Project: 3DP2AI176896-02S1

THWART-TB : Testing Health Workers At Risk to advance our understanding of TB infection

Ruvandhi Nathavitharana · BETH ISRAEL DEACONESS MEDICAL CENTER, MA · NIH

$338,656

FY 2026

Project: 4DP2AI176896-02

Methods to Rapidly Explore Combinatorial Diversity and their Application to CRISPR-Cas9 Systems

Alejandro Chavez · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO, CA · NIH

$955,050

FY 2026

Project: 4DP2NS131566-03

Gut Microbial Protein Metabolism in Food Allergy and Oral Immunotherapy Efficacy

Mustafa Ozcam · UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND BALTIMORE, MD · NIH

$466,500

FY 2026

Project: 1DP2AI192747-01

The inactive X: discovering sex genes that influence female vulnerability to Alzheimer's disease

Rachel Buckley · MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL, MA · NIH

$993,000

FY 2026

Project: 4DP2AG082342-02

Top NIH institutes funding DP2

By total funding in the last 24 months

  1. 1.NIH197 · $156,870,326

Top funded institutions

Most DP2 awards in the last 24 months

  1. 1.UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-IRVINE11 awards
  2. 2.UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON9 awards
  3. 3.UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO9 awards
  4. 4.YALE UNIVERSITY7 awards
  5. 5.STANFORD UNIVERSITY7 awards
  6. 6.UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA7 awards

Who applies for DP2

Early-stage investigators (typically junior faculty) within ~10 years of terminal degree.

When to choose DP2

Choose DP2 for ambitious ideas that go beyond standard R01 incremental work.

When NOT to choose DP2

DP2 is competitive (<10% rate) and the application emphasizes innovation, not preliminary data — adjust framing accordingly.

Search tips for DP2

  • DP2 awards identify NIH-flagged exceptional early-career investigators.

Search NIH grants by activity code

Open NIH grant search

Find DP2-funded PIs

Open PI Finder

DP2 funding trends

Open trend search

Related NIH grant types

DDP1

NIH Director's Pioneer Award

High-risk/high-reward research from exceptional individual scientists

DDP5

NIH Director's Early Independence Award

Skip the postdoc — direct PhD-to-PI transition

KK99/R00

Pathway to Independence Award

Postdoc → faculty transition (mentored K99 then independent R00)