Which labs in Illinois count as newly funded?

Labs at Illinois institutions whose NIH award notice in the last 90 days was a new (Type 1) R01, or an R00 award, the independent phase of the K99/R00 that starts when a former postdoc opens their own lab. Competing renewals, non-competing continuations, and later R00 years are left out. Every NIH institute is included.

Are these labs hiring postdocs?

Not necessarily. A new award is a signal that a lab has new money and new work to staff, not a job posting. Some positions are filled before they are ever advertised, so a short, specific email to the PI soon after an award is the earliest way to ask.

Where does the data come from?

NIH RePORTER, the public NIH database of funded projects. Counts on this page refresh from RePORTER award notices about twice a day; each lab links to its official RePORTER record.

Why are the labs blurred?

The counts are free. The PI, institution, and project for each lab are part of the Postdoc job leads plan ($59/year or $9.99/month), which also emails you new matching R01 and R00 awards daily or weekly.

Postdoc job leads · Illinois

Newly funded labs in Illinois that may be hiring postdocs

Labs at Illinois universities, hospitals, and institutes with a new NIH R01 or an R00 start, across every NIH institute. A PI who just landed a new grant often has new positions to fill, so these are the labs worth writing to first if you want to work in Illinois.

NIH award notices from July 28, 2026 to October 26, 2026 · Updated October 26, 2026

Newly funded labs (90 days)

New R01 awards

R00 starts (new faculty)

Institutions

The 87 labs, newest first

How to use postdoc job leads

…and 75 more newly funded Illinois labs in the last 90 days.

Where in Illinois the new money went

By month

July 2026	5
August 2026	49
September 2026	33

Top cities

Chicago	74
Champaign	10
Bloomington	1
Maywood	1
North Chicago	1

Top institutions

NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY	26
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT CHICAGO	19
UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO	18
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN	10
LURIE CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL OF CHICAGO	5
RUSH UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER	4
NATIONAL OPINION RESEARCH CENTER	2
CHESTNUT HEALTH SYSTEMS, INC.	1

The median award amount on these notices is $692K, as reported on NIH RePORTER.

How to approach a newly funded lab

Read the funded project. The abstract and specific aims on the RePORTER record tell you what the new money pays for, which is the work a new postdoc would do.
Match one skill to one aim. In a short email, name the aim you could help with and the technique or result from your own work that fits it.
Write early. A lab that just received a notice may not have posted a position yet. An R00 start means a brand-new lab, often with no postdocs at all.

More detail in how postdocs find funded PIs. For the bigger picture, see NIH funding in Illinois, ranked by institution.

Get new Illinois labs by email

Postdoc job leads unlocks every lab on these pages and emails you daily or weekly when a new R01 or R00 matches your keyword or state. $59/year, or $9.99/month. Cancel anytime.

Get postdoc job leads for $59/year

Questions

Which labs in Illinois count as newly funded?: Labs at Illinois institutions whose NIH award notice in the last 90 days was a new (Type 1) R01, or an R00 award, the independent phase of the K99/R00 that starts when a former postdoc opens their own lab. Competing renewals, non-competing continuations, and later R00 years are left out. Every NIH institute is included.
Are these labs hiring postdocs?: Not necessarily. A new award is a signal that a lab has new money and new work to staff, not a job posting. Some positions are filled before they are ever advertised, so a short, specific email to the PI soon after an award is the earliest way to ask.
Where does the data come from?: NIH RePORTER, the public NIH database of funded projects. Counts on this page refresh from RePORTER award notices about twice a day; each lab links to its official RePORTER record.
Why are the labs blurred?: The counts are free. The PI, institution, and project for each lab are part of the Postdoc job leads plan ($59/year or $9.99/month), which also emails you new matching R01 and R00 awards daily or weekly.

Newly funded labs by field

Newly funded labs in other states

Alabama · Alaska · Arizona · Arkansas · California · Colorado · Connecticut · Delaware · District of Columbia · Florida · Georgia · Hawaii · Idaho · Indiana · Iowa · Kansas · Kentucky · Louisiana · Maine · Maryland · Massachusetts · Michigan · Minnesota · Mississippi · Missouri · Montana · Nebraska · Nevada · New Hampshire · New Jersey · New Mexico · New York · North Carolina · North Dakota · Ohio · Oklahoma · Oregon · Pennsylvania · Puerto Rico · Rhode Island · South Carolina · South Dakota · Tennessee · Texas · Utah · Vermont · Virginia · Washington · West Virginia · Wisconsin · Wyoming

Newly funded labs at a glance