NIH R03 Grants: Recently Funded Projects and Award Sizes

New awards: 429; in the last 12 months
Median award: $161K; first-year award (total costs)
Middle half: $139K to $252K; 25th to 75th percentile
Top institute: NIAID; 49 awards

About the NIH R03

The R03 supports small projects that can be done in a short time with limited resources: pilot or feasibility studies, secondary analysis of existing data, small self-contained research, or developing new technology.

Only some institutes accept R03 applications, and several only through specific notices.

Project length: Up to 2 years
Budget: Usually up to $50,000 in direct costs per year
Research Strategy: Usually 6 pages, plus a 1-page Specific Aims
Renewals: Not renewable

Limits change between notices: the notice you apply to is what counts.

Open NIH R03 opportunities

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Recently funded NIH R03 projects

High Throughput Profiling of the In Vivo Tumor Neo-antigen Specific Antibody Reactivity Landscape using PhIP-Seq
Darren Perkins · University of Maryland Baltimore, MD · NCI · $156K · Sep 22, 2026
The overall goal of this explorative pilot project is to determine whether a recently developed systems immunology technique called PhIP-Seq can be applied to improve melanoma tumor specific antigen discovery and validation as well as to develop humoral responses as biomarkers for immune recognition of tumors.…
Cancer screening validation study design using optimal two-phase sampling schemes
Yougui Wu · University of South Florida, FL · NCI · $150K · Sep 19, 2026
Early detection of patients with cancer by screening tests among the high risk population is of great interest. In large validation studies for the utility of screening tests, definitive cancer diagnosis proce- dures, such as biopsy, are too invasive and expensive to be undertaken on all study subjects. It is often…
Combined Effects of PrEP and HIV Stigma on PrEP Adherence: Psychosocial Pathways among Youth at Risk for HIV
Ibrahim Yigit · Florida State University, FL · NINR · $154K · Sep 19, 2026
Despite the availability of effective HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), PrEP uptake and adherence remain suboptimal, particularly among youth at high risk of HIV infection. Existing evidence highlights that stigma—both PrEP-related stigma (e.g., being judged for using PrEP due to assumptions about HIV risk or…
The role of endogenous retroviruses in maintaining gut barrier function
Bernd G. Schnabl · University of California, San Diego, CA · NIDCR · $341K · Sep 18, 2026
The human gut harbors a complex and diverse community of microorganisms residing in the digestive tract, which are important for human physiology and health. Among these, viruses play a pivotal role, both as agents of infection and as key participants in the delicate balance of our gut microbiome. Endogenous…
From Evidence to Practice for Health Provider Implementation of HIV PrEP in the United States
Chen Zhang · University of Rochester, NY · NINR · $151K · Sep 18, 2026
Project Abstract: This R03 will generate actionable, implementation science–ready evidence to optimize delivery of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) by healthcare providers in the U.S. Despite PrEP’s high preventive efficacy when taken as prescribed, uptake and sustained use remain suboptimal, with persistent…
Type 1 Interferons as Mediators of Environment-Immune Interactions in Myositis Pathogenesis
Melissa Morales · State University of Ny,Binghamton, NY · NIAID · $80K · Sep 17, 2026
Myositis is a rare chronic autoimmune disorder characterized by muscle inflammation, weakness, and fatigue. While most research on myositis pathogenesis has focused on genetic and immunologic mechanisms, there is growing evidence that environmental factors also play a significant role. One key advancement in…
Dissecting von Willebrand factor secretory machinery for therapeutic vulnerabilities
Anish Vaibhav Sharda · Yale University, CT · NHLBI · $252K · Sep 17, 2026
von Willebrand factor (vWF) is a highly multimeric plasma glycoprotein essential for normal hemostasis and thrombosis. von Willebrand disease (vWD), which is caused by quantitative or qualitative defects in circulating vWF, is the most frequent bleeding disorder affecting up to 1 in 500 people. Although the most…
Improve and Validate Amyloid Pathology Visualization and Analysis in Intact Brain Samples
Jian Ren · Massachusetts General Hospital, MA · NIA · $329K · Sep 17, 2026
Alzheimer's disease (AD) represents a profound clinical and scientific challenge, with its pathogenesis still unsettled and with no curative treatment available to date. Amyloid β protein (Aβ), the primary component of the extracellular plaques of AD, plays an important role in disease progression and forms the basis…
Associations between ENDS characteristics and experimentation and initiation of cigarettes and ENDS in youth and young adults
Andrew Frederick Brouwer · University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, MI · NIDA · $117K · Sep 17, 2026
E-cigarettes and other electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) have radically altered the landscape of tobacco products and their patterns of use for people of all ages in the US. ENDS have been promoted as “harm reduction” products that could help people who currently smoke cigarettes to quit smoking or at least…
Platelet-Mediated Inflammation in Alcohol-Associated Cirrhosis
Matthew Joseph Mcconnell · Yale University, CT · NIAAA · $84K · Sep 17, 2026
Alcohol-associated liver disease (ALD) is a public health crisis, with an annual cost to the U.S. healthcare system projected to more than double from $31 billion in 2022 to $66 billion in 2040, and alcohol-associated cirrhosis is now the leading indication for liver transplantation listing in the United States.…
Systemic Inflammatory Biomarkers for Alzheimer’s Disease Risk and Progression
Elham Ghanbarian · University of California-Irvine, CA · NIA · $157K · Sep 17, 2026
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is increasingly understood as a multifactorial disorder with inflammation playing a key role in its onset and progression. Inflammatory processes may influence the accumulation and clearance of amyloid-β (Aβ) and tau, or act independently, early in the disease even before clinical symptoms…
Exploring the contribution of non-coding and somatic copy number variations to the Tourette Disorder
Alexej Abyzov · Mayo Clinic Rochester, MN · NINDS · $161K · Sep 17, 2026
Tourette disorder (TS) affects approximately 1 in 150 children and exhibits one of the highest familial recurrence rates among neuropsychiatric disorders. Despite this, previous genome-wide association and exome sequencing studies have identified only a limited number of risk genes and rare copy number variants…
Understanding the Needs of Young People Who Have Caused or May Cause Sexual Harm Toward Children
Maegan Metisa Ingram · Center for Violence Prevention Research, Inc., FL · NICHD · $115K · Sep 17, 2026
Research indicates that up to 77% of youth-reported instances of sexual victimization are committed by other youth, not adults, and older youth are responsible for nearly 30% of sexual harm cases involving children aged 0-9. Despite these findings, community-based young people who may be at risk of engaging in harmful…
Fine Mapping and Phenotypic Association of Chromosome 18 CNVs in the Gabriela Miller Kids First Pediatrics Research Program
Santhosh Girirajan · Pennsylvania State University, the, PA · NICHD · $289K · Sep 17, 2026
Rare copy-number variants (CNVs) contribute significantly to structural birth defects, yet the mechanisms underlying non-recurrent CNVs remain poorly understood. Chromosome 18, which lacks segmental duplications that predispose to recurrent rearrangements, provides a unique model to study alternative mechanisms of…
Orofacial Biomechanics and the Consequences of Alveolar Cleft Morphology: Clinical Translation for Comprehensive Craniofacial Care
Amanda L Smith · Touro University of California, CA · NIDCR · $362K · Sep 17, 2026
Orofacial clefts are the most common congenital craniofacial anomaly and can range from a bifid uvula to a complete fissure of the bony palate, alveolus and lip. Alveolar arch collapse may occur with both hard and soft tissue deficiencies, causing issues with feeding and speech that require multiple coordinated…

Institutions with the most new NIH R03 awards

1Massachusetts General Hospital, MA10
2University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, MI10
3Washington University, MO9
4Columbia University Health Sciences, NY8
5Yale University, CT8
6Baylor College of Medicine, TX7
7Johns Hopkins University, MD7
8University of California, San Francisco, CA7
9University of Pittsburgh at Pittsburgh, PA7
10University of Texas Hlth Sci Ctr Houston, TX7

How to write it

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How to Write an NIH Grant Application: Specific Aims, Research Strategy and the 2026 Rules

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Grantee reads the notice, sets up every required section with its page limit and drafts each one with you, then checks the draft against the requirements before you submit.

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New NIH R03 awards with notice dates from Oct 27, 2025 to Oct 27, 2026, from NIH RePORTER. Amounts are the first-year award, direct plus indirect costs. Updated Oct 27, 2026.