OpenResearch announcementOpportunity PAR-27-032

Maximizing Investigators’ Research Award (MIRA) for Early Stage Investigators (ESI)

National Institutes of Health · Department of Health and Human Services

At a glance

Maximizing Investigators’ Research Award (MIRA) for Early Stage Investigators (ESI) is an open federal grant opportunity from the National Institutes of Health (Department of Health and Human Services). Applications are due February 6, 2029. Applicant types listed as eligible include state governments, county governments, city or township governments, special district governments, independent school districts and 10 more. Cost sharing is not required. It is funded under Assistance Listing 93.859 (Biomedical Research and Research Training).

Summary assembled from the official notice's fields. The official notice governs.

Key facts

May 12, 2026Posted
Feb 6, 2029Application deadlinenext date
Jul 1, 2027 (est.)Est. award date
Apr 7, 2029Archived

Posted: May 12, 2026
Close date: Feb 6, 2029
Archive date: Apr 7, 2029
Est. award date: Jul 1, 2027
Award floor: Not specified
Award ceiling: Not specified
Est. total funding: Not specified
Expected awards: Not specified
Cost sharing: Not required
Funding instrument: Grant
Opportunity category: Discretionary

Typical awards for this program (SAM.gov listing for ALN 93.859, not this notice): $20,000 to $10,000,000.

Who can apply

State governments
County governments
City or township governments
Special district governments
Independent school districts
Public colleges & universities
Federally recognized tribal governments
Public & Indian housing authorities
Native American tribal organizations
501(c)(3) nonprofits
Nonprofits without 501(c)(3) status
Private colleges & universities
For-profit organizations (not small businesses)
Small businesses
Others (see notice)

Additional information on eligibility (from the notice)

Refer to the Eligibility section in the NOFO for additional information on eligibility.Foreign institutions: Foreign components, as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement, are allowed.These types of organizations are not eligible to apply: Non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities (foreign institutions), Non-domestic (non-U.S.) components of U.S. organizations.

Can your organization apply?

A quick check against the listed applicant types — other requirements in the notice still apply.

Based on the published notice. Review the official notice for complete eligibility requirements.

What it funds

Official synopsis as published by the agency, formatted for readability.

The Maximizing Investigators' Research Award (MIRA) for Early Stage Investigators (ESIs) provides support for ESIs with a program of research that aligns with the NIGMS mission.MIRA distributes funding among promising investigators across the country. The goal is to boost scientific productivity and the chances for important breakthroughs.Through this program, investigators can:Receive independent research funding early to start and sustain strong research careers.Explore new, unique research areas in the NIGMS mission.Take on ambitious, creative projects.Shift focus to include emerging techniques and technologies as needed.Devote more time to mentoring trainees in a stable research environment.

Full announcement & documents

The full announcement has the complete rules — page limits, required attachments, evaluation criteria and any letter-of-intent dates. Files download directly from Grants.gov.

PDF for publication (This is version par-27-032-rev7 with standard file name convention for NIH NOFOs).Full Announcement · PAR-27-032-Full-Announcement.pdfPDF · 339 KB

How to apply

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Read the full announcement (NOFO)Eligibility, evaluation criteria, page limits and required attachments are in the full notice on Grants.gov. Open ↗
Confirm eligibility and fitCheck your organization type above; no cost sharing is required.
Register (or renew) in SAM.gov and get a UEIFree. New registrations can take several weeks; registrations must be renewed every year. Open ↗
Set up Grants.gov accessCreate a Grants.gov account and make sure someone has the Authorized Organization Representative (AOR) role. Open ↗
Open the application packageUse opportunity number PAR-27-032 on Grants.gov (Grants.gov Workspace). Open ↗
Prepare narrative, budget and attachmentsFollow the notice's format exactly — page limits and required forms are common reasons applications are rejected.
Ask the agency contact any questions earlyNational Institutes of Health · NIGMS-ESIMIRA@nigms.nih.gov Open ↗
Submit before February 6, 2029Submit a few days early and keep your Grants.gov confirmation and validation emails.

Assistance Listing

What is an ALN?

93.859Biomedical Research and Research TrainingProgram →

Reported obligations under ALN 93.859

Historical data · not a prediction

FY24

$3.09B

FY25

$3.09B

FY26

$3.09B est.

Source: SAM.gov Assistance Listing 93.859. Program-wide totals, not awards from this specific opportunity.

Who was funded under ALN 93.859

Historical data · not a prediction

Since October 1, 2023, 12,742 grant awards had funding actions under Biomedical Research and Research Training, with 2,582 sub-awards passed on to other organizations. These are program-wide awards, not awards from this specific notice.

THE LELAND STANFORD JUNIOR UNIVERSITY$185M
REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN$173M
YALE UNIV$161M
UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN SYSTEM$150M
THE JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY$149M

Recipients, states, recent awards and sub-awards →Source: USAspending.gov.

Agency contact (as published)

National Institutes of Health
NIGMS-ESIMIRA@nigms.nih.gov
301-402-2541

Quick answers

When is the deadline for “Maximizing Investigators’ Research Award (MIRA) for Early Stage Investigators (ESI)”?

According to the official notice, applications are due February 6, 2029. Confirm the deadline and submission time on Grants.gov before applying.

Who is eligible to apply for “Maximizing Investigators’ Research Award (MIRA) for Early Stage Investigators (ESI)”?

The official notice names these applicant types as eligible: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Independent school districts, Public colleges & universities, Federally recognized tribal governments, Public & Indian housing authorities, Native American tribal organizations, 501(c)(3) nonprofits, Nonprofits without 501(c)(3) status, Private colleges & universities and 3 more. Additional restrictions may apply; review the full notice.

How do I apply for “Maximizing Investigators’ Research Award (MIRA) for Early Stage Investigators (ESI)”?

Applications are submitted through the official source, not through GrantsJunction. Open the official notice on Grants.gov (opportunity PAR-27-032), and review the full announcement and application package. Organizations applying through Grants.gov generally need an active SAM.gov registration and a Grants.gov account, which can take several weeks to set up.

Matched on shared Assistance Listings, agency, categories and eligible applicant types.

ForecastedResearchALN 93.113, 93.121…