The NIH MERIT award (Method To Extend Research in Time) Award (R37) was created by the

National Institutes of Health The National Institutes of Health, commonly referred to as NIH (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in the late ...

in 1986. It is a prestigious award designed to provide stable, long-term funding support to outstanding, experienced investigators whose productivity is distinctly superior and who are deemed highly likely to continue to perform their research activities in an outstanding manner. The MERIT award provided funding for 5 years and could be renewed for up to 10 years. Unlike most NIH grant awards, the MERIT award can not be applied for by the investigator. Researchers submitting an R01 that receives a fundable score are considered for the award. In 2018, the NIH began awarding MERIT awards to "Early Stage Investigators", who are in the first 10 years of their career.

Notable MERIT award recipients

References

{{reflist 1986 establishments in the United States American education awards National Institutes of Health