Generation Discovery
A living network of ideas, investigators and infrastructure. NIH is hiring 100 early-career Principal Investigators to build the next generation of discovery at NIH.
100
The Next Era of Medicine Needs a New Generation of Scientists.
General Discovery is an initiative to recruit 100 early-career Principal Investigators into NIH’s Intramural Research Program—connecting ambitious scientists with the opportunity to pursue complex, collaborative, and patient-centered questions that conventional research models can’t touch.
-
Planned Recruitment
100
Principal Investigators
-
Recruitment Horizon
3
Years of cohort hiring
-
Scientific Model
1
Interconnected Intramural Research Community
-
North Star
∞
Questions worth asking
Shorten the Distance Between Question and Answer.
The hardest biomedical questions don’t respect disciplines, institutions, or funding cycles. NIH brings together patients, clinicians, basic scientists, data, and advanced facilities to form a long-term, integrated engine of discovery.
-
A / GET OFF THE GRANT TREADMILL
Spend more time on the science and ideas driving your work, and less time applying for grants and explaining commercial potential.
-
B / LOOK OVER THE HORIZON
Long-term, high-impact research is welcome here. Take ambitious bets with uncertain applications.
-
C / LEVERAGE OUR INFRASTRUCTURE
What could your lab solve in a rich ecosystem of scientific resources and expertise?
-
D / LAB TO LIFE
The NIH Clinical Center—the world’s largest clinical research hospital—is an unmatched environment for human and translational research.
Launch a Lab. Join a Generation.
The Generation Discovery cohort will enter together, learn together, and form collaborations that define careers.
Choose from multiple paths:
Earl Stadtman Investigators
Aims to attract a diverse group of talented early-career scientists who might not typically apply to NIH’s more narrowly defined position descriptions.
*Applications for CY27 are closed. They will open again in fall 2027.
- Build an independent research program
- Connect across NIH institutes and centers
- Access shared scientific infrastructure
LASKER CLINICAL REASEARCH SCHOLARS
A 10-year intramural-extramural effort geared towards clinical researchers. Scholars receive appointments for 5-7 years as tenure-track investigators within the NIH IRP.
- Protected time for independent research
- Access to the NIH Clinical Center
- Long-horizon intramural and extramural options
ADDITIONAL NIH INVESTIGATOR CAREERS
Anyone hired to an Investigator (tenure track) or Assistant Clinical Investigator (pre-tenure-track) role over the next three years will be automatically added to the cohort.
- Play a major role in training and mentoring
- Access to the NIH Clinical Center
- Resources provided by Intramural Research Program
FAQ
Generation Discovery represents an unprecedented commitment to recruit a cohort of new talent to join the NIH intramural program, and to provide this cohort with mentorship and development opportunities that will impact them throughout their careers as scientists and leaders. The Generation Discovery cohort model combines best practices from multiple pilot programs, with feedback from current NIH Investigators. The goal is to create bridges between disciplines and NIH Institutes and Centers, which will produce interdisciplinary collaborations to solve important biomedical problems, unlocking the medicine of tomorrow faster.
Early-career scientists and clinician-scientists who want to be part of a multi-disciplinary community creating the medicine of tomorrow.
Both programs allow scientists to compete for tenure-track positions in the NIH Intramural Research Program. Investigators receive full research funding, access to state-of-the-art facilities, and opportunities to collaborate with scientists and clinicians across NIH.
The Stadtman Program spans the full spectrum of biomedical and behavioral research and aims to attract a diverse group of talented early-career scientists who might not typically apply to NIH’s more narrowly defined position descriptions. These scientists have research agendas based on novel, imaginative, and out-of-the-box ideas that are less likely to align with conventional NIH position descriptions. However, this distinction only strengthens the case for providing them opportunities to refine and optimize their abilities at the NIH.
The Lasker Program is a 10-year intramural-extramural effort geared towards clinical researchers. Scholars receive appointments for 5-7 years as tenure-track investigators within the NIH Intramural Research Program. Afterwards, they have the option to either remain at the NIH as an investigator or to receive up to 3 years of NIH support for their research at an extramural research facility.
For more information about the Stadtman Program, please visit Stadtman Tenure-Track Investigators.
For more information about the Lasker Program, please visit Lasker Clinical Research Scholars Program Overview.
New investigators will receive mentorship from senior NIH researchers and NIH senior leadership, as well as targeted training for career development and management capacities, which are critical for their work overseeing their own laboratories and preparing for executive leadership roles. Investigators will also enjoy networking opportunities, fellowship opportunities with other Generation Discovery cohort members.
Investigators will work in the NIH Intramural Research Program, which has facilities nationwide. Most investigators will be based at NIH’s 310-acre main campus in Bethesda, Maryland, which is home to the NIH Clinical Center.
Early Career scientists and clinician-scientists who apply and accept an offer to work in the Intramural Research Program through the Stadtman or Lasker Programs over the next three years will be automatically inducted into the inaugural Generation Discovery cohort. Persons hired through other NIH intramural searches for tenure-track Investigators or Assistant Clinical Investigator (pre-tenure-track) will also automatically be inducted into the cohort.
Instructions for applying for the Stadtman Investigator Program are located here. Instructions for applying to the NIH Lasker Clinical Research Scholars Program are located here.
No, these opportunities are not available via USAJOBS.
For the Stadtman Program, applicants must apply through NIH’s official site and specialized scientific jobs portal.
For the Lasker Program, applicants must follow the current funding announcement and use the guidance in the funding opportunity PAR-27-076 to submit applications electronically through ASSIST, Grants.gov, or an approved institutional system-to-system (S2S) platform. Other NIH intramural searches for tenure-track Investigators or Assistant Clinical Investigator (pre-tenure-track) can also be found at the specialized scientific jobs portal.
Please note that outside organizations can advertise or link to these opportunities, but they cannot serve as alternate application channels. Further, applications emailed to NIH are not considered.