June 23, 2026

NIH recently updated its annual categorical information with actual spending data for fiscal year (FY) 2025. Available on the Research, Condition, and Disease Categorization (RCDC) page, you will find the annual support level for various research, condition, and disease categories. 

The definition of early stage investigator (ESI) states that the individual must not have "previously competed successfully" as program director/principal investigator (PD/PI) for a substantial NIH independent research award. Therefore, the individual may still qualify if all other aspects of the ESI definition are met.

What does scientific impact look like today? For decades, measures such as publication counts, citation rates, and grant funding have been primarily used to assess the success of researchers. Yet biomedical research has become increasingly collaborative, interdisciplinary, and data-intensive. Progress often depends on teams of investigators, shared datasets and software, rigorous validation of findings, and sustained mentorship and training efforts.

A “person month” is the metric for expressing the effort (amount of time) program directors/principal investigators (PD/PIs), faculty, and other senior personnel devote to a specific project.