Last verified: August 16, 2026, against NIGMS’s own MIRA program page and the current Notices of Funding Opportunity (NOFOs). NIH activity codes and award terms change between funding cycles — confirm any dollar figure or deadline against the live NOFO before submitting.
R35 is an NIH grant activity code used for what NIH calls a “research program” award: instead of funding one discrete project (the standard R01 model), an R35 funds an investigator’s overall body of research in a single, longer-term award. Several NIH Institutes use the R35 code for their own named programs. The one most searchers mean by “R35 grant” or “MIRA grant” is the Maximizing Investigators’ Research Award (MIRA), run by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS). This guide covers MIRA specifically: who is eligible, how its budget-consolidation rule works, and how to apply.
What MIRA Is, in One Paragraph
MIRA replaces the usual project-by-project NIH funding relationship with a single award that supports everything in an investigator’s laboratory that falls within NIGMS’s mission. NIGMS states the goal is to increase the efficiency of its funding by giving investigators greater stability and flexibility — enhancing productivity and the odds of significant breakthroughs — while also distributing funding more widely among talented investigators. Review evaluates the applicant’s overall research program and record, not a Specific Aims page tied to one proposed project, which is the single biggest structural difference from an R01 application. It is also why NIGMS does not run a conventional percentile payline the way most other NIH Institutes do — portfolio-wide considerations, including existing MIRA/R35 support, factor into funding decisions alongside percentile score. See CASRAI’s NIGMS Payline entry for how that works.
R35 MIRA vs. R01: Side-by-Side
| Dimension | R35 MIRA (NIGMS) | R01 |
|---|---|---|
| What’s funded | The investigator’s whole NIGMS-relevant research program | One discrete, defined research project |
| Review focus | Overall research program, productivity record, and future directions | Specific Aims and experimental plan for the proposed project |
| Number of active awards from the funding IC | Consolidates existing NIGMS support into one award; generally not held alongside other NIGMS research grants | Can be held alongside other awards, including from multiple ICs |
| Project period | Generally 5 years | Commonly up to 5 years, project-dependent |
| Awarding IC | NIGMS only | Any NIH Institute or Center |
| Renewal | Competing renewal (re-application) at the end of the period | Competing renewal available |
For the standard R01 mechanism itself, see CASRAI’s R01 vs. R21 comparison.
Eligibility: Two Separate Tracks
NIGMS runs MIRA through two distinct Notices of Funding Opportunity (NOFOs), each with its own eligibility pool and its own accepting window. Confirm the current NOFO number and dates directly on NIGMS’s MIRA page before applying, since NOFOs are periodically reissued.
- Established and New Investigators (EIs/NIs): the general MIRA track, open to investigators who already hold (or are eligible to hold) independent NIH research support and are not early stage investigators. As of this verification, the active NOFO is PAR-26-121.
- Early Stage Investigators (ESIs): a separate track for investigators within the NIH-defined early-stage-investigator window (broadly, within 10 years of completing a terminal research degree or medical residency/clinical training, with no prior substantial independent NIH research support). As of this verification, the active NOFO is PAR-27-032. NIGMS directs ESI applicants to this track rather than the EI/NI NOFO. See NIH’s own Early Stage Investigator policy page for the exact, current definition, since ESI status affects review and, in NIGMS’s case, which MIRA track applies.
NIGMS publishes a MIRA eligibility decision tree on its program page to help investigators work out which track (or whether MIRA at all, versus a standard R01) fits their situation — use it as the authoritative first check rather than relying on a secondary summary, including this one.
Budget Rules: Consolidation, Not Addition
The defining budget rule of MIRA is consolidation. Rather than applying for a budget for a new project, an established-investigator MIRA applicant’s budget is built from their existing NIGMS-supported research funding: current NIGMS grants generally end when the MIRA award begins, and their combined direct costs form the basis for the MIRA budget going forward, subject to an annual direct-cost ceiling that NIGMS sets and periodically revises. For early-stage investigators, who by definition have little or no prior independent NIH support to consolidate, MIRA instead awards a fixed budget appropriate to a new investigator’s lab.
What we can confirm as a stable rule, independent of the exact current dollar ceiling: (1) MIRA is meant to replace, not supplement, an investigator’s other active NIGMS research-project support — applicants list all current NIGMS support so it can be consolidated or, in some cases, allowed to run to its existing end date; (2) budgets are capped per year, with the cap reviewed and adjusted by NIGMS between NOFO cycles; (3) support from other NIH Institutes or non-NIGMS sponsors outside the consolidation is generally treated separately, not folded into the MIRA figure. What we could not independently confirm against a primary NIGMS page at time of writing is the current specific dollar ceiling — NIGMS has revised this figure across MIRA’s history, and the number quoted in older secondary sources may be out of date. Check the budget-policy language in the current PAR-26-121 (established/new investigators) or PAR-27-032 (ESI) NOFO, or NIGMS’s MIRA program page directly, for the figure in effect when you apply.
How to Apply
- Confirm which track applies. Use NIGMS’s MIRA eligibility decision tree, or contact the NIGMS MIRA program contacts listed on the program page, before assuming EI/NI vs. ESI status.
- Identify the current NOFO number and receipt dates on NIGMS’s MIRA program page (nigms.nih.gov) — these are reissued periodically and the number changes.
- Inventory current NIGMS support. Established-investigator applicants need a complete, accurate list of active NIGMS grants to be consolidated; this list is central to how the budget is built and to how reviewers read the application.
- Write the research program narrative in place of a traditional Specific Aims page — MIRA applications describe the overall direction, past productivity, and future plans of the lab’s NIGMS-relevant research rather than a single proposed project.
- Submit through the standard NIH mechanism (eRA Commons / ASSIST or Grants.gov, per current NIH submission policy) by the receipt date specified in the applicable NOFO.
- After award, budgets are managed as a single consolidated grant rather than as separate project-linked awards, which changes how effort and progress reporting are structured relative to holding multiple R01s.
MIRA at Other NIH Institutes
NIGMS’s MIRA is the program most searches for “R35” or “MIRA” are looking for, but R35 is a shared NIH activity code, not an NIGMS-exclusive one. Other Institutes use R35 for their own, differently-named long-term research-support programs with their own eligibility and budget rules — for example, the National Cancer Institute’s Outstanding Investigator Award. If your funding IC is not NIGMS, check that IC’s own funding page rather than assuming MIRA’s specific rules apply; the shared activity code does not mean shared program rules.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is MIRA the same as an R01?
No. An R01 funds one defined project and is reviewed on its Specific Aims. MIRA (R35) funds an investigator’s overall NIGMS-relevant research program and is reviewed on the program as a whole, with the applicant’s existing NIGMS support generally consolidated into the new award rather than continuing alongside it.
Can I hold an R01 and a MIRA at the same time?
MIRA is designed to consolidate an investigator’s active NIGMS research-project support into one award rather than sit alongside it, so applicants should not assume they can retain a separate NIGMS R01 after a MIRA award begins. Confirm current-support handling with NIGMS program staff, since the treatment of awards from other, non-NIGMS ICs differs from NIGMS awards being consolidated. Contact details for the EI/NI and ESI MIRA tracks are published on NIGMS’s MIRA program page.
Who is eligible for the early-stage investigator MIRA track?
Investigators who meet NIH’s Early Stage Investigator definition apply through the separate ESI-specific NOFO rather than the established/new-investigator NOFO. NIH’s Early Stage Investigator policy page has the current, authoritative definition; NIGMS’s own MIRA eligibility decision tree helps confirm which track fits before you apply.
How long is a MIRA award period?
NIGMS states MIRA awards are generally for five years, for both the established/new-investigator track and the early-stage-investigator track.
Does R35 always mean MIRA?
No. R35 is an NIH-wide activity code for research-program (rather than single-project) awards. NIGMS’s program using that code is called MIRA, but other NIH Institutes run their own, separately named R35 programs with different eligibility and budget rules.
