NIH MERIT award
The NIH MERIT award (Method To Extend Research in Time) Award (R37) was created by the National Institutes of Health 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 could not be applied for by the investigator. The OIA allows for up to $600,000 in direct costs for 7 years.
In 2014, NIH announced that it would be phasing out the MERIT award and replacing it with a similar Outstanding Investigator Award (R35).[1]