Are you pursuing a research idea that is high-risk but holds the potential for transformative impact? The University of Minnesota’s School of Public Health (SPH) and the Research Development Office (RDO) invite you to an in-depth informational seminar on the NIH High-Risk, High-Reward (HRHR) Research program provided by Dr. Becky Miller, NIH HRHR program leader.
Part of the NIH Common Fund, the HRHR program is designed specifically for exceptionally creative scientists at all career stages who are tackling "big picture" problems. Notably, these awards prioritize innovation and potential impact over extensive preliminary data.
Attendees will learn about the four core HRHR initiatives:
- Pioneer Award: For scientists at any career stage with a track record of creativity.
- New Innovator Award: For early-career investigators who have not yet received a major NIH grant.
- Transformative Research Award: For individuals or teams proposing projects that could create or challenge paradigms.
- Early Independence Award: For junior scientists to bypass the traditional postdoc and move directly into independent research.
Additionally, three UMN faculty who have previously won HRHR awards will participate in five minute lightning talks and provide insights related to their research and the application process. Join us to discover how your most unconventional ideas could lead to your next major funding success.
Event Details
Date: June 3, 2026
Time: 4:00 – 6:00 p.m.
Location: Beacon Room (Recreation and Wellness Center)
RSVP: Register here by May 22
Speaker Bio
Dr. Becky Miller joined the Office of Strategic Coordination in the NIH Office of the Director in 2014. She is a Program Leader managing the Human Virome Program, High-Risk, High-Reward Research program, and Advancing Non-Invasive Optical Imaging Approaches for Biological Systems initiative. She did her postdoctoral work at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) studying mosquito transmission of drug-resistant malaria. She earned her Ph.D. from the University of Notre Dame studying genomic variation in malaria parasites and was a GLOBES NSF IGERT fellow. She studied population genetics and phylogeography of mountain whitefish for her M.S. in molecular biology and received a B.S. in zoology, both from Brigham Young University.
UMN HRHR Awardee Lightening Talk Participants
Dr. Kaitlyn Berry
Division of Epidemiology & Community Health, UMN School of Public Health
2024 Early Independence Award, DP5OD037332
Dr. Silvia Mangia
Department of Radiology, UMN Medical School
2024 Pioneer's Award, DP1AG093028
Dr. Jacqueline Palmer
Division of Physical Therapy, UMN Medical School
2025 New Innovator Award, DP2AG101104