Welcome

The NIH Common Fund is pleased to announce the 2018 High-Risk, High-Reward Research Symposium. The symposium will take place June 6-8, 2018, at the DoubleTree Hotel in Bethesda, MD. The symposium is free, open to the public, and will bring together recipients of the NIH Director's Pioneer, New Innovator, Transformative Research, and Early Independence awards to share their groundbreaking research and discoveries. Awardees are encouraged to use the symposium as an opportunity to network with other researchers and meet with NIH staff and leadership.

We've made changes to the program in response to surveys sent out last year, including increased networking time, opportunities to meet with NIH staff, scheduled happy hours, and we moved the symposium from December to June. To learn more about the survey results, check out our 2-minute video below.

Who should attend?

The symposium is meant to bring together current recipients of the NIH Director's Pioneer, New Innovator, Transformative Research, and Early Independence awards but is open to anyone interested in cutting-edge science and transformative discoveries, including (but not limited to) NIH staff, students, lab members, and the general public. See the Registration page for more information.

Who are the presenters?

Only NIH Director's Pioneer, New Innovator, Transformative Research, or Early Independence awardees are allowed to speak or present a poster. For talks, only awardees are allowed to present. For posters, awardees are strongly preferred, but designees may be accepted in exceptional circumstances. All awardees attending the symposium are encouraged (but not required) to participate in the program as either a speaker or poster presenter. Interested awardees should submit an abstract for a talk or poster, but given the limited number of speaking slots and poster space, not all submissions may be selected. NIH staff will make programmatic decisions on which abstract submissions are selected for the final program. See the Abstract Submission page for more information. 

In addition, NIH staff from various NIH Institutes and Centers and of various subject expertise will be available for 15-minute chats with individuals or small groups during the symposium to answer your questions. Information on the NIH staff participating and sign-up for these meetings will be available at a later date.

What are some of the symposium topics?

Symposium topics depend on the abstract submissions received, but NIH staff will strive for programmatic balance across science areas and award types. Look at past agendas for an idea of the types and breadth of topics covered.

Can I register now?

Yes, registration is now available via Eventbrite on the Registration page.

Can I make hotel reservations now?

Yes, discounted rooms are available at the DoubleTree Hotel for $243 per night. See more information on the Hotel/Travel page.

Who arranges and pays for hotel accommodations and travel?

All hotel and travel arrangements and payments are the sole responsibility of the symposium attendee. NIH program staff do not pay for or make any travel arrangements for symposium attendees, including for selected speakers.

Can I submit an abstract now?

Not yet. Abstract submission will open in February of 2018. Register now and you will receive an email alert when abstract submission opens. See more information on the Abstract Submission page.

Join our Listserv or contact us at HRHR_Symposium@mail.nih.gov