JHU renews Catalyst and Discovery Awards for three years

The Catalyst and Discovery Awards—which since 2015 have awarded $30 million to early career researchers and teams working across disciplines at Johns Hopkins University—have been renewed for three years with an additional $15 million commitment. The funding, provided by the university's president, deans, and directors, will continue to fuel cutting-edge research and creative endeavors by Johns Hopkins faculty, staff, and affiliates through the 2024-25 academic year.

"In six years, these awards have made a lasting mark on our community by incentivizing collaborations, sparking new partnerships, and igniting novel investigations," says Denis Wirtz, vice provost for research at Johns Hopkins. "They have strengthened the pipeline of innovative endeavors that are the hallmark of Johns Hopkins."

Catalyst Awards support the research and creative projects of early career faculty with the goal of launching them on a path to a sustainable and rewarding academic career. The award is accompanied by up to $75,000 in funding, as well as mentorship and the opportunity to collaborate with other early career scientists, artists, and researchers. Discovery Awards foster interdisciplinary collaborations between investigators across the institution that lead to important discoveries or creative works. Discovery Awards are accompanied by up to $100,000 in funding.

Notably, the awards have generated additional new research funding and strengthened the corps of researchers at Johns Hopkins. These award programs have included investigators from every division of Johns Hopkins and 70% of the university's campuses. The awards—granted to a total of 830 investigators—have resulted in 29 patents and 250 scholarly publications.

Together, the programs have generated $222 million in new grants from external sources—a remarkable 8:1 return on investment.

"We are excited to see what our faculty will achieve in the coming years with this support as they pursue the ideas and investigations that lie at the heart of our university," wrote university leaders in a message announcing the awards program extension.

Information about the 2021 application cycle for the Catalyst and Discovery Awards will be announced this fall for January 2022 deadlines. Visit the Johns Hopkins University Research webpage for more information on these awards and other funding opportunities.