The Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health is preparing to launch the Emerging Health Innovators (EHI) Initiative, a new annual funding pathway designed to bring early-career investigators into the ARPA-H innovation model. The upcoming opportunity is intended for researchers and innovators with bold ideas to address healthcare gaps in the United States, including those who may not yet have pursued ARPA-H funding.
The first EHI solicitation is expected to be released on SAM.gov by the end of September 2026. ARPA-H will host a virtual Proposers’ Day on October 13, 2026, giving potential applicants an early opportunity to learn about the initiative, its technical topic areas, and the forthcoming application process.
What is ARPA-H EHI?
The Emerging Health Innovators Initiative is being led by ARPA-H’s Office of Commercialization. It is designed to identify, engage, fund, and mentor early-career investigators working on high-risk, high-reward research that could address significant health challenges across the United States.
EHI is more than a conventional funding opportunity. Awardees will have the chance to engage directly with ARPA-H personnel, learn how the agency approaches ambitious health research, receive Program Manager mentorship, and access events and networking opportunities with other awardees and the public health community.
The initiative has four primary goals:
Foster the next generation of health innovators and ARPA-H performers by providing funding and support
Engage potential performers who have not previously worked within the ARPA-H model
Expand the range of health challenges represented in ARPA-H-funded research
Give emerging investigators firsthand exposure to ARPA-H’s model for ambitious, risk-tolerant health research
Who is Eligible?
EHI proposals must be led by an early-career principal investigator within eight years of completing their first terminal degree. The opportunity is open to eligible principal investigators across academia, nonprofit organizations, and industry.
To be eligible, proposed team members must be employed by a U.S. institution, including institutions in U.S. states and territories. Investigators who have served as a prime project lead on an award from any ARPA agency are not eligible to apply.
Postdoctoral fellows, trainees, and clinical trainees cannot serve as project leads, but ARPA-H encourages their participation as support staff. Federally Funded Research and Development Centers, University Affiliated Research Centers, national laboratories, and other government entities are not eligible to receive EHI funding.
This makes EHI particularly relevant for early-career faculty, startup scientific founders, emerging research leaders, and nonprofit investigators who have a strong technical vision but have not yet led an ARPA-H, DARPA, IARPA, or other ARPA agency award.
2026 Research Topics
ARPA-H expects the 2026 EHI cycle to include 16 topic areas spanning inflammation, neuroscience, infectious disease, data security, medical countermeasures, women’s health, organ preservation, manufacturing, cancer, and clinical AI.
The anticipated topics are:
Precision Control of Skin Inflammation without Systemic Exposure
Internal Sensing and Targeted Control of Inflammation
Deep Brain Stimulation for Mechanistic Sleep Exploration
CLEAR-MIND: Restoring the Brain’s Drainage and Immune Balance to Enable Healing After Injury
Host-Pathway Interventions for Neurotropic Disease
Protecting Patient Data in Life Science AI
Engineering DRT for Programmable DNA Synthesis as an Emerging Medical Countermeasures Strategy
Prevention of Lethal Alpha-gal Allergic Responses Caused by Tick Bites
SMILE: Smart Microbiome-Informed Lesion and Enamel Restoration
Ending Preventable Deaths from Ectopic Pregnancy Through First-Visit Diagnosis
Transforming the Well-Woman Exam Through Objective Data
Innovations in Biotransport to Support Long-Term Preservation of Tissues and Organs
Organs-in-Action: Next-Generation Human Tissue Platforms for Longevity, Disease, and Therapy Discovery
Near Real-Time, Non-Contact Determination of Sterility in Distributed Manufacturing Systems
ICAT: Implantable Systems for Local Cancer Control at the Resection Margin
Causally-Grounded Alignment for Clinical Generative Artificial Intelligence Tools
These topics are expected to reflect the collective research interests of ARPA-H mission offices. Applicants should expect the forthcoming solicitation to define the technical scope, expected outcomes, and submission requirements for each topic area.
EHI Proposers’ Day
ARPA-H is holding a virtual Proposers’ Day to explain the EHI initiative and help prospective applicants prepare for the forthcoming Innovative Solutions Opening, or ISO.
The event is happening Tuesday, October 13, 2026 at 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. ET. The registration deadline is October 12 at 11:59 p.m. ET.
The event will include presentations from the EHI Program Manager and support team, followed by a live question-and-answer session. ARPA-H may publish answers with broad applicability through an EHI FAQ after the event.
Attendance is not mandatory to submit to the EHI solicitation or be considered for funding. However, applicants should attend if possible. The first release of a new ARPA-H program is precisely when direct explanation of intent, scope, and proposal expectations can materially improve a team’s positioning.
Why EHI Matters
EHI is an explicit invitation to researchers and innovators who may be earlier in their careers, new to ARPA-H, or outside the agency’s more established performer base. The program’s eligibility structure and mentorship component make it distinct from opportunities that require a demonstrated history of leading major federal research programs.
For emerging investigators, the opportunity is not simply to secure research support. It is a chance to learn how to frame an ambitious technical effort around a defined national health problem, measurable outcomes, and an approach that is sufficiently bold for the ARPA-H model.
The strongest EHI applicants will likely be those who can connect a differentiated scientific or technical capability to one of the 2026 topics, define a clear and measurable outcome, and explain why the work could make a meaningful difference if successful.
What Potential Applicants Should Do Now
Before the ISO is released, eligible investigators should take four practical steps:
Confirm eligibility, especially the eight-year limit from the first terminal degree and prior ARPA prime-award status
Identify the one topic area where the team can make the most credible and differentiated contribution
Register for the October 13 Proposers’ Day and prepare specific questions about technical fit and the intended scope
Begin defining the problem, technical approach, measurable milestones, risks, and end-user impact before the Solution Summary deadline is announced
Early-career investigators should not assume ARPA-H is out of reach because they have not led a federal award before. EHI was created to broaden the performer base, bringing new researchers and new approaches into the agency’s work.
EverGlade is a national advisory firm helping innovators and investors navigate the federal funding and financing ecosystem. We support companies across the funding lifecycle, from early-stage strategy through proposal development, negotiations, and program execution.
For additional information on where your capabilities could plug into this emerging program, schedule a conversation with our team.
