The National Library of Medicine contributed to NIH’s 2009 EUREKA (Exceptional, Unconventional Research Enabling Knowledge Acceleration) program, which awarded 56 grants totaling $67.4 million to support innovative research projects promising big scientific payoffs.

“EUREKA awards reflect NIH’s continued commitment to funding transformative research, even if it carries more than the usual degree of scientific risk,” NIH Director Dr. Francis Collins explained. “The grants seek to elicit those ‘eureka moments’ when scientists make major theoretical or technical advances.”

EUREKA researchers will receive direct costs of approximately $200,000 per year for up to four years. Ten of the projects totaling $10.6 million are two-year grants supported by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).