EHI_SN-ARPA-H-26-161.pdf

Special Notice (SN) ARPA-H-SN-26-161

Proposers’ Day Announcement for Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H)

Office of Commercialization (OC)

Opportunity: Emerging Health Innovators (EHI) Initiative

I. KEY INFORMATION

Table 1. Proposers’ Day Key Information

Proposers’ Day Emerging Health Innovators (EHI) Initiative, October 13, 2026

Location Virtual

Website for Registration solutions.arpa-h.gov/events

Registration Opens September 8, 2026 at 12:00am Eastern Time

(ET)

Registration Closes October 12, 2026 at 12:00am ET

Technical Point of Contact Samuel Gussman-Toh, EHI Program Manager, ARPA-H/OC

Program Email EHI@arpa-h.gov

II. INTRODUCTION

The Office of Commercialization (OC) of the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) is hosting a Proposers’ Day in support of an anticipated Innovative Solution Openings (ISO) for the Emerging Health Innovators (EHI) Initiative.

The Virtual Proposers’ Day will be held on Tuesday, October 13, 2026, 11:00am – 2:00pm. Advanced registration is required.

Please Note: All times listed in this announcement and on the registration website are Eastern Time (ET).

The goals of the Proposers’ Day are to:

• Enable discussion about the goals and objectives of the EHI initiative and Technical Topic Areas (TAs).

• Provide guidance that will promote efficiency of proposal refinement and preparation to support quality proposal development process.

mailto:EHI@arpa-h.gov

ARPA-H anticipates releasing the EHI ISO in September 2026. When released, the ISO will be available on https://sam.gov/.

ARPA-H strongly encourages participation in the Proposers’ Day and related solicitation by non-traditional performers, including small and medium-sized businesses, early-stage researchers, academic research institutions, and non-profit organizations. While attendance at the event is not mandatory for submitting a proposal or being selected for funding, it provides valuable insights and guidance. Information shared during the Proposers’ Day will be accessible on the ARPA-H website: https://www.arpa-h.gov/explore-funding/programs/ehi

III. EHI – Initiative INFORMATION

The EHI initiative will identify and engage with early-career individuals so they can learn about ARPA-H’s approach to addressing gaps in health care in the United States while seeding new ideas and early performers. Early career investigators funded under this program will engage in cutting-edge biomedical, health, and community-engaged research in support of the ARPA-H mission. These investigators will have the opportunity to learn and participate in ARPA-H’s model for funding high-risk, high-reward health research, and receive PM Mentorship. The objectives of the EHI program will be to:

• Foster the next generation of health innovators/performers early in their careers by providing funding and support.

• Identify and engage potential, untapped performers to become aware and understand how to work within the ARPA-H model of innovation and risk taking.

• Expansion of the innovative research that ARPA-H funds, to reflect the wide range of health challenges across the United States.

• EHI will accomplish these objectives by developing technical topics that represent the collective research goals of ARPA-H Mission Offices and publishing an Innovative Solution Openings (ISO) on an annual schedule. EHI will provide awardees with first-hand exposure to ARPA-H personnel and access to resources such as mentoring, events, and networking opportunities among awardees and the broader Public Health community.

IV. ELIGIBILITY

EHI efforts must be led by Early-career principal investigators (academic, non-profit, industry etc.) within 8 years after completion of their first terminal degree. The EHI program initiative welcomes potential proposers that meet the following eligibility criteria:

• All proposers and proposed team members must be employed at a U.S. institution, which includes those in U.S. states and territories.

• Proposers who have participated as a prime (project lead) on an award from any ARPA agency are not eligible to apply to EHI.

https://www.arpa-h.gov/explore-funding/programs/ehi

• Post-doctoral fellows/trainees and clinical trainees cannot be project leads, but it is highly encouraged to include them as support staff.

• Federally Funded Research and Development Centers, University Affiliated Research

Centers, National Laboratories, or other Government entities are not eligible to receive funding under this program

• Non-U.S. individuals employed by U.S. institutions may participate to the extent that such participants comply with any necessary nondisclosure agreements, security regulations, export control laws, and other governing statutes as applicable

V. EHI – PROPOSERS’ DAY INFORMATION

The Proposers’ Day will consist of presentations from the PM and EHI support team, describing the program objective and goals. Presentations and discussions will be followed by a live Q&A given by the PM. Participants are encouraged to use this time to ask programmatic questions related to the forthcoming EHI ISO. ARPA-H will collect participant questions and may make responses of general applicability available in a publicly available Frequently Asked Questions

(FAQ) resource on arpa-h.gov/explore-funding/programs/EHI/faqs.

Registration Information

Participants must register in advance through the registration website.

PLEASE NOTE: The registration cutoff date is October 12, 2026, at 11:59 PM ET. Note that there will be no same-day registration. There is no registration fee for the EHI Proposers’ Day. The online registration form and various other meeting details can be found at the registration website (https://solutions.arpa-h.gov/events).

All inquiries should be sent through http://solutions.arpa-h.gov/ask-a-question. Prior to submitting an e-mail inquiry, please check the FAQs on arpa-h.gov/explore-funding/programs/ehi/faqs to see if your question is answered there. Prior to submitting an e-mail inquiry, please check the FAQs on arpa-h.gov/explore-funding/programs/EHI/faqs to see if your question is answered there.

VI. POINTS OF CONTACT

Technical Point of Contact Samuel Gussman-Toh, Program Manager, ARPA-H/OC Email:

EHI@arpa-h.gov

All inquiries should reference “EHI Proposers’ Day (ARPA-H-SN-26-161)” in the subject line of the email.

VII. DISCLAIMER

https://arpa-h.gov/explore-funding/programs/EHI/faqs http://solutions.arpa-h.gov/ask-a-question https://arpa-h.gov/explore-funding/programs/ehi/faqs https://arpa-h.gov/explore-funding/programs/ehi/faqs https://arpa-h.gov/explore-funding/programs/ehi/faqs

This SN is issued solely for information and advance planning purposes and does not constitute a formal solicitation for proposals or solution summaries. Responses to this notice are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding award. Submission of any information in response to this SN is voluntary and is not required to propose to subsequent

ARPA-H ISOs or research solicitations on this or any other topic. ARPA-H will not provide reimbursement for costs incurred in responding to this SN or participating in the EHI Proposers’

Day. Respondents are advised that ARPA-H is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received or provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted under this SN.