The National Institute on Aging (NIA), a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' National Institutes of Health (NIH), plans to issue a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) under the number PAR-26-065 to support controlled clinical trials. These trials will examine the long-term effects of nutritional interventions on the progression of risk factors for age-related chronic conditions and the age at which such conditions emerge. As a forecasting announcement, this opportunity aims to inform and prepare the research community for a future application window.
The NIA’s mission centers on understanding aging and extending the healthy, active years of life. Although numerous studies have evaluated the short-term health impacts of nutrition, there is still a significant gap in data regarding the long-term consequences of various dietary strategies. This NOFO seeks to address that gap by funding rigorous, randomized controlled clinical trials capable of tracking individuals over long durations—often requiring follow-up periods of five years or more—to effectively analyze how nutrition influences risk trajectories over the life span.
Applicants will be expected to propose projects of up to seven years in duration. The funding mechanism will utilize the U19 cooperative agreement activity code, allowing for collaborative, large-scale research with defined structures and milestones. The NIA encourages interdisciplinary proposals involving collaborations among research teams with deep expertise in nutrition, aging biology, epidemiology, and clinical trial methodology.
Projects funded under this opportunity will focus on diverse nutritional interventions, such as changes in macronutrient composition, caloric intake patterns, or specific dietary regimens, across a range of age groups from young adulthood to older age. The trials should aim to determine whether and how these interventions influence known risk factors—such as blood pressure, cholesterol, and inflammation markers—and ultimately, the onset and severity of age-related diseases like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, or neurodegenerative conditions.
This forecasted NOFO is not currently accepting applications but will be open for submissions beginning June 25, 2026, with a projected application deadline of September 25, 2026. The expected award notifications and project start dates are estimated for July 25, 2027. By announcing this opportunity in advance, NIA aims to provide potential applicants sufficient time to plan, develop partnerships, and design robust trials that meet the complex methodological demands of long-term nutritional studies.
For more information or to express interest in the upcoming opportunity, applicants can contact the NIA’s program team via the official contact email: [email protected]. While no downloadable PDF NOFO is currently available, this forecast provides essential details for early engagement. As a discretionary federal grant with no cost-sharing requirement, this program is open to a wide array of eligible applicants, including public institutions, non-profit entities, tribal governments, and small businesses, reaffirming the NIH’s commitment to inclusive, collaborative research on aging.
