Aging Research Dissertation Awards to Promote Diversity (R36 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)

The purpose of this Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) is to provide dissertation awards in all areas of research within NIAs strategic priorities to promote the diversity of the scientific research workforce engaged in research on aging and aging-related health conditions. This Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) announces the availability of R36 dissertation awards to support individuals from diverse backgrounds, including those underrepresented in the biomedical and behavioral sciences, to promote a diverse pool of highly trained scientists in scientific disciplines related to the NIA mission. That mission includes research on the basic biology of aging; chronic, disabling, and degenerative diseases of aging, with a particular focus on Alzheimer’s disease (AD); multiple morbidities; individual behavioral and social changes with aging; caregiving; longevity; and the consequences of an aging population on society. The purpose of this NOFO is in alignment with key elements of NIA's Strategic Directions for Research on Aging, including fostering the development of researchers and clinician-scientists in aging and to work to recruit, train, and retain scientists from diverse backgrounds, including those from groups underrepresented in the biomedical and behavioral sciences. This program will support awardees at a particularly critical juncture in their doctoral training – a period during which institutional support often declines or terminates altogether – with support not readily or sufficiently available in Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) predoctoral (F31) programs, which limits support to stipends, tuition and fees, and institutional allowance. These awards are available to support predoctoral students, including those from backgrounds underrepresented in biomedical and behavioral sciences, who are enrolled, and in good standing, in accredited research-doctoral programs in the United States (including Puerto Rico and other U.S. territories or possessions).