2027 Health Care Systems Scholars Program

2027 Health Care Systems Scholars Program

The National Institute on Aging (NIA) Imbedded Pragmatic Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) and AD-Related Dementias (AD/ADRD) Clinical Trials (IMPACT) Collaboratory has launched a Request for Applications for the 2027 Health Care Systems Scholars Program. Up to two Scholars will be funded. Each award will provide up to $120,000 in total direct costs for a 1-year mentored experience that supports mid-career investigators (MD PhD) to partner with a health care system (HCS), build meaningful relationships with HCS staff and leaders, understand HCS priorities and workflows, and co-design an intervention aligned with priorities for improving care for people living with dementia (PLWD) and their care partners.

Through funded, protected time embedded within a health care system, Scholars will co-design an intervention and implementation strategy that positions the partnership for future embedded research that advances priorities in dementia care, which may include intervention refinement, pilot testing, or an ePCT.  Scholars will receive mentorship, training, and guidance from the Health Care Systems and Training Cores throughout the award period.

The program supports research questions and proposals co-developed with the HCS during the award, rather than investigator-driven proposals developed in advance.

Candidates are required to apply with an identified health care system, be affiliated with an organization based in the United States (US), and be US citizens, non-citizen nationals, or permanent residents at the time of application. No research may be conducted outside of the US.

Important Dates

RFA Release: Tuesday, September 15, 2026

Informational Webinar: September 25, 2026 (Register here)

Letters of Intent Due Date: November 5, 2026

Read the full RFA here

IMPACT Collaboratory Requests Applications: 2026 ePCT Planning Grants Program

The National Institute on Aging (NIA) Imbedded Pragmatic Alzheimer’s Disease and Alzheimer’s Disease-Related Dementias (AD/ADRD) Clinical Trials (IMPACT) Collaboratory (U54AG063546) was established in 2019 to build the nation’s capacity to conduct embedded pragmatic clinical trials (ePCTs) of non-pharmacological interventions within health care systems to improve the care of people living with dementia (PLWD) and their care partners.

The IMPACT Collaboratory will fund up to two 12-month awards for up to $150,000 (total direct costs) to support the activities needed to collaboratively plan and develop a feasible, fully specified protocol for a Stage IV effectiveness ePCT in dementia care. Applicants must partner with a nursing home organization and include at least two nursing homes (either within a single organization or across multiple organizations).

This opportunity focuses exclusively on non-pharmacological interventions to improve the management of behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) in nursing homes, including person-centered approaches and strategies to reduce antipsychotic or similar neuroactive medication use. Proposed projects must emphasize nursing home-level approaches suitable for future pilot or full-scale ePCTs.

This award emphasizes strong partnerships among investigators, nursing home provider partners, and advisory boards of residents, care partners and other caregivers to ensure the interventions are feasible, aligned with real-world workflows, and ready for testing in an ePCT.  By the end of the award, awardees are expected to deliver a fully specified, implementation ready trial protocol for either a pilot or full-scale ePCT.

This funding opportunity does not support early-stage intervention development (Stages 0-I) or protocol development for efficacy trials (Stages II-III on the NIH Stage Model).

Read the full RFA here

Informational Webinar

An optional informational webinar will be hosted to provide investigators with an overview of application details and an opportunity to ask questions.

May 21, 2026, at 3pm ET: Register here.

Letters of intent are due June 18, 2026, at 6pm ET

Questions? Please contact, Elaine Bergman, IMPACT Communications Lead

Call for Applications, Proposals, and Papers from NIA Supported Centers and Networks

• The Center to Accelerate Population Research in Alzheimer’s (CAPRA) Pilot Core is seeking novel, population-based Emerging Scholar Pilot Proposals that address CAPRA’s main thematic areas including health policy and healthcare system impact on acute and long-term care outcomes; diffusion of new diagnostics and drugs into practice; heterogeneity in disease risk, care access, and outcomes across populations; or innovative applications of population data.  Learn more and submit your application by March 2, 2026.  

  
  

• The Michigan Center on the Demography of Aging (MiCDA) announces a call for applications for its Research Fellows program. This two-year mentored pilot project program is designed to provide early career scholars with resources to complete a small project in Year 1 and develop a grant application to the NIA in Year 2. Learn more and submit your pre-proposal by March 2, 2026.  

  
  

• The State Alzheimer’s Research Support (StARS) Center is currently accepting letter of intent (LOI) for the Dementia Care Innovation Grants.  They are seeking proposals that advance the provision, understanding, documentation, and evaluation of dementia care services, with a priority focused on dementia care service coordination projects. Learn more and submit your letter of intent by March 12, 2026.  

  
  

• The Hopkins Economic of Alzheimer’s Disease & Services Center (HEADS Center) is currently accepting pilot proposals related to their themes to identify and quantify the range of AD/ADRD care needs and related economic consequences or examine how the organization and financing of services and technology affect accessibility, affordability, and quality of AD/ADRD care. They encourage applicants who are Early-Stage Investigators, new investigators who have not yet received a major R or K grant, and those new to AD/ADRD research. Learn more and submit your complete proposal by March 13, 2026. 

  
  

• The Center on the Economics & Demography of Aging at the University of California, Berkeley is currently accepting applications for both the Emerging Scholars Pilots and the Innovation Pilots. Emerging Scholar Pilots will support early career researchers while the Innovation Pilots will support researchers at any stage who are highly innovative research for which pilot funding is necessary to test ideas and demonstrate feasibility to support strong extramural grant proposals. The next deadline for the Emerging Scholars Pilot is on April 1, 2026, while the Innovation Pilots is on a rolling basis. Learn more and submit your applications.  

• NIA IMPACT Collaboratory is accepting applications for their Health Care Systems Scholars Program. The Health Care Systems Scholars Program is a 1-year mentored experience designed to support immersion of mid-career investigators (MD, PhD, or equivalent) within a health care system to foster durable partnerships, advance system-informed research priorities, and lay the groundwork for future embedded pragmatic clinical trials in dementia care.  Learn more and submit your letter of intent on April 2, 2026.  

• Gateway to Global Aging Data announced a research hackathon for early-career researchers from July 27-30 in Washington, D.C.  The hackathon is a team-based competition where participants will collaborate on a study investigating the role of education in determining risk, resilience, and disparities in non-communicable diseases, with a special interest in cognition. Winners will receive financial support for attending future conferences to present the work and journal article submission or publication costs. Learned more and submit your research proposals and CV by Friday, April 17, 2026.