The Research Centers Collaborative Network (RCCN) goal is to catalyze enduring, collaborative, interdisciplinary research projects across NIA center programs by funding pilot, planning or meeting grants of up to $65,000. Proposals should address topics spanning the missions of multiple NIA Center programs. Relevant topics are exemplified by the themes of RCCN-sponsored workshops, but other topics relevant to the NIA center programs will also be considered. Each project should involve at least two NIA-sponsored research centers. There are two deadlines annually and up to two awards will be granted each cycle.
This mechanism provides funding to catalyze enduring collaborations for at least two collaborative pilot, planning or meeting grants supporting interdisciplinary research in cross cutting theme areas per grant cycle. Each award will provide up to $65,000 in direct costs. The proposals must include investigators affiliated with at least two different NIA Centers Programs (AITCs, Shock, Roybal, Older American Independence Centers (Pepper), Resource Centers for Minority Aging Research, Centers for Demography and Economics of Aging, and Alzheimer’s Disease Research Centers). Investigators not affiliated with these NIA programs may also be included. Applications may seek support to collect or analyze data, convene experts to explore aspects of the theme area in detail, or develop multi- or interdisciplinary conceptual models to motivate further cross-center work. There must be clear evidence that all investigators will contribute meaningfully to the intellectual design and conduct of the research.
Applicants may propose to use the award over the course of one or two years as justified by the proposed activity. The RCCN will support 20% in indirect costs on each award.
Principal investigators must be faculty who are affiliated with any of the 7 NIA Center programs as confirmed by letters from the directors of the relevant Center programs.
In general, NIA Center affiliation means either: 1. Having (partial) salary support through an NIA Center Program; or 2. Having previously received pilot funding, accessed Center data, used center cores, or received mentoring. Other forms of affiliation will also be considered
Investigators who are not (yet) faculty can be Co-Investigators on the grant.
Proposals must include investigators affiliated with at least 2 different NIA Center programs.
Proposals can be submitted by two or more Center Program investigators at the same institution or Center Program investigators at different institutions.
Small clinical trials are eligible.
If you need help identifying another NIA Center investigator, you may contact RCCN at contact@rccn-aging.org to help find a potential co-PI for your project. You can also access the Research Compass which is searchable data base of publications from NIA Center programs.
The following criteria are used to determine the merit of an application:
Relevance of the proposed aims to cross-cutting topics relevant to the missions of multiple NIA Center programs;
The significance and innovation of the proposed research or planning project and likelihood that it will develop into new on-going research collaborations;
The feasibility of the proposed activities;
Productivity of the investigators;
Involvement of early career investigators;
Participation of applicants who identify as a member of an underrepresented group.
The program has two LOI deadlines per year: April 1 and October 1 at 5:00 pm ET. If a deadline falls on a weekend, the deadline will be extended to the following Monday. No exceptions for holidays.
Incomplete LOIs cannot be considered. A subset of applicants will be invited to submit a full application. More information on the full application is available here.
The review will be conducted by the RCCN Steering Committee and independent reviewers selected by the American Federation for Aging Research. RCCN will not provide reviewer critiques to any applicants at any review level.
Questions regarding this RFA can be sent to: Elizabeth Pritchett-Montavon elizabeth@afar.org. Click here for the Frequently Asked Questions page.
LOIs should be submitted as a single PDF document, using 12-point font and single-spaced. The application must include the following and in this order:
Page 1: Cover page
Page 2-3: Brief project description that includes the hypotheses/rationale, specific aims, a sketch of the work to be done including methods, timeline, expected outcomes and next steps. The letter should also describe how the project relates to missions of multiple NIA Center programs and the relationships of the partnering investigators with NIA supported Centers. Any figures and essential references must be included in these two pages.
NIH-style bios-sketches for the key investigators
Award and Reporting Requirements
Funding will be awarded via a subcontract from Wake Forest School of Medicine. Joint pilot projects should be led by investigators from 2 or more Centers programs. One of the investigators should be identified as the primary (i.e., contact) investigator. NIA approval of projects involving human subjects or animal research require administrative and regulatory approvals according to NIH/NIA policy before funds can be awarded. All questions regarding the award should be directed to the contact listed on the notice of award.
Awardees are required to submit annual progress report with a final narrative and financial reports.
This award program is sponsored by the NIA’s Research Centers Collaborative Network (RCCN). The RCCN’s goal is to bring together researchers from the 7 NIA Centers programs to foster the development of cross-center collaborations around issues important to the health and well-being of older adults.
The RCCN sponsors a series of workshops addressing specific problems of high salience to multiple NIA Center programs. These workshops feature the sharing of paradigms, conceptual models, and key insights from perspectives of the participating centers programs. Workshops include:
Nutrition and Aging Biology. June 25-26, 2024. San Francisco, CA.
Promoting Healthy Aging Through Nutrition. July 20-21, 2023. Boston, MA.
mHealth and Digital Health Approaches to Research in Aging. November 1-2, 2022. Indianapolis, IN.
Aging, Race, and Health Disparities. June 28-29, 2022. Bethesda, MD.
Measuring Biologic Age. January 19-20, 2022. Virtual.
Inclusion of Older Adults in Clinical Research. February 23-24, 2021. Virtual.
Life Course Perspectives on Aging. November 3-4, 2020. Virtual.
Resilience and Reserve in Aging. November 12-13, 2019. Austin, TX.
Sex and Gender Differences in Aging. June 6-7, 2019. Marina del Rey, CA.
Achieving and Sustaining Behavior Change to Benefit Older Adults. December 6-7, 2018. Bethesda, MD.
After the workshops, publications are developed summarizing the proceedings and priority areas; past publications are available here.
The RCCN is funded by the National Institute on Aging of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number U24AG058556. The content of this RFA is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.
