NIA Research and Entrepreneurial Development Immersion (REDI) Program

The NIA Research and Entrepreneurial Development Immersion (REDI) program provides bio-entrepreneurship training to boost the number of university startups and facilitate more diverse career opportunities for early-career scientists working in the fields of aging and aging-related diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease.

Entrepreneurial Career Development Award

The REDI Mentored Entrepreneurial Career Development Award (PAR-22-227) provides support and protected time (3–5 years) for an intensive, supervised career development experience in the biomedical, behavioral, or clinical sciences in research areas supported by NIA. The goal of this award is to support trainees’ transition to research independence in a multitude of career options, including research and teaching faculty as well as entrepreneurial, industry, science policy, and research administration positions.

• Award Type: K01

• Application Due Dates: November 15, 2022; October 18, 2023; October 17, 2024

• Budget Limits: $90,000/year in salary; $50,000/year in other program-related expense

• Eligibility: Candidates must have a research or health-professional doctoral degree. Eligible candidates must be an NIH-defined Early Stage Investigators (ESI). Further, eligible candidates cannot have received a prior R01, P01, P50, or other major career grants (K01, K07, K08, K22, K23, K25, K76, K99/R00). Must be a citizen or a non-citizen national of the United States or have been lawfully admitted for permanent residence by the time of the award. NIA strongly encourages applications from individuals with underrepresented racial or ethnic backgrounds and from people with disabilities. Refer to NOT-AG-23-042 for more information on eligibility.

Entrepreneurship Course Development

The REDI Entrepreneurship Enhancement Award (PAR-22-226) promotes the development of entrepreneurial education programs that are designed to broaden the skillset of graduate students and postdocs as well as early-career master’ s degree, Ph.D., and Dr.P.H. scientists in fields relevant to the NIA mission, including aging and Alzheimer’ s disease research. The goal of this program is to prepare trainees for a wide range of career paths, including those that are outside the normal research environment.

• Award Type: R25

• Letter of Intent Due Date: 30 days prior to application due date

• Application Due Dates: November 15, 2022; October 18, 2023; October 17, 2024

• Budget Limits: $250,000/year in direct costs

• Eligibility: Educational institutions have broad eligibility. NIA encourages partnering with existing NIH-funded or other federally funded resources and programs. These could include the NIH Proof of Concept Network, composed of NIH Centers for Accelerated Innovations, NIH Research Evaluation and Commercialization Hubs, and NIGMS IDeA Regional Technology Transfer Accelerator Hubs; National Science Foundation and their Innovation Corps program; and NCATS Clinical and Translational Science Awards.

Entrepreneurial Small Business Transition Award

Through the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs, these REDI Entrepreneurial Small Business Transition Awards (RFA-AG-24-042 and RFA-AG-24-043) foster the career development of early-career scientists with an interest in entrepreneurial training and mentorship by simultaneously supporting their entrepreneurial development and facilitating their transition to industry.

• Award Types: R43/R44 (SBIR), R41/R42 (STTR)

• Letter of Intent Due Date: September 26, 2023

• Application Due Date: October 26, 2023

• Budget Limits: $500,000 for Phase I; $2.5 million for Fast-Track

• Eligibility: Educational institutions have broad eligibility. NIA encourages partnering with existing NIH-funded or other federally funded resources and programs. These could include the NIH Proof of Concept Network, composed of NIH Centers for Accelerated Innovations, NIH Research Evaluation and Commercialization Hubs, and NIGMS IDeA Regional Technology Transfer Accelerator Hubs; National Science Foundation and their Innovation Corps program; and NCATS Clinical and Translational Science Awards.

NIA Funding Opportunities

Funding Opportunities

• PAR-23-258: Analytical and Clinical Validation of Biomarkers for Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) and AD-Related Dementias (ADRD) (U01 Clinical Trial Optional)

• PAR-23-274: Seamless Early-Stage Clinical Drug Development (Phase 1 to 2a) for Novel Therapeutic Agents for the Spectrum of Alzheimer's Disease (AD) and AD-related Dementias (ADRD) (UG3/UH3 Clinical Trial Required)

• RFA-AG-24-028: Behavioral and Social Research on the Role of Immigration on Life Course Health and Aging, including AD/ADRD (R01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)

• RFA-AG-24-029: Behavioral and Social Research on the Role of Immigration on Life Course Health and Aging, including AD/ADRD (R21 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)

• RFA-AG-24-041: Neural and Non-Neural Mechanisms Underlying Gait as a Preclinical Marker for Alzheimer’s Disease and Alzheimer’s Disease-Related Dementias (R01 Clinical Trial Optional)

• RFA-AG-24-046: Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) Approaches to AD/ADRD (R61/R33 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)

• RFA-AG-24-027: Building Neuroscience Research Infrastructure for Alzheimer's Disease (AD) and AD-Related Dementias (ADRD) in Africa (UG3/UH3 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)

• RFA-AG-24-030: Consortium for Economic Research on AD/ADRD Prevention, Treatment, and Care Coordinating Center (U54 Clinical Trial Optional)

• RFA-AG-24-031: Consortium for Economic Research on AD/ADRD Prevention, Treatment, and Care (R01 Clinical Trial Optional)

• RFA-AG-24-042: NIA Research and Entrepreneurial Development Immersion (REDI): Entrepreneurial Small Business Transition Award (R43/R44 Clinical Trial Optional)

• RFA-AG-24-043: NIA Research and Entrepreneurial Development Immersion (REDI): Entrepreneurial Small Business Transition Award (R41/R42 Clinical Trial Optional)

• RFA-AG-24-045: Elucidating Variability of Physiologic and Functional Responses to Exercise Training in Older Adults (R01 Clinical Trial Required)

Notices

• NOT-AG-23-037: Notice of Special Interest (NOSI): Investigation of Biomolecular Condensates in Aging and Alzheimer's Disease (AD) and AD-related Dementias (ADRD)

• NOT-AG-23-047: Notice of Participation of the National Institute on Aging (NIA) in PAR-23-219, "SBIR/STTR Commercialization Readiness Pilot (CRP) Program Technical Assistance and Late Stage Development (SB1, Clinical Trial Not Allowed)"

• NOT-AG-23-048: Notice of Participation of the National Institute on Aging (NIA) in PAR-23-220, "SBIR/STTR Commercialization Readiness Pilot (CRP) Program Technical Assistance and Late Stage Development (SB1 Clinical Trial Required)"

• NOT-AG-23-044: Notice of Intent to Publish a Funding Opportunity Announcement for High-Priority Behavioral and Social Research Networks  (R24 Clinical Trial Optional)

PREPARE: Pioneering Research for Early Prediction of Alzheimer's and Related Dementias Challenge

Earlier, more accurate detection and intervention is essential for improving treatment and care options for people living with Alzheimer’s disease or a related dementia, and for supporting care partners. But detecting the early signs of these diseases is challenging.

Scientists continue to seek innovations to improve clinical approaches used in identifying individuals at risk for developing dementia. Current methods have drawbacks such as cost, complexity, and accessibility.

Enter by January 31 to compete for part of the $650K prize

To spark innovation in this critical area, NIA has launched the PREPARE: Pioneering Research for Early Prediction of AD & Related Dementias EUREKA Challenge with a total combined prize purse of $650,000.

The multiyear challenge spans three phases:

• Phase I: Participants will focus on finding, curating, or contributing data to open datasets representative of diverse populations that can be used for early prediction of Alzheimer’s and related dementias. Examples of data sources include NIH-supported research studies, electronic health records, and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services claims. All challenge contestants must apply for Phase I by Jan. 31, 2024.

• Phase II: The second phase will build on the data discovery of selected Phase I teams to focus on advancing state-of-the-art, ethical, and inclusive algorithms and analytic approaches, with an emphasis on tools for predicting early cognitive decline that are clear and easy to explain. Phase II is open to all interested applicants, and Phase I winners are expected to participate in Phase II. Anticipated start date: Sept. 1, 2024.

• Phase III: The final phase will bring together the top teams in a virtual meeting to present their solution from the previous phase to demonstrate the effectiveness of their algorithmic approaches and to discuss them with experts from NIH and the broader data science community. Phase III is only open to winners of Phase II. Anticipated start date: March 1, 2025.

Prizes are available at each phase of the challenge, ranging from $5,000 to $50,000 for the strongest submissions. Since NIA is particularly interested in advancing equity for populations disproportionately affected by Alzheimer’s and related dementias, Phase 1 winners with proposals to address dementia research and diagnosis biases will also be eligible for bonus prizes. Challenge applicants will be judged by a panel of NIA staff, and the judging criteria are available on the PREPARE challenge website.

Submit ideas for earlier, more accurate dementia risk detection by January 31

If you’re interested in competing in Phase 1 of the PREPARE challenge, be sure to apply online by Jan. 31, 2024. For more information and for more details on the submission process and key dates for each phase, visit the challenge website. If you have questions, please email me or leave a comment below. We wish all applicants good luck in this exciting competition!