D&E Center Pilot Grants

NIA Demography & Economics of Aging Emerging Scholars Program

Program Overview

The National Institute of Aging Demography & Economics of Aging Emerging Scholar Pilot Project and Mentoring Program supports new and innovative lines of research in each D&E Centers’ population-based social science aging research theme(s). This two-year Program provides training and mentorship to awardees of Emerging Scholars Pilot Projects leading to an R-series or K-series application submission to NIA. Each of the 18 D&E Centers funds and runs their own Emerging Scholars Program, with coordination and support provided by the DECC. In general, applicants must be New or Early-Stage Investigators at U.S.-based institutions who are eligible for PI status at their home institution. An individual may only participate in the Emerging Scholar Pilot Project and Mentoring Program once. While individuals may apply to more than one Center’s Program, they may not receive more than one grant.

Please read each Centers’ request for proposals carefully to understand their themes, funding priorities, budget guidelines, and eligibility requirements before submitting a letter of intent (LOI). For most Centers, LOIs are required and full proposals are by invitation only. Due dates vary across Centers. The funding period for all projects will begin September 1, 2027.*

*BU-SHARP grants will start April 1, 2027 

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The Boston University Quantitative Population Science and Healthy Cognitive Aging Research Program (BU-SHARP)

The Boston University-Quantitative Population Science and Healthy Cognitive Aging Research Program (BU-SHARP) invites new and early-stage investigators to apply for Emerging Scholars Pilot Grants. 

Projects must address at least one of BU-SHARP’s research themes:

  1. Between and within-group patterning of AD/ADRD onset, progression, and consequences across persons with disabilities, underserved rural populations, and other populations disproportionately affected by AD/ADRD.
  2. Life course individual and interpersonal resources and mechanisms contributing to this patterning.
  3. Modifiable influences on AD/ADRD onset, progression, and consequences in these populations.

Eligibility Requirements: Applicants must qualify as a New or Early-Stage Investigator under NIH criteria and be a current postdoc or faculty member at Boston University or from a U.S.-based college or university that does not have an NIA-funded Demography and Economics (D&E) of Aging Center. 

 

LOI Open Date: October 1, 2026

LOI Close Date: November 15, 2026

Notice of Invitation to Submit a Full Proposal: December 1, 2026

Full Proposal Due: March 1, 2027

 

PROJECT START DATE: April 1 2027

 

View full RFA

Submit an LOI for BU-SHARP

Center for Aging Families (CAF) – The Ohio State | Bowling Green University | Purdue University

Learn more about the Center for Aging Families pilot grants below.

Themes:

  1. The changing demography of aging families
  2. Aging family health
  3. Health disparities in aging families

Eligibility Requirements: Tenured or tenure-track faculty and research scientists with principal investigator eligibility at Bowling Green State University, Ohio State University, or Purdue University who have not been a PI of a substantial NIH independent research award (e.g., R01). 

LOI Open Date:  December 1, 2026

LOI Close Date: January 15, 2027

Notice of Invitation to Submit a Full Proposal: January 30, 2027

Full Proposal Due:  March 30

 

View the Full RFA [Coming soon!]

Submit an LOI to CAF [Coming soon!]

Center on Aging and Population Sciences (CAPS) – UT - Austin (COMING SOON)

Coming soon!

Center for Demography of Health and Aging (CDHA) – UW - Madison

Learn more about the Center for Demography of Health and Aging pilot grants below.

 Themes:

  • Aging Trajectories & Disparities Across the Life Course;
  • Biodemography;
  • Demography of Dementia & Cognition;
  • Health Policy & Health Services Research; and
  • Places, Health, & Aging.

 

Eligibility Requirements: Applicants must qualify as a New or Early-Stage Investigator under NIH criteria and be from UW-Madison or from a college or university that does not have an NIA-funded Demography and Economics (D&E) of Aging Center. We will consider established Scholars if they are new investigators who help enhance representation in the population aging research workforce across disciplines, career-stages, and institutions.

 

LOI Open Date: December 15, 2026

LOI Close Date: January 29, 2027

Notice of Invitation to Submit a Full Proposal: February 20, 2027

Full Proposal Due: April 1, 2027

 

View the Full RFA [Coming soon!]

Submit an LOI to CDHA [Coming soon!] 

Center for Healthy Aging Behaviors and Longitudinal Investigations (CHABLIS) – University of Chicago

CHABLIS pilot projects should advance longitudinal research on one or more healthy aging behaviors (HABs), integrate social and contextual information (i.e. demographic and economic data) that may influence the HABs, and leverage social science perspectives. Pilots may investigate HABs across one or more themes: 

  1. individual health behavior, 
  2. family, networks, and organizations (e.g. health care or social service organizations), 3) community and other social context, and 
  3. measurement and methods. Pilot proposals may leverage data from a variety of sources, including population based studies, clinical research, or learning health system sources. 

When appropriate, projects should apply the NIA Health Disparities Framework. 

In addition to aligning with the pilot project funding themes described above, Emerging Scholar Pilots that do one or more of the following are strongly encouraged:

  • Leverage infrastructure from an established population based or clinical longitudinal studies in aging with a connection to CHABLIS to collect and/or analyze data. You can learn more about the Longitudinal Research Resources with connections to CHABLIS on our website here.
  • Enhance one or more external research networks supported through the Center. The networks are:
    • Comprehensive Care Research Network
    • Oral Health Network
    • Pharmacogenomic Implementation Network
    • Learning Health Systems Network (leveraging real-world clinical data to conduct research in CHABLIS themes)
  • Pilot new methods or measurement tools applicable to multiple longitudinal studies on health and aging behaviors

 

Eligibility: Applicants must hold a doctoral-level research degree (e.g., PhD) or a clinical doctorate (e.g., MD, DO, DNP, DDS, DPT, etc.) and meet the Emerging Scholar criteria in one of these categories:

  • Early-State Investigators: Completed PhD or post-graduate clinical training within 10 years and has not been PI for NIH R01 or equivalent.
  • New Investigators: Has not successfully competed as PI for NIH R01 award but has >10 yrs post-grad training.

 

LOI Open Date: September 21, 2026

LOI Due Date: October 21, 2026

Full Application Due Date: December 14, 2026

 

View Full RFA and LOI Submission Instructions

Center to Accelerate Population Research in Alzheimer’s (CAPRA) – University of Michigan

The Center to Accelerate Population Research in Alzheimer’s (CAPRA) is seeking novel, population-based Emerging Scholar Pilot Proposals. We welcome Emerging Scholar Pilot Proposals from across disciplines that address the overarching goal of CAPRA and its main thematic areas:

  1. Health and healthcare system impact on acute and long-term care outcomes
  2. Diffusion of new diagnostics and drugs into practice
  3. Heterogeneity in disease risk, care access, and outcomes across populations
  4. Innovative applications of population data

Eligibility Requirements:

  • Individuals who meet NIH definitions of Early Stage or New Investigators or individuals who are new to dementia research.
  • At an institution that can receive NIH funding.
  • Feasibility for a future K or R-level grant submission within 2 years of pilot award.
  • In line with NIH research priorities.

 

LOI Open Date:  October 1, 2026

LOI Close Date:  November 16, 2026

Notice of Invitation to Submit a Full Proposal: Rolling, based on meeting program eligibility and priorities

Full Proposal Due: March 1, 2027  

 

View RFA

Submit an LOI

Hopkins Economics of Alzheimer’s Disease & Services (HEADS) – Johns Hopkins University

The Hopkins Economics of Alzheimer’s Disease & Services (HEADS) Center stimulates population-based research that identifies, quantifies, and addresses economic and care systems challenges posed by Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias (ADRD). They invite applications for pilot grants related to their themes:

  1. Identifying and quantifying the range of ADRD care needs and related economic consequences
  2. Examining how the organization and financing of services and technology affect accessibility, affordability, and quality of ADRD care
  3. Cross-Cutting: Family and unpaid caregiving, reducing ADRD consequences in high-burden populations

Eligibility: HEADS is particularly interested in supporting promising post-doctoral fellows and junior faculty, but applicants may be of any rank from Johns Hopkins University and external institutions within the United States. We encourage applicants who are Early-Stage Investigators, new investigators who have not yet received a major R or K grant, and those new to ADRD research. These recipients will also be eligible for the Emerging Scholars program, which provides additional mentoring support, peer mentoring and community building opportunities, and grant preparation activities such as a mock study section review to help awardees prepare K-series, R-series or equivalent proposals.

 

Webinar for applicants: October 27, 2026

LOI Open Date: September 28, 2026

LOI Close Date: December 1, 2026

Notice of Invitation to Submit a Full Proposal: December 18, 2026

 

View the Full RFA

Submit an LOI

Life Course Center (LCC) – University of Minnesota

The Life Course Center seeks proposals for Emerging Scholars that align with LCC research themes and NIA’s emphasis on life course processes to improve the health and well-being of older adults: 

  • Later life population trends in context
  • Life course dynamics as disparity mechanisms
  • Interrelationships among work, family, community participation, and health
  • Health care services and supports for an aging population

Eligibility: Postdocs, faculty, and research scientists who are New or Early Stage Investigators AND who are eligible for PI status at their home institution. Preference will be given to

 

Informational presentation and Q&A session: November 12, 2026 at 12:00pm CST

LOI Open Date: October 1, 2026

LOI Close Date: November 29, 2026 at 5:00pm CST

Notice of Invitation to Submit a Full Proposal: Mid-December, 2026

Full Proposal Due:

 

View the Full RFA

Submit an LOI

Michigan Center on the Demography of Aging (MiCDA) – University of Michigan

MiCDA is accelerating research on aging in three signature areas:

  1. Enriching data infrastructure and methods to promote breakthroughs in the demography of aging
  2. The changing demography of late-life disability, dementia and family caregiving
  3. Social, biological, and environmental underpinnings over the life course that shape later-life health and wellbeing

Eligibility: Applicants must hold a faculty position or a post-doctoral position at a U.S. institution of higher education and meet NIH’s criteria for New or Early-Stage Investigator. 

 

LOI Open Date: Week of November 1, 2026

LOI Close Date: January 11, 2027

Notice of Invitation to Submit a Full Proposal: 

Full Proposal Due:

 

View Full RFA [Coming Soon!]

Submit an LOI [Coming Soon!]

NBER Center for Aging and Health Research

The National Bureau of Economics Research (NBER) Center for Aging and Health Research is particularly interested in proposals that align with one or more of their thematic networks:

  • Applications of Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare
  • Economics of Chronic Disease
  • Emerging Challenges in Long-Term Care and Caregiving
  • Geography and Health
  • Health and Healthcare Variations Across the Population
  • Healthcare Administration and Fraud
  • Medical Innovation and Its Assessment

Eligibility Requirements: Must qualify as a New or Early-Stage Investigator under NIH criteria, be based in the US, and be affiliated with a US college or university. Applicants need not be affiliates of the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER).

 

LOI Open Date: September 17, 2026

LOI Close Date: January 31, 2027

Notice of Invitation to Submit a Full Proposal: February 26, 2027

Full Proposal Due: March 31, 2027

 

View full RFA

Submit an LOI to NBER