2026 NIA Mentorship Prize Competition

For Mentors:

To be eligible to compete in and be selected as a winner under this prize competition, a Mentor —

1. Shall have received at least two (2) mentee-submitted nominations to warrant invitation to participate in this prize competition; 
2. Shall be an early career or midcareer/established faculty member in a tenure-track or equivalent position. Early career is defined as 0–12 years from the start of the first tenure-track or equivalent faculty position. Midcareer/established is defined as 13+ years from the start of the first tenure-track or equivalent faculty position; 
3. Shall be listed as a PI or MPI on an NIA award (not including Loan Repayment Program awards) active within the last five years (i.e., 10/1/2021 – 9/30/2026); 
4. Shall not have received an NIH K24 or K07 award; 
5. Shall not be a prior NINDS Landis Award recipient;
6. Shall be free of any unresolved research-misconduct finding, federal funding debarment, or retraction for cause.
7. Shall have registered to participate in the prize competition under the rules promulgated by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) as published in this announcement; 
8. Shall have complied with all the requirements set forth in this announcement; 
9. Shall not be a federal entity or federal employee acting within the scope of their employment; 
10. Shall not be an employee of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS, or any other component of HHS) acting in their personal capacity; 
11. Who is employed by a federal agency or entity other than HHS (or any component of HHS), should consult with an agency ethics official to determine whether the federal ethics rules will limit or prohibit the acceptance of a prize under this prize competition;
12. Shall not be a judge of the Challenge, or any other party involved with the design, production, execution, or distribution of the prize competition or the immediate family of such a party (i.e., spouse, parent, step-parent, child, or step-child). 
13. Shall be 18 years of age or older at the time of submission. 

For Institutions:

To be eligible to receive a cash prize under this prize competition, an institution —

1. Shall currently employ the nominated mentor;
2. Shall have given approval to the Mentor to participate in the prize competition under the rules promulgated by NIH as published in this announcement;
3. Shall have complied with all the requirements set forth in this announcement;
4. Shall be incorporated in and maintain a primary place of business in the United States; and
5. Shall not be a federal entity.