Challenge for early-stage entrepreneurs developing science-driven technologies for healthy aging or aging-related conditions. Up to 21 finalists receive a $24,000 prize and a five-month accelerator; seven winning teams may receive an additional $70,000 prize.
Aging-innovation prize and entrepreneurship accelerator
National Institute on Aging
Upcoming — opens December 1, 2026; closes January 15, 2027 at 11:59 PM ET
Funding for a coordinating center that will integrate and disseminate multi-omic, epigenomic, spatial, neuropathological, and connectomic mouse-brain datasets spanning normal aging and Alzheimer's disease.
Aging multi-omics data infrastructure cooperative agreement
National Institute on Aging
Upcoming — opens October 10, 2026; due November 10, 2026
Support for hypothesis-driven research on fundamental epigenetic mechanisms and their relevance to healthy aging, including chromatin regulation, DNA methylation, cellular identity, and postnatal stem and progenitor cell states.
Multi-center pilot program for research relevant to aging or age-associated disease, built around complementary Nathan Shock Center resources for aging-gene discovery. Postdoctoral applicants may apply as co-investigators with a mentor or with an independence and mentorship letter.
Collaborative pilot research award
UW, Oklahoma, and Jackson Laboratory Nathan Shock Centers
Closed for 2026-2027 — next call expected January 2027
Open-topic canine-health research cycle accepting Acorn and Oak proposals, including eligible studies of canine aging, age-related disease mechanisms, stem-cell approaches, diagnostics, and interventions that directly benefit dog health.
Canine health research grant
AKC Canine Health Foundation
Open — pre-proposal October 20, 2026; invited full February 23, 2027 at 11:59 PM ET
Bridge funding for a well-reviewed dementia-research proposal that was not funded by its original funder, including mechanistic work on neurodegeneration and protein pathology when aligned with Alzheimer Nederland's research agenda.
Personal grant for a new national or international collaboration or practical placement that broadens a promising researcher's knowledge, experience, and skills for more impactful dementia research.
Dementia-research collaboration and placement grant
Travel and subsistence support for a research internship abroad of at least two months, enabling researchers and master's students to gain skills for a scientific career in dementia research.
International dementia-research training grant
Alzheimer Nederland
Rolling — apply at least 6 weeks before the internship starts
Short-duration bridge support for early-career-led Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, frontotemporal dementia, Lewy-body dementia, atypical Parkinson's, and related neurodegeneration projects disrupted by specified changes in U.S. federal research funding.
Early-career neurodegeneration research bridge grant
Alzheimer's Association and The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research
Open — next LOI October 30, 2026 at 5:00 PM ET; invited full due within 4 weeks
Recurring intensive training program for emerging researchers that covers aging biology and other aging-research fields, research methods, interventions, career development, and NIA grant preparation.
Funding for completion of a phase 1, 2, or 3 interventional clinical trial of a stem-cell-based or genetic therapy addressing a significant unmet medical need. Projects may run for up to four years.
Regenerative-medicine clinical research grant
California Institute for Regenerative Medicine
Open — applications due October 30, 2026 at 2 PM Pacific; mandatory consultation by October 23
Institutional funding to add stem-cell biology, gene therapy, and regenerative-medicine coursework and paid research internships to California certificate, undergraduate, and master's training pathways.
Regenerative-medicine institutional training grant
California Institute for Regenerative Medicine
Upcoming — forms available late 2026; applications due April 2027
Spring 2026 pilot awards for developing or validating measures of healthy aging, including biochemical assays, composite indices, physical and cognitive performance measures, survey instruments, and biospecimen or data-collection methods.
Healthy-aging measurement pilot grant
Columbia Aging Center Geroscience Computational Core
Rolling letters of inquiry for foundational, translational, drug-discovery, and preclinical or clinical Alzheimer's research, including genetics, biomarkers, epigenetics, protein pathology, immunity, and alternative neurodegenerative pathways.
Nomination-based awards recognizing US graduate students with research records and leadership promise in geroscience, biology of aging, or related disciplines.
Graduate student geroscience award
American Federation for Aging Research
2026 cycle closed; nomination deadline was 2026-05-08
One-to-two-year international mobility fellowships for biological research, usable for mechanistic projects on aging hallmarks such as autophagy, proteostasis, mitochondrial quality, genome stability, or cellular senescence.
Internationally mobile life-science postdoctoral fellowship
Two- to three-year fellowship with rotations across FDA centers and a non-laboratory regulatory-science project concerning cell therapy, gene therapy, tissue-engineered products, or other regenerative-medicine products.
Up to twelve months in a foreign academic laboratory for France-based investigators to learn new methods, develop new approaches, and establish collaborations in Alzheimer's disease and related disorders.
Grant program for established investigators proposing pioneering research into biological mechanisms of normal human aging, physiological decline, and translational discoveries relevant to healthspan.
Aging biology research grant
Glenn Foundation for Medical Research and American Federation for Aging Research
Postdoctoral fellowship program supporting research on basic aging mechanisms and translational findings with direct relevance to human aging and healthspan.
Postdoctoral aging research fellowship
Glenn Foundation for Medical Research and American Federation for Aging Research
Two-year R03 support for early-career clinician-scientists in medical, surgical, dental, and other clinical specialties to conduct a first independent project that integrates aging or geriatrics with their specialty. Projects may be basic, translational, clinical, genetic, or epidemiologic.
Early-career aging-research grant
National Institute on Aging
Upcoming — opens October 10, 2026; first new-application deadline November 10, 2026
Research award program for independent investigators pursuing transformative clinical-translational or basic biological studies of cognitive aging and age-related memory loss.
Cognitive aging research award
McKnight Brain Research Foundation and American Federation for Aging Research
Short-term mentored training program that places medical students in basic, translational, clinical, or health-services research related to aging and geriatrics.
Medical student aging research training
National Institute on Aging and American Federation for Aging Research
$5,000 to $20,000 in Minnesota Nathan Shock Center core services for geroscience pilots. Core capabilities include DNA damage and epigenetics, DNA-damage signaling and nucleotide-excision repair, and models of genome instability, senescence, and aging.
Pilot research grant
Minnesota Nathan Shock Center on Genome Integrity and Aging
Upcoming open-topic canine-health call covering Established Investigator, First Award, Pilot Study, and Fellowship Training mechanisms; canine aging and age-related mechanism studies may apply when framed around dog health.
Upcoming canine health research grant
Morris Animal Foundation
Upcoming — opens April 7, 2027; pre-proposal closes May 5, 2027
Recurring opportunity to nominate pharmacological interventions for robust lifespan and healthspan testing across genetically diverse Caenorhabditis species and strains.
Institutional R25 support for intensive postbaccalaureate research experiences that prepare recent graduates for advanced study or private-sector research careers in Alzheimer's disease and related dementias.
Institutional postbaccalaureate research education grant
National Institute on Aging
Active NOFO — next deadline May 26, 2027 at 5:00 PM local time
Institutional R25 support for intensive summer Alzheimer's disease and related dementias research experiences for high-school students, undergraduates, or science teachers.
Institutional summer research education grant
National Institute on Aging
Active NOFO — next deadline May 26, 2027 at 5:00 PM local time
Recurring peer-reviewed opportunity to propose agents for standardized testing of effects on lifespan and healthspan in genetically heterogeneous mice.
Three-to-five-year mentored career development support for investigators pursuing research independence in biomedical, behavioral, or clinical aging and dementia research.
Mentored aging-research career development award
National Institute on Aging
Open — next new October 13, 2026; resubmission November 12, 2026
Institutional T32 support for U.S.-based predoctoral and postdoctoral research-training programs across all areas of aging research. Programs combine mentored research, didactic training, and career development and may be funded for up to five years.
Phased support for bundled Phase 1 and Phase 1b/2a trials of small molecules or biologics engaging non-amyloid and non-tau mechanisms across the Alzheimer's disease and related dementias spectrum.
Phase 1 to Phase 2a clinical development cooperative agreement
National Institute on Aging
Open — new October 19, 2026; resubmission/revision November 19, 2026
One-year pilot support for basic or translational aging research, including senescence, mitochondrial dysfunction, proteostasis, epigenetic alterations, nutrient sensing, inflammation, biomarkers, and healthspan interventions.
Early-career geroscience pilot grant
University of Oklahoma Center for Geroscience and Healthy Brain Aging
Rolling funding for decision-enabling preclinical or clinical development of Parkinson's therapies, including programs directed at mitochondrial dysfunction, lysosomal clearance, autophagy, and pathological protein handling.
Preclinical and clinical therapeutic-development grant
The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research
Rolling pre-proposals; next invited full deadline October 30, 2026
Two-year support for high-risk foundational or translational Parkinson's research, including cellular and molecular mechanisms, therapeutic targets and candidates, biomarkers, and preclinical proof-of-concept studies.
Parkinson's foundational and translational research grant
Parkinson's Foundation
Open — LOI October 15, 2026; invited full March 3, 2027
Two-year international fellowships for mentored research that directly advances understanding or treatment of Parkinson's disease across basic, translational, and clinical research.
Postdoctoral Parkinson's research fellowship
Parkinson's Foundation
Open — LOI October 1, 2026; invited full February 23, 2027
Funding for early human clinical studies of novel or repurposed potential medicines for Alzheimer's disease and related dementias, including approaches directed at protein aggregation, cellular clearance, mitochondrial biology, or other supported disease mechanisms.
Translational and early clinical research grant
Alzheimer's Association
Open — LOI October 20, 2026 at 5:00 PM ET; invited full December 15, 2026 at 5:00 PM ET
Career-development award for clinically trained early-stage investigators with leadership potential in research intended to improve health outcomes for older people.
Early-career aging research award
National Institute on Aging, American Federation for Aging Research, and John A. Hartford Foundation
Three-year bridge support for inventive clinical, preclinical, or basic Parkinson's research by early-career faculty, including studies of disease mechanisms and treatment approaches.
Early-career Parkinson's research award
Parkinson's Foundation
Open — LOI October 8, 2026; invited full March 2, 2027
$1,000 to $10,000 for small projects focused on mechanistic hallmarks or energetics of aging, intended to generate critical data for an upcoming grant submission and use UAB Nathan Shock Center research cores.
The 2026 cycle offered a one-year graduate-student award up to $25,000, a two-year postdoctoral fellowship up to $50,000, and a two-year principal-investigator award up to $100,000 for primary mitochondrial disease research.
Mitochondrial-disease research grants and fellowship
United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation and Mito Foundation
Closed — extended deadline was March 2, 2026 at 5:00 PM ET
Mentor-guided mitochondrial-medicine training for residents or fellows who remain at their current institutions, including protected clinical effort, education or travel support, and exposure to mitochondrial-disease research and trials when available.
Up to $20,000 in services from one or more UW Nathan Shock Center cores for pilot projects in the biology of aging. Available cores cover protein and metabolic phenotypes, invertebrate aging models, and explainable AI for aging.
Research traineeships in geroscience and the biology of aging. Postdoctoral applicants propose a two- or three-year training appointment and research topics with a participating faculty preceptor; predoctoral trainees must first be admitted to USC graduate study.
Predoctoral and postdoctoral research training
USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology
Postdoctoral applications rolling; predoctoral deadline June 15 each year
Rolling support for biology-of-aging pilot projects using multiple core services, single-service core vouchers, and mini-sabbaticals for hands-on technology training and collaboration at USC or the Buck Institute.
Aging-biology pilot, core voucher, and mini-sabbatical support
NIA-funded training positions for postdoctoral researchers pursuing basic aging biology and lifespan-intervention research, including somatic mutations, epigenetic change, oxidative damage, DNA repair, endocrine and immune biology, signaling, differentiation, and age-associated disease mechanisms.
Biology-of-aging postdoctoral research fellowship
UT Health San Antonio
Open — positions available immediately; no deadline stated
Two-year fellowship for PhD candidates and postdoctoral fellows in Academy-affiliated laboratories who want to communicate geroscience and aging biology. Recipients receive a $5,000 stipend, Academy mentorship, and expenses-paid participation in selected Academy programs.
Usually five years of support for early-career researchers to lead innovative health-related research, including eligible mechanistic studies of aging biology and age-related disease.
Early-career health-related discovery research award
Wellcome
Rolling — applications accepted year-round with no deadline
Up to $30,000 in service-based support for ten-month projects exploring the basic biology of aging and metabolism through Wisconsin Nathan Shock Center cores, services, and platforms.
Basic aging-biology pilot award
Wisconsin Nathan Shock Center
Closed — LOI June 26, 2026; invited application July 31, 2026
Up to $15,000 in Wisconsin Nathan Shock Center core services for six-month, sample-ready projects in basic aging biology, emphasizing metabolism, aging phenotypes, age-related vulnerability, and rapid generation of manuscript or grant-feasibility data.
Rapid pilot research award
Wisconsin Nathan Shock Center
Open — rolling throughout the year; reviews monthly
Seven-year global prize competition challenging teams to develop and test therapies that restore muscle, cognitive, and immune function in older adults.