Aging Research Dissertation Awards to Promote Diversity (R36 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) | PAR 23 174

Opportunity Information: Apply for PAR 23 174

The Aging Research Dissertation Awards to Promote Diversity (R36 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) is an NIH grant opportunity from the National Institute on Aging (NIA) designed to support doctoral dissertation research focused on aging and aging-related health conditions. Its central goal is to expand and strengthen diversity in the scientific workforce by providing targeted dissertation-stage funding to researchers working in areas that align with NIA strategic priorities. In practice, the award is meant to help eligible doctoral candidates move their dissertation projects forward and build a stronger pathway into an aging research career, while also encouraging broader participation from individuals and institutions that have been historically underrepresented in biomedical, behavioral, clinical, and social science research.

This opportunity uses the NIH R36 mechanism, which is specifically structured as a dissertation award. The NOFO explicitly states that clinical trials are not allowed under this funding announcement, meaning applicants must propose research that does not meet NIH’s definition of a clinical trial. Projects can still be human-subjects research if otherwise appropriate, but they cannot involve prospective assignment to an intervention with the intent to evaluate effects on health-related outcomes. The scientific scope is broad as long as it fits within NIA’s mission and strategic research priorities related to aging, including the study of aging processes, age-related disease and conditions, health disparities in older populations, caregiving, dementia and Alzheimer’s-related research, social and behavioral aspects of aging, and other aging-relevant topics that NIA supports.

Eligibility spans a wide range of U.S.-based organizations and public or private entities. The listed eligible applicant types include state, county, and city or township governments; special district governments; independent school districts; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; federally recognized Native American tribal governments; tribal organizations that are not federally recognized; public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities; nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status (when not functioning as institutions of higher education); for-profit organizations other than small businesses; and small businesses, as well as other organizations that may meet NIH eligibility rules. The announcement also calls out additional eligible groups and institution types that are often central to diversity-focused initiatives, including Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic-serving Institutions, Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, and Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs). It also notes that faith-based or community-based organizations, eligible federal agencies, regional organizations, and U.S. territories or possessions may be eligible applicants.

At the same time, the NOFO includes clear restrictions related to foreign involvement. Non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities and foreign institutions are not eligible to apply. It also states that non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are not eligible, and that foreign components as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement are not allowed. In other words, applications must be fully anchored in eligible U.S. entities without foreign components.

Administratively, the opportunity is categorized as a discretionary grant under the health funding activity category, tied to CFDA number 93.866. The funding opportunity number is PAR-23-174, and the sponsoring agency is the National Institutes of Health. The original closing date listed for this specific posting is 2023-11-16, with a creation date of 2023-05-11. The source data provided does not specify an award ceiling or the expected number of awards, so those details are not available from the text you shared.

Overall, this NOFO is best understood as dissertation-stage support for aging research that also serves a workforce development purpose: helping diversify who is doing aging research and what perspectives are represented in the science of aging, while keeping the supported projects within NIA priorities and outside the scope of NIH-defined clinical trials.

• The National Institutes of Health in the health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Aging Research Dissertation Awards to Promote Diversity (R36 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.866.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2023-05-11.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2023-11-16. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Independent school districts, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, For-profit organizations other than small businesses, Small businesses, Others.

Apply for PAR 23 174

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