The Clin-STAR Coordinating Center is seeking to fund aging research development and training awards that aim to prepare early career investigators for careers in aging-related research and stimulate new collaborations focused on the development of clinically relevant aging research projects.

This mechanism provides funding for up to three grants in 2026. Up to $50,000 in direct cost and up to 8% ($4,000) for indirect cost may be budgeted. Awards will be made to early-career clinician-scientists who work collaboratively with established (senior) investigator(s). 

The deadline for receipt of all Letters of Intent (LOI) is June 29, 2026 at 5:00 pm EST. All LOIs must be submitted through the online Clin-STAR submission form. The LOI instructions and cover page can be downloaded here.

Inflammation and aging-related disease: A transdisciplinary inflammaging framework. 

Congratulations to Dr. Brian Andonian and the many coauthors from the Clin-STAR Inflammation Research Group on receiving a 2026 GeroScience Outstanding Publication Award: First Prize in the Review Paper category! Read the acclaimed paper here.

Frailty Research Interest Group and VA Researchers Interest Group

Tuesday, June 2, 3-4 pm EST with guest Andrea Wershof Schwartz, MD, MPH, AGSF: Age Friendly Health Sytems

Biology of Aging Research Interest Group

Tuesday, June 16, 3-4 pm ET: Work in progress by Amy Vandiver, MD, PhD

Post-Acute Care Research Interest Group

Thursday, June 4, 4-5 pm ET: Round Robin

Thursday, September 10, 4-5 pm ET: Guest researcher Kathleen T. Unroe, MD from the NEXT STEPs network will discuss conducting research and clinical trials in the nursing home setting

Social Determinants of Health Research Group

September 18, 12-1 pm EST: Using the Geriatric 5Ms to teach structural and social determinants of health with Dr. Rachel K. Miller

Please reach out to Andrea@afar.org if would like to participate in any of these groups.

Clin-STAR Corner: Practice Changing Advances at the Interface of Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning and Geriatrics

Tue T. Te, Alex A. T. Bui, William Speier, Constance H. Fung

May 23, 2026 

Highlighted Topics: A Centralized and Simple Resource to Learn About Research Areas of Interest to NIH

Highlighted Topics, or HTs, are a new effort to specify areas of science of interest to one or more NIH Institutes or Centers. If an HT is of interest, reach out to the scientific contact at NIH to discuss your ideas and apply through an appropriate funding announcement. 

Subscribe to Highlighted Topics to receive updates on these topics here.

NIH Small Business Program is Back!

NIH’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs was reauthorized for the next five years. SBIR and STTR applications submitted during FY26 are currently under review. Explore the forecasted NIH SBIR/STTR funding opportunities to prepare for when the application process begins.

New NIH Policies

NIA questions can be addressed to NIATraining@mail.nih.gov

ePCT Planning Grant Program
LOI Deadline: June 18, 2026

The goal of this 12-month ePCT Planning Grant is to support the activities required
to collaboratively plan and develop a feasible, fully specified protocol for a Stage
IV effectiveness ePCT in dementia care.

Grant Opportunity Forecasted: Paul B. Beeson Emerging Leaders Career Development Award in Aging
Deadline: TBD

The National Institute on Aging (NIA) intends to publish a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) to renew the Grants for Early Medical/Surgical Specialists' Transition to Aging Research (GEMSSTAR) program. The GEMSSTAR program provides support for early-career physician-scientists trained in medical or surgical specialties and early-career dentist-scientists in launching careers as future leaders in aging- or geriatric-focused research. As such, the program seeks applicants who aspire to continue or shift their research focus to bridge their specialty/discipline and the clinical care of older adults. In support of the program's goal, this NOFO invites applications that propose to conduct transdisciplinary aging research that will yield pilot data and experience for subsequent aging research projects. 

Grant Opportunity Forecasted: Grants for Early Medical/Surgical Specialists' Transition to Aging Research (GEMSSTAR)
Deadline: TBD

The National Institute on Aging (NIA) intends to publish a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) to renew the Grants for Early Medical/Surgical Specialists' Transition to Aging Research (GEMSSTAR) program. The GEMSSTAR program provides support for early-career physician-scientists trained in medical or surgical specialties and early-career dentist-scientists in launching careers as future leaders in aging- or geriatric-focused research. As such, the program seeks applicants who aspire to continue or shift their research focus to bridge their specialty/discipline and the clinical care of older adults. In support of the program's goal, this NOFO invites applications that propose to conduct transdisciplinary aging research that will yield pilot data and experience for subsequent aging research projects. 

NIH Geroscience Interest Group (GSIG) Webinar: Recent advances in translational geroscience 
June 18, 2026 | Virtual

This webinar will take place on Thursday, June 18, 2026, from 12:00pm - 1:00pm ET and will feature Dr. John Newman, Buck Institute for Research on Aging. The title of Dr. Newman's talk is "Accelerating Geroscience: Translation, Training, and Trials".

NIH Fifth Geroscience Summit: Revisiting the Geroscience Hypothesis: Focus on Health 
December 2-3, 2026 | Bethesda, MD & Virtual

Geroscience is a rapidly evolving field of research that aims to improve healthy lifespan by examining and targeting fundamental aging pathways to prevent, delay, or treat common age-associated conditions and diseases. Since 2012, the trans-NIH Geroscience Interest Group (GSIG) has played an important role in advancing geroscience research, in part by hosting summits that explore the state-of-the-science. The fifth Geroscience Summit will be an opportunity to assess progress toward addressing the development and execution of geroscience-based clinical trials, treating multimorbidity with geroscience-based interventions, validating and utilizing biomarkers of aging in geroscience research, and facilitating more effective communication around geroscience across stakeholder groups. For more information, contact Siobhan Addie (siobhan.addie@nih.gov; 202-253-6015).

This communication is managed by the American Federation for Aging Research, which serves as the National Program Office for the Clin-STAR Coordinating Center. The Clin-STAR Coordinating Center is funded by the National Institutes of Health National Institute on Aging under award number U24AG065204. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the funder.