Notice of Intent to Publish the Reissuance of RFA-AG-23-003, "Resources to Promote Coordination and Collaboration across Deeply Phenotyped Longitudinal Behavioral and Social Studies of Aging (U24 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)"

Key Dates

• November 29, 2023 - Resources to Promote Coordination and Collaboration across Deeply Phenotyped Longitudinal Behavioral and Social Studies of Aging (U24 Clinical Trial Not Allowed). See Announcement RFA-AG-25-006
• October 11, 2023 - Notice of Change to NOT-AG-23-036, "Notice of Intent to Publish the Reissuance of RFA-AG-23-003". See Notice NOT-AG-23-055
• January 20, 2022 - Notice of Change to Key Dates for RFA-AG-23-003 "Resources to Promote Coordination and Collaboration across Deeply Phenotyped Longitudinal Behavioral and Social Studies of Aging (U24 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)". See NOT-AG-22-010.
• December 20, 2021 - Resources to Promote Coordination and Collaboration across Deeply Phenotyped Longitudinal Behavioral and Social Studies of Aging (U24 Clinical Trial Not Allowed). See RFA-AG-23-003.

National Institute on Aging (NIA)

The National Institute on Aging (NIA) intends to reissue a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) to solicit applications to establish a Resource Development Network focused on the infrastructure needed to promote and support coordination, collaboration, and innovation across deeply phenotyped longitudinal behavioral and social studies of aging. This NOFO calls for investigator teams to design an innovative network that will serve the field at large and advance collaboration and coordination among studies. Network activities are expected to include the following:

• The creation of a publicly available meta-data catalog on a web-based platform that will identify and describe existing deeply phenotyped behavioral and social datasets characterized by rich psychological, behavioral, and biobehavioral content;
• Outreach to investigators and support for meetings that will stimulate innovation, collaboration, and utilization of the meta-data catalog and associated datasets;
• Methodological consultation services for investigators interested in data harmonization projects and/or coordinated data analysis; and
• Support for trainees and early- career investigators to initiate coordinated data analysis projects utilizing deeply phenotyped longitudinal studies to answer new questions relevant to aging and the adult lifespan.

This Notice is being provided to allow potential applicants sufficient time to develop meaningful collaborations and responsive projects.

The NOFO is expected to be published in Summer 2023 with an expected application due date in Fall 2023.

This NOFO will utilize the U24 Resource-Related Research Projects Cooperative Agreements activity code. Details of the planned NOFO are provided below.

NIA supports many deeply phenotyped, psychologically rich, small- to mid-size longitudinal studies that, collectively, span the full life course and are designed to investigate the direct factors and mediators affecting health and well-being in later life. These studies have amassed rich and wide-ranging data on behavioral and psychological processes related to personality, stress, emotion, social relationships, self-regulation, decision-making, and health behaviors. Many of these studies also include detailed cognitive assessments. They often incorporate real-time experience sampling or daily diary protocols, and frequently include biomarker and neuroimaging assessments. These approaches allow the collection of precise and detailed data for hypothesis generation and provide opportunities for fine-grained mapping of individual differences in health and lifespan trajectories of aging.

These deeply phenotyped longitudinal studies have been developed by independent investigators, utilize unique designs, and have been funded as stand-alone research programs. The wealth of psychosocial, behavioral, and biomarker data available from these generally more modest-sized studies has yet to be fully exploited. Together, they represent an under-utilized resource. Establishing links across individual studies could address replication questions, allow findings to be extended to new contexts, and offer greater potential to identify important factors that moderate healthspan and lifespan. This potential has been outlined in reports from workshops in 2019 and 2021. In order to reach this potential, additional infrastructure is needed.

This NOFO aims to develop resources and infrastructure to substantially impact the progress and quality of longitudinal behavioral and social research on aging and the life course. Proposed networks should promote and sustain productive collaborations across multiple NIA-funded small- to- mid-size longitudinal studies that have the potential to contribute to this agenda and allow for future incorporation of other datasets nationally and internationally. The meta-data catalog platform and network resources developed should:

• Facilitate investigator- initiated coordinated and/or parallel analyses across deeply phenotyped longitudinal datasets;
• Foster innovation in data-analytic approaches and the implementation of advanced statistical models across studies; and
• Allow tests of the generalizability and replicability of findings across various populations, historical periods, and experimental designs.

Network resources must be designed to be user-friendly, discoverable by the research community, and easy to access by analysts at all career stages.

Funding Information

Public/State Controlled Institution of Higher Education
Private Institution of Higher Education
Nonprofit with 501(c)(3) IRS Status (Other than Institution of Higher Education)
Small Business
For-Profit Organization (Other than Small Business)
State Government
Indian/Native American Tribal Government (Federally Recognized)
County governments
Independent school districts
Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities
Indian/Native American Tribally Designated Organization (Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments)
U.S. Territory or Possession
Indian/Native American Tribal Government (Other than Federally Recognized)
Regional Organization
Eligible Agencies of the Federal Government

Applications are not being solicited at this time.

Inquiries

Please direct all inquiries to:

Janine Simmons, M.D., Ph.D.
National Institute on Aging (NIA)
Phone: 301-283-8907
Email: janine.simmons@nih.gov