November 8, 2024
This Notice of Special Interest (NOSI) seeks to stimulate epidemiological research by expanding recruitment and follow-up in existing National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) longitudinal cohorts to include participants aged 65 years and older. This expansion is pivotal in deepening our understanding of age-specific risk factors and long-term health outcomes, and it reflects NHLBI and NIAs unwavering commitment to advancing comprehensive longitudinal studies and delivering crucial insights into healthy aging.
NHLBI invites competing revision applications to existing NHLBI U24 grants that focus on enhancement of established longitudinal cohort studies by incorporating adults aged 65 years and older. This strategic expansion will:
Additionally, this expansion of participant age to include 65 years and older will support innovative research on cognitive decline, mild cognitive impairment and dementia including Alzheimer's Disesase (AD) and AD-related dementias (ADRD), offering opportunities to explore the relationship between cardiometabolic, pulmonary health and cognitive function in older adults across diverse communities. It will also assess the impact of social determinants of health, providing insights into the unique challenges and vulnerabilities faced by aging populations, including various racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic groups. This age expansion will also encourage research on the biological processes that determine rates and heterogeneity of aging, and how external factors might interact with these mechanisms. Consistent with existing NIH practices and applicable law, NIH does not use the race, ethnicity, or sex of prospective participants in the application review process or funding decisions.
The overarching goal of this age expansion is to integrate biological, genetic, lifestyle, behavioral, environmental, and sociocultural factors through interdisciplinary research. By examining how these factors uniquely influence health outcomes in older adults, this initiative will uncover critical age-related patterns and inform the development of targeted, culturally sensitive health strategies to improve clinical outcomes and promote health equity for these populations.
Program Description and Requirements
This competitive revision NOSI is designed to provide support to funded investigators to expand their currently funded longitudinal cohort studies by expanding the recruitment and follow-up of participants aged 65 years and older, while also exploring the potential to add new assessments involving cohort participants across all age group. These assessments aim to explore factors, processes, and contextual variables that contribute to understanding long-term health outcomes and age-specific risk factors, particularly those related to cardiometabolic, pulmonary diseases, and aging.
Applicants may propose new activities that are beyond the original scope of the parent project. These activities should align with the projects goals of examining how various factors, such as cardiometabolic, pulmonary health, mobility, physical function, and cognitive function, impact aging-related outcomes. The proposed research should remain consistent with the initial objectives of the parent study, regardless of whether data has already been collected or is still forthcoming within the original specific aims.
Applications considered non-responsive to this NOSI will not be reviewed. The following will be considered non-responsive:
Applicants are strongly encouraged to contact the NHLBI Program Officer on their parent grant and the Scientific Contact staff listed by scientific areas in Section VII prior to submission of a competitive revision application to ensure that the content area proposed is consistent with the intent of this NOSI.
Multi-year competitive revisions are available for parent projects that have at least two (2) full years of active funding (excluding no-cost extension periods) remaining at the time of submission. The number of years for the revision must be within the project period of the parent award.
Application and Submission Information
Applications for this initiative must be submitted using the following opportunity or its subsequent reissued equivalent.
All instructions in the How to Apply - Application Guide and PA-23-317 must be followed, with the following additions:
Evaluation Process
Submitted applications must follow the guidelines of the IC that funds the parent award. Applications will be evaluated for scientific and technical merit by (an) appropriate Scientific Review Group(s) convened by the NHLBI, using the criteria described in PA-23-317. Applications will proceed to the Advisory Council of the parent award for a second-round review before the final selection for award.
Although NHLBI is not listed as a Participating Organization in all the NOFOs listed above, applications for this initiative will be accepted.
Applications nonresponsive to terms of this NOSI will be withdrawn from consideration for this initiative.
Please direct all inquiries to the Scientific/Research, Peer Review, and Financial/Grants Management contacts in Section VII of the listed notice of funding opportunity.
Scientific/Research Contact(s)
Stephanie Marquez, M.P.H.
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)
Division of Cardiovascular Sciences
Email: [email protected]
Ye Yan, Ph.D.
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)
Division of Cardiovascular Sciences
Email: [email protected]
Yuling Hong, M.D.,M.Sc.,Ph.D.
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)
Division of Cardiovascular Sciences
Email: [email protected]
Damali Martin, Ph.D., M.P.H.
National Institute on Aging (NIA)
Division of Neuroscience
Email: [email protected]
Financial/Grants Management Contact(s)
Julie Delgado
National Heart Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI)
Email: [email protected]