The Catalyst Awards—part of the broader Healthy Longevity Global Competition—reward bold, new, potentially transformative ideas to improve the physical, mental, or social well-being and health of people as they age, in a measurable and equitable way.
The National Academy of Medicine (“NAM”), with support from Johnson & Johnson Innovation, the Bia-Echo Foundation, and the Yun Family Foundation, will issue up to 20 Catalyst Awards in 2023 to U.S.-based innovators. Each Catalyst Award includes a $50,000 cash prize as well as exclusive access to additional funding opportunities, occasions to connect and collaborate with innovators from around the world, and amplification of your award and winning idea. The NAM will also administer Catalyst Award cycles in 2024 and 2025.
The NAM is currently seeking bold, new, and innovative ideas that aim to extend the human healthspan (i.e., the number of years lived in good health), especially approaches that challenge existing paradigms or propose new methodologies or concepts. High-risk ideas that could potentially yield high rewards and, in turn, dramatically change the field of healthy longevity are encouraged.
Ideas may focus on any stage of life, as long as they ultimately promote health, functioning, meaning, purpose and/or dignity as people age.
Applications may also originate from any field or combination of fields (e.g., biology, chemistry, medicine, engineering, behavioral and social sciences, technology, data science, and policy).
Deadline: Feb. 27, 2023
Examples of topic areas include but are not limited to:
The PI must reside in the U.S. as a U.S. citizen, legal resident alien, or non-resident alien with a valid visa. Co-Investigators are not required to reside in the U.S..
There must be one principal investigator (PI) named on each application (applicants may also name up to three co-Investigators). A particular individual may only be listed as PI on one Catalyst Award application per annual cycle of the NAM Catalyst Award competition. However, a PI can be named on another application as a co-Investigator within the same cycle.
