This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) encourages Exploratory/Developmental Phased Innovation (R21/R33) grant applications to facilitate early-stage T1 translation (bench-to-bedside) of discoveries from basic and applied research in aging into novel therapeutics for the prevention and treatment of clinical conditions related to aging and/or multiple chronic conditions in older people (e.g., sarcopenia, heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF), immunosenescence, metabolic syndrome, chronic kidney disease). This includes the development of pharmacological strategies such as new classes of compounds (e.g., senolytics, anti-inflammatory agents, modulators of proteostasis and autophagy), natural products (or their derivatives, mimics, and synthetic equivalents), biologics, stem/progenitor cell-based therapies, and the repurposing of Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved drugs.
This FOA provides support for up to two years (R21, milestone-driven exploratory phase) for preliminary, proof-of-concept studies, which is followed by up to three years of support (R33 phase) for further/expanded preclinical development of the candidate therapeutic. Applicants may request funds for the development of assays and other methodologies required for translational studies in the project budget for the R21 and/or R33 phases. Funding for the R33 phase will be contingent on successful completion of established milestones in the R21 phase.
The development of non-pharmacological interventions is considered outside the scope of this FOA.
Applications that focus on Alzheimer's disease or its related dementias are outside the scope of this announcement.
Applications using only the R21 mechanism will not be accepted under this FOA.
Companion FOA: PAR-19-304, R33 Exploratory/Developmental Grants Phase II
Deadlines:
PAR-19-305 Expiration Date July 17, 2022
For the R21 phase, the combined budget for direct costs during the two-year project period may not exceed $275,000, with no more than $200,000 requested in a single year. For the R33 phase, the direct costs should not exceed $300,000 per year.
The project period is limited to 2 years for the R21 phase and up to 3 years for the R33 phase. The total project period may not exceed 5 years.
