Overview

The Hevolution Foundation Advancing Geroscience Efforts (HF-AGE) will provide up to $5 million in 2022 to fund projects in Aging Biology and Geroscience that were deemed meritorious in peer review by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) but were not funded in fiscal year (FY) 2022. Hevolution envisions funding approximately 10 projects in Aging Biology or Geroscience, limited to grant proposals assigned to the National Institute on Aging (NIA), and reviewed in FY 2022. The final funding decision will be based primarily on the alignment between the proposed research and the mission and goals of Hevolution Foundation.

The application deadline 22nd November 2022.

The HF-AGE is a pilot initiative from Hevolution Foundation, aiming at supporting applications that have been well-received by NIH’s review system, but were not within the current funding range of the NIA. Hevolution Foundation realizes that NIA’s capacity to fund worthy projects is limited, and many well-scored projects fail to get funded. To energize the field, Hevolution Foundation plans to fund projects in Aging Biology and Geroscience. This effort is completely independent of NIH as Hevolution Foundation’s major goal of this initiative is to identify research that will support the Foundation’s mission of “Extending healthy lifespan for the benefit of all humanity”. The program provides flexible support for research projects in basic Biology of Aging, as well as projects that translate advances in basic research from the laboratory to the clinic.

Hevolution Foundation’s goals are: 

  • Increase the number of safe and effective treatments entering the market

  • Compress the timeline of drug development, using the latest tools and technologies

  • Increase accessibility to therapeutics that extend healthy lifespan

The Purpose

Funding Range

The Hevolution Foundation Advancing Geroscience Efforts (HF-AGE) will provide up to $5 million to fund approximately 10 projects.

  • While we intend to respect the award’s proposed budget and length requested by the applicants, Hevolution Foundation reserves the right to curtail these at its own discretion.

  • Overhead/indirect costs will be capped at 40% (or less) of the cost of the grant, with no exceptions made.

To be eligible, the project must:

  • Use one of the following funding mechanisms: R01, R21, R03, P01, K99.

  • Have been submitted for review to NIH, with a proposed starting date within FY 2022, which is October 1, 2021, through September 31, 2022.

  • Have a primary assignment to the NIA.

  • Have a score within 10 percentile (or 10 points if not percentile) of the NIA funding line for the mechanism used.

  • Be focused on aging biology or clinical aspects of geroscience.

The HF-AGE awards will not provide support for:

  • Clinical trials.

  • Research on Alzheimer’s disease, irrespective of the approach.

  • Research on age-related diseases without a clear focus on the role of the underlying biology of aging.

  • Projects that deal strictly with clinical topics such as the diagnosis and/or treatment of disease and health outcomes.

*Projects investigating age-related diseases or functional disorders will be considered only if approached from the point of view of how basic aging processes may lead to disease outcomes or how addressing the basic biology of aging might improve prognosis or treatment.

Questions about eligibility and suitability of research project can be addressed to grants@afar.org

Eligibility

Selection Criteria

As these applications have already been positively reviewed, the science will be evaluated in terms of alignment of the research topic with Hevolution’s goals and mission, as well as its level of innovation, significance, and creativity of the approach.

*Successful submissions will focus on understanding how the basic mechanisms of aging improve health, rather than on specific diseases affecting the elderly.

Hevolution Foundation will not provide reviewer critiques, and decisions are non-appealable.

 

Since the projects have already been peer-reviewed and received a positive appraisal from the NIH, only the following documents are required:

  1. The initial project submitted for review to NIH, with a proposed starting date within FY 2022, which is October 1, 2021, through September 30, 2022.

  2. The NIH-generated Summary Statement.

  3. A short paragraph explaining the alignment with Hevolution Foundation’s mission and goals.

  4. A one-to-two-page response to reviewers’ critiques.

Application Requirements

Application Procedures

Applications, including the 4 items indicated above in the Application Requirements Section, should be submitted as a single PDF file to here named as “last name HF-AGE 2022”.

Please note that if you are using animals or humans in your research, you will need to provide Hevolution Foundation with proof of compliance and approval by the appropriate IACUC or IRB.

All applications are due on the 22nd of November, 2022, by 5:00 PM ET, late or incomplete applications will not be considered.

Date 22 November 2022 31 December 2022
Phase Deadline to Submit Full Application Award Start Date

 

Timeline

Reporting Requirement

An interim narrative report is required after each year of funding, and final narrative and financial reports are required within three months following the end date of the award. Hevolution expects that all publications emanating from this opportunity be published as Open Source. Continuation of funding in subsequent years depends on the quality of the progress report, and availability of funds. Guidelines for submitting reports as well as other administrative questions can be found at the AFAR website here.

HF-AGE is an independent initiative of Hevolution Foundation, which is not affiliated with the NIH or the NIA.