Overview

The Hevolution Foundation Advancing Geroscience Efforts (HF-AGE) will provide up to $5 million in 2024 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) 2023. Hevolution envisions funding approximately 8- 10 projects in Aging Biology or Geroscience, limited to grant proposals assigned to the National Institute on Aging (NIA), and reviewed in FY 2023. 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 24 November 2023.

The HF-AGE is a re-issue of a 2022  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 8- 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 request of up to 25% of the total direct cost of the grant. However, sub-award and equipment costs should be excluded when calculating indirect costs. Funding for equipment costing up to $10,000 for the entire project, and travel costs up to $5,000/year are allowed (these budget limits include subaward/s).
  • Graduate Student tuition remission cannot be requested in the budget.
  • Hevolution Foundation will not allow Primary Institution to include the first $25,000 of the subaward/s cost when calculating total indirect cost.
     

  • If the original budget requests items and/or exceeds cost limits outlined in the Hevolution Foundation budget instructions, exclude these costs in the application budget. These costs cannot be re-budgeted into any other categories.

    * Hevolution Foundation will make a final, non-appealable, funding decision based on innovation and creativity, as well as alignment with Hevolution’s mission and goals.


 

To be eligible, the project must:

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

  • Have been submitted for review to NIH, with a proposed starting date within FY 2023, which is October 1, 2022, through September 30, 2023

  • Have a primary assignment to the NIA

  • Have a score within 10 percentile (or 10 points if not percentiled) of the NIA general funding line for the mechanism used (extra points given to Early Stage and New Investigators, will not be honored).

  • Be focused on Aging Biology or Geroscience

The HF-AGE awards will not provide support for:

  • Clinical trials

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

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

  • Research on behavioral or social contexts of aging

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

  • Investigators who are conducting research at a for-profit institution

Questions about eligibility and suitability of research project can be addressed to grants@hevolution.com

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.

** Projects investigating age-related diseases or functional disorders are supported 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.

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

The full proposal must be submitted through Proposal Central .  The full application must be written in English. There are 13 sections that need to be completed as described below.

    1. Title Page (Proposal title, contact PI, and Institution information)  
       
    2. Enable other Users to Access this Proposal: To enable your co-investigators, department, or grants administrators to receive system notifications, add them with at least "View" access below and check the box "Auto Notify".
       
    3. Principal Investigator Information: Only the contact PI information should be provided here. Other multiple PIs should be added to the Key Personnel Section.
       
    4. Organization/Institution Contacts: Only the contact PI institution’s information should be provided here.
       
    5. Key personnel Information: People who are essential to carrying out the work of a project, typically those responsible for the design, conduct, and reporting of the research. Multiple PIs (if applicable) should be listed here as well. 
       
    6. Abstract and keywords
       
    7. Primary Institution Detailed Budget
       
    8. Primary Institution Budget Justification if applicable
       
    9. Human Subjects/Animal Subjects: Indicate whether Human subjects and/or Vertebrate animals are used.
       
    10. Application Attachments:
  • The original project submitted for review to NIH, with a proposed starting date within FY 2023, which is October 1, 2022, through September 30, 2023
  • The NIH-generated Summary Statement
  • A short paragraph explaining the alignment with Hevolution Foundation’s mission and goals.
  • A one-to-two-page response to major reviewers’ critiques
  • Subaward budget/s and Justification if applicable (use the subaward budget template provided under ‘Download Templates & Instructions’ section)
    1. Required e-signatures
       
    2. Validate: This section allows you to check if any sections are missing
       
    3.  Submission

Application Requirements

Application Procedures

Applications, including the 13 items indicated above, should be submitted through Proposal Central. 

All applications are due on the 24th of November, 2023, by 5:00 PM ET. Late or incomplete applications will not be considered.

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 before any funds can be released.

 

 

Date 24 November 2023 February 2024
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. Awards will be subjected to annual scientific and financial progress reports, as well as final scientific and financial reports.

 

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