Atom | NIA Program Project Applications (P01 Clinical Trial Optional)

Funder: National Institutes of Health

Due Dates: May 25, 2025 (New, Renewal, Resubmission, Revision) | September 7, 2025 (AIDS) | All applications due by 5:00 PM local time

Funding Amounts: No budget cap; budgets must reflect actual needs. Maximum project period: 5 years. NIA rarely funds P01s >$2M direct costs/year.

Summary: Supports multi-project research programs (P01) in aging, requiring at least three synergistic projects with a common theme and an administrative core; clinical trials are optional.

Key Information: Applicants requesting ≥$500,000 direct costs/year must contact NIA at least 6 weeks before submission; Data Management and Sharing Plan required.

Description

The National Institute on Aging (NIA), part of the NIH, invites investigator-initiated Program Project (P01) applications to support integrated, multi-project research programs addressing scientific areas relevant to NIA’s mission. Each application must include at least three interrelated research projects that share a central theme, focus, and overall objective, as well as an administrative core to coordinate the program. Projects may span genetic, biological, neuroscientific, clinical, behavioral, social, and economic research related to aging, age-related diseases, and conditions affecting older adults. Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias are areas of particular emphasis.

Revision applications may propose to expand or add new projects or cores within the context of an existing P01 award, but cannot extend support beyond the parent award’s end date.

Clinical trials are optional: the overall program cannot be a clinical trial, but individual projects within the P01 may include clinical trials.

Due Dates

May 25, 2025: New, renewal, resubmission, and revision applications due (by 5:00 PM local time of applicant organization)
September 7, 2025: AIDS-related applications due
Letter of Intent: 30 days before the application due date (recommended, not required)

All applications must be submitted electronically via Grants.gov using ASSIST or an institutional system-to-system solution.

Funding Amount

Budget: No specific budget cap; budgets must reflect the actual needs of the proposed program.
Maximum project period: 5 years.
NIA rarely funds P01s with direct costs exceeding $2 million per year (excluding F&A on subcontracts); exceptions require NIA-wide senior staff committee approval.
Applicants requesting $500,000 or more in direct costs in any year must contact a Scientific/Research Contact at least 6 weeks before submission.

Eligibility

Eligible organizations include:

Public and private institutions of higher education (both public/state-controlled and private)
Nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status (other than institutions of higher education)
For-profit organizations (including small businesses)
State, county, city, township, and special district governments
Independent school districts
Federally recognized and other Native American tribal governments/organizations
Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities
Faith-based and community-based organizations
Hispanic-serving institutions, HBCUs, AANAPISIs, TCCUs, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, regional organizations
U.S. territories and possessions
Eligible agencies of the federal government

Note: Non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities and non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are not eligible to apply. However, foreign components (as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement) are allowed.

Application Process

Application Guide: Follow the NIH SF424 (R&R) Multi-Project Application Guide (Forms-H).
Required components:
- Overall component (summary, aims, strategy)
- Administrative core (required for new/renewal/resubmission; optional for revisions)
- At least three research projects (each led by an independent investigator)
- Optional shared resource cores (must serve at least two projects)
Page limits:
- Overall: 6 pages
- Admin/Core: 6 pages each
- Project: 12 pages each
Data Management and Sharing Plan: Required in the Overall component.
Human Subjects/Clinical Trials: Complete the PHS Human Subjects and Clinical Trials Information form for each project as applicable.
Budget: Use the R&R Budget Form; modular budgets are not permitted.
Biosketches: Required for all senior/key personnel.
Letters of Support: Include as appropriate.
Appendix: Only limited items allowed (see application guide).

Submission: Applications must be submitted electronically via Grants.gov using ASSIST or an institutional system-to-system solution.

Additional Information

Contact NIA at least 6 weeks before submission if requesting $500,000 or more in direct costs in any year.
NIA rarely funds P01s with direct costs >$2M/year; exceptions require special approval.
Clinical trials: The overall P01 cannot be a clinical trial, but individual projects may include clinical trials.
Data Management and Sharing Plan: Required for all applications.
Foreign components: Allowed, but non-U.S. organizations cannot apply as the primary applicant.
Review criteria: Scientific merit, synergy among projects, significance, innovation, approach, investigator qualifications, and environment.

External Links

Contact Information

Topic	Contact Person	Email	Phone
Scientific/Research Contact	Sanoj K. Suneja, Ph.D.	sanoj.suneja@nih.gov	301-402-7710
Peer Review Contact	Ramesh Vemuri, Ph.D.	ramesh.vemuri@nih.gov	301-496-9666
Financial/Grants Management	Mr. E.C. Melvin	ec.melvin@nih.gov	301-480-8991
General Grants Info	NIH Grants Info	GrantsInfo@nih.gov	301-480-7075
eRA Commons/ASSIST Support	eRA Service Desk	Web Support	301-402-7469 or 866-504-9552
Grants.gov Support	Grants.gov Customer Support	support@grants.gov	800-518-4726

For full details and additional contacts, see the FOA Section VII. Agency Contacts.