As you know, NIA’s Strategic Directions document serves several purposes. It acts as a point of reference for setting scientific priorities; a framework for systematic analysis of the NIA’s research portfolio; and a benchmark against which we can assess progress. Perhaps most importantly, the Strategic Directions are a definitive statement of the NIA’s scientific priority areas within the rapidly evolving field of aging research.
Kate NAGY,
Deputy Director, Office of Planning, Analysis, and Evaluation,
Office of Planning, Analysis, and Evaluation (OPAE).
In his blog post of a couple of weeks ago, NIA Director Dr. Richard Hodes mentioned that we would soon be calculating the pay lines for the new fiscal year. I’m happy to announce that we’ve done the math and come up with our initial funding policy for FY 2019.
Robin BARR,
Director, DEA,
Division of Extramural Activities (DEA).
You don’t have to be a Red Sox fan—or even a baseball fan—to look forward to coming to Boston for the annual meeting of the Gerontological Society of America on November 14–18. This is your chance to talk with NIA staff and learn about funding opportunities, ask what might happen to your application, or just shoot the breeze. Many of us will be there, and we look forward to talking with and meeting you (and maybe having some clam chowder or a lobster roll).
We’ve seen substantial expansion of our understanding of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias in recent years. But we still have a long road to travel. One of the biggest hurdles in our path is recruitment and retention of participants in clinical studies for Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias.
Amid all the news coming out of Washington these days, you may have heard that, for the first time in decades, a portion of the Federal budget was passed by Congress and signed into law by the President at the beginning of the 2019 fiscal year.
I’m very pleased to report that only seven short years after taking our first steps in geroscience, we’re now ready to expand the reach of the field into new areas with a third Summit on Geroscience. While the concept of geroscience has been well accepted within the aging biology research community, the goal of the upcoming Summit is to extend our reach into new areas of scientific endeavor and to involve new participants, including disease advocates and policymakers.
Felipe SIERRA,
Division Director,
Division of Aging Biology (DAB).
As we look forward to a bevy of fall activities, I’d like to update you on some of the Office of Special Populations’ (OSP) recent happenings and activities. Read on to find out what we’ve been doing and what we’re planning for the near future.
Carl V. HILL,
Director, Office of Special Populations,
Office of the Director (OD).
Dawn BERAUD,
Health Science Policy Analyst,
Office of the Director (OD).
How do we grow a field rapidly? That’s the question that drove us when we began receiving large increases in support for research on Alzheimer’s disease and its related disorders—a total of $1.3 billion across fiscal years 2014–2018.
Robin BARR,
Director, DEA,
Division of Extramural Activities (DEA).
Infrastructure may seem like an odd word to use when thinking about research into Alzheimer’s disease. We want to see clinical trial results. We want answers on the basic mechanisms. We want prevention measures. And we want them all now! Infrastructure may seem less exciting, but it’s absolutely necessary to achieve our goals for research in Alzheimer’s disease. That’s why NIA has substantially increased the grant award to the Indiana University School of Medicine for the National Centralized Repository for Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias (NCRAD).
Nina SILVERBERG,
Program Director, Alzheimers Disease Center,
Division of Neuroscience (DN).
