Pilot Grant Program
The Framingham Heart Study Brain Aging Program (FHS-BAP) Pilot Grant Program supports innovative research on Alzheimer’s disease (AD), AD-related dementias (ADRD), and brain aging using existing Framingham Heart Study (FHS) data.
The program encourages new research directions and interdisciplinary collaborations, particularly among early-stage investigators and researchers bringing expertise from other fields to AD/ADRD and brain-aging research. Pilot projects are intended to generate preliminary findings and support future external funding opportunities.
2027 REQUEST FOR APPLICATIONS
2027 Pilot Grant Funding Opportunity
FHS-BAP invites proposals for innovative research using existing FHS data. Proposed projects must include a major component involving analysis of existing FHS data and fall within the scientific scope of the NIH grant supporting FHS-BAP.
Funding at a Glance
AWARD AMOUNT
$25,000
Up to, in direct costs
APPLICATION DEADLINE
Feb. 1, 2027
Submit one PDF
ANTICIPATED AWARDS
2
One-year, non-renewable
PROJECT START
May 1, 2027
Anticipated
Funding decisions are anticipated by April 1, 2027.
2027 Request for Applications
Review the complete funding announcement, including research scope, application requirements, and review criteria.
Research Priorities & Eligibility
Proposals are particularly encouraged in AD/ADRD risk and resilience, with an emphasis on vascular and inflammatory factors. Studies may integrate genetic, genomic, digital cognitive, clinical, biomarker, imaging, neuropathological, behavioral, epidemiological, and/or exposome data.
Projects may include longitudinal analyses, multimodal data integration, gene-environment or gene-protein interactions, identification of protective genetic or molecular factors, and harmonization of FHS data with other cohorts or datasets. Innovative computational and statistical approaches to FHS data are also encouraged.
Applications are particularly encouraged from early-stage investigators, including postdoctoral associates, instructors, and assistant professors, and from investigators new to AD/ADRD or brain-aging research. Collaborative and multidisciplinary proposals are encouraged.
Pilot grants are intended to support new research directions and generate preliminary data, publications, or collaborations that may lead to future external funding. They are not intended to support large undertakings by established investigators or to supplement ongoing research projects that are already funded.
Important: Projects requiring the use or new collection of FHS biospecimens are beyond the scope of this program.
For an overview of FHS data relevant to brain aging, please visit the FHS-BAP Data Management page.
How to Apply
Applications must include:
- Specific aims and research proposal (maximum three pages total, excluding references)
- Key personnel biosketch(es)
- Detailed budget and justification
- Letter of support from primary advisor (postdoctoral applicants only)
Please use NIH PHS 398 forms for the submitted materials.
Deadline: February 1, 2027
Format: One PDF containing all required application components
Submit to: medudek@bu.edu
Review Process
Each proposal will be reviewed and scored by at least two content experts based on scientific significance, innovation, rigor and feasibility, investigator expertise, and appropriate use of FHS resources.
The FHS-BAP Steering Committee will make funding decisions based on scientific merit, program priorities, data feasibility, and the potential to establish new research directions and support future external funding. Funding decisions are anticipated by April 1, 2027.
Questions & Program Contacts
Prospective applicants are strongly encouraged to contact the FHS-BAP Pilot Grant Program Directors before submitting an application to discuss scientific scope, data availability, and project feasibility.
Previous Pilot Grant Recipients
Explore research supported through the FHS-BAP Pilot Grant Program.
2024 Pilot Grant Recipients
Matteo Bellitti, PhD
Postdoctoral Associate, Boston University Department of Medicine, Section of Computational Biomedicine
Project: Digital Sleep Measures for the Assessment of Prodromal Alzheimer’s Disease
Lei Hou, PhD
Assistant Professor, Boston University Department of Medicine, Section of Biomedical Genetics
Project: Study Gene-Cardiovascular-Factors Interplay in Alzheimer’s Disease with Omics Data in FHS
Ruijia Chen, ScD
Postdoctoral Associate, Boston University School of Public Health, Department of Epidemiology
Project: Disparities In Dementia Risk, Brain Imaging, and Neuropathology by Socioeconomic Status: Elucidating Life Course Processes and Cardiometabolic Pathways