Fiscal Year 2026 Budget

History of Budget Authority and FTEs

Distribution by Mechanism

Change by Selected Mechanism

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Overall Budget Policy

The FY 2026 President’s Budget request for NIA is $2,686.5 million, a decrease of $1,825.5 million or 40.5 percent compared with the FY 2025 full-year continuing resolution level. This funding level will support the highest-priority basic, translational, and clinical research across all of NIA’s mission areas, as described below.

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Aging Biology

Aging is a primary risk factor for many diseases and conditions. NIA supports research to determine the basic biological mechanisms underlying the processes of aging at the molecular, cellular, tissue, and organismal levels. In addition, NIA-supported investigators are studying changes in molecular and cellular structures and functions that characterize normal aging in various organisms and works to bring those insights to studies of human health. NIA also funds research on mechanisms and interventions that may affect the rates of aging in humans across American communities and programs to understand the biological aspects related to aging.

The field of geroscience seeks to translate knowledge gained from biology of aging research into ways to prevent, minimize, or reverse detrimental age-related changes in older individuals. Coordinated by NIA, the Geroscience Interest Group (GSIG) catalyzes the development of new tools, models, and paradigms to translate basic biological research on multiple diseases to clinical interventions. Additionally, NIA helped to originate the NIH-wide program on the human virome , which characterizes human viruses and their impact on health and disease over the lifespan.

To support research efforts on the biology of aging, NIA funds eight Nathan Shock Centers of Excellence , which have provided 30 years of national leadership and research resources in basic research in the biology of aging. Important accomplishments made by the Nathan Shock Centers include discoveries about the onset and impact of cellular senescence and work on the function of mitochondria with increasing age. NIA supports several resources for biology of aging research and also supports the Interventions Testing Program to identify agents that extend lifespan and healthspan in laboratory animals, which can lay the foundation for translation to clinical research.

Cellular Senescence Network (SenNet)

One promising avenue of research in geroscience involves studying cellular senescence, a cellular state during which damaged cells resist cell death, linger, and harm neighboring normal cells. NIA-funded researchers have found that treatment with drugs that remove senescent cells, called ‘senolytics,’ delayed the onset of several age-related ailments in mice compared to untreated peers. In addition, with NIA’s involvement SenNet was launched in early 2021. SenNet researchers seek to identify and characterize how different types of senescent cells affect tissues to impact human health, disease, and lifespan. Deeper understanding of cellular senescence will help researchers develop new therapies that promote beneficial effects of senescent cells while suppressing their tissue-damaging effects. Senolytic interventions are being tested in clinical trials of several aging-related conditions. These first-in-human trials show promise, though more research must be conducted to support the translation of these and other geroscience findings more broadly into the clinic and ultimately help treat age-related conditions.

Molecular Aging Clocks

Evidence suggests that an individual’s chronological age, based on birthdate, does not necessarily align with their “biological age,” the age that one’s cells, tissues, and organ systems appear to be based on biochemistry. This misalignment gives an opportunity to identify and validate accurate measurements of biological age and aging rates, which could support the development and testing of therapeutics that aid in extending healthspan.

Over the last decade, NIA-funded researchers have made significant progress on multiple molecular aging clocks to assess biological age. Molecular aging clocks are diverse – with more than 50 different clocks available – and have been built and tested using a wide range of data, including data on DNA changes, protein expression, and composition of the microbiome.

As part of NIA’s work to increase healthspan and quantify biological age, several NIA-led and funded efforts have accelerated the understanding of epigenetic markers – chemical changes to DNA that are influenced by environmental and behavioral factors that regulate gene expression and mechanisms of aging. For example, an NIA-funded study found that along with traditional social and behavioral predictors of health, epigenetic age measures may be a valuable tool for predicting health outcomes later in life. Additionally, in 2023 and 2024, GSIG developed an Aging Clock Webinar Series, to explore the state-of-the-science of molecular aging clocks, provide opportunities to discuss specific knowledge gaps within this area, and identify potential opportunities for future research.

Behavioral and Social Research

NIA invests substantially in dementia research, including cognitive and dementia epidemiology, identification of behavioral and social risk and resilience factors, and measurement of dementia-related functional and psychological changes. To support and improve the quality of life for Americans currently living with dementia, as well as their loved ones and care partners, NIA also leads efforts in dementia care and caregiving research.

NIA has a strong research portfolio to improve early detection of dementia and develop rigorous approaches to monitoring cognitive and functional change over the course of adult life and in response to interventions. NIA coordinates the NIH-wide Science of Behavior Change program , which works to accelerate the investigation of common mechanisms of behavior change that are applicable to a broad range of health behaviors, provides tools and guidance to the field on best practices in behavioral change trial design, and maintains an online, publicly available repository of measures produced by the network. NIA has leveraged this investment to develop a growing research program focused on enhancing long-term adherence to health behaviors associated with reduced dementia risk as well as other age-related conditions.

The behavioral and social research portfolio also includes numerous longitudinal studies following groups of people over time to illuminate the aging process. This includes the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), the nation’s largest and most comprehensive population-representative longitudinal study of older adults, as well as the Harmonized Cognitive Assessment Protocol (HCAP) , an HRS sub-study. HCAP helps measure and understand dementia risk within ongoing longitudinal studies of aging around the world by harmonizing methods and content to facilitate cross-national comparisons that help identify the factors driving differences in health and aging. NIA also coordinates centers programs, including the Centers on the Demography and Economics of Aging, the Roybal Centers for Translational Research on Dementia Care Provider Support, and Artificial Intelligence and Technology Collaboratories. These centers play a significant role in advancing innovative behavioral and social science via the development of tools, funding for pilot projects, and mentoring to strengthen the aging research workforce.

Geriatrics and Clinical Gerontology

NIA supports clinical and translational research on health and disease in older adults. This includes trials on the effectiveness of clinical interventions; translational research for the development of new interventions for age-related conditions; prevention and treatment of multiple chronic conditions in older individuals through targeting of fundamental aging mechanisms, such as cellular senescence; and studies to inform evidence-based geriatric care and policies affecting older individuals.

Within its dementia research portfolio, NIA has led efforts to develop a collaborative research and resource network, the Geriatric Emergency Care Applied Research (GEAR) Network , to address research gaps in emergency care of older adults with dementia. GEAR research studies currently focus on older adults in emergency care settings who may be vulnerable to misdiagnosis, inappropriate tests or treatments, inability to provide informed consent to treatment, and unsafe discharge. Such vulnerability results in part from the higher incidence of comorbidities among older adults. In 2024, NIA funded an award to establish the Nursing Home Explanatory Clinical Trials Network, which will work with the NIA-managed Long-Term Care Data Cooperative to help address the lack of randomized controlled trials in nursing home settings and to facilitate testing of treatment and prevention interventions and strategies for a variety of age-related conditions.

NIA supports research on a diverse array of factors that contribute to the maintenance of exceptional health and longevity. For instance, NIA has supported investigations of longevity-associated genetic variants and their potential protective effects for health, including for the cardiovascular system, metabolism, and cognition. The NIA-supported Longevity Consortium seeks to identify factors underlying exceptional human longevity by examining longevity-related mechanisms and targets related to cognitive resilience and dementia risk. Funded through the Longevity Consortium, the Centenarian Project, will bring together multiple longevity studies, combining individual-level genetic and phenotypic data for more powerful genetic association analyses of human longevity. These analyses will help identify potential healthy aging therapeutics.

An area of national research interest and NIA support is that of palliative care, a form of supportive care focused on relief of symptoms and suffering, communication of prognosis and treatment options in the context of patient goals, and coordination of care within and across health care settings. Given care needs associated with chronic disease and disability in older adulthood and a growing population of older adults, palliative care is a critical area of research focus. In February 2024, NIA spearheaded the release of a new funding opportunity to support a national Consortium for Palliative Care Research Across the Lifespan. This consortium – an NIH-wide collaboration – will provide resources, expertise, and coordination to advance innovative, high-quality palliative care research across the lifespan and across a range of serious illnesses, including dementia. The Consortium will also emphasize scientific workforce development in palliative care, in addition to clarifying and addressing differences in quality and use of palliative care services across populations (e.g., rural or low-income populations).

In addition, NIA funds the Claude D. Pepper Older Americans Independence Centers , which advance biomedical research leading to maintenance of functional independence in older age. Through a nationwide network of Pepper Centers, the program provides geriatrics research expertise and collaboration; venues for dissemination of geriatric health information; sites for training in aging-related research; and relevant data, biospecimens, and aging research tools. To help address the critical need for health care personnel trained in aging, NIA funds the Grants for Early Medical/Surgical Specialists' Transition to Aging Research program , which aids early-career physician-scientists trained in medical or surgical specialties launch careers in aging. In addition, NIA supports the Clinician-Scientists Transdisciplinary Aging Research Coordinating Center , a national platform for collaboration and mentorship among clinicians to accelerate aging research.

Neuroscience

NIA’s neuroscience research portfolio includes basic, translational, clinical, biomarker, genetics, and epidemiological research, as well as training opportunities, to deepen existing knowledge of both normal and pathological age-related changes to the nervous system and the influence of these changes on cognition and behavior. NIA supports basic and clinical research aimed at maintaining or improving sleep, sensory, and motor function with age, and studies exploring changes in brain blood flow as a possible contributor to gait dysfunction and falls.

NIA supports studies to better understand the molecular, cellular, and genetic underpinnings of dementia; biomarker discovery and validation; epidemiological studies to establish prevalence and incidence estimates and identify risk and resilience factors; and efforts to identify, develop, and test therapeutics to treat or prevent dementia and to address neuropsychiatric symptoms. In addition, NIA supports translational programs including clinical trials for dementia with pharmacological and non-pharmacological approaches, management of care, and neuropsychiatric symptoms. These research initiatives work to develop new biomarkers, expanding the number of therapeutic drug candidates, testing novel methods to target specific brain cell types involved in dementia, clarifying the relationship between delirium and dementia, and exploring the role of infectious agents, among other topics.

One key component of NIA’s neuroscience research portfolio is identifying the genes involved in Alzheimer’s and studying what role they may play. High-throughput genome sequencing technologies have facilitated the identification of risk and protective genes and how they function. These insights allow researchers to better target potential pathways for preventing or treating dementia. Essential to this work is the Alzheimer’s Disease Sequencing Project (ADSP) . Launched in 2012, the ADSP promotes collaboration among scientists to sequence genetic samples from broad populations to identify new genetic variants that influence dementia risk and protection. The ADSP aims to genetically define subgroups of individuals that carry specific sets of genes and match them with biomarkers, functional genomics, and clinical data. In 2024, data on almost 60,000 quality-controlled and harmonized whole human genomes became available for analysis by researchers. This new dataset is one of the largest of its kind, with a range of genomes from individuals in 20 countries. These data will be leveraged by investigators across fields, including behavioral researchers studying risk and resilience factors via established international cohort studies.

NIA funds Alzheimer's Disease Research Centers (ADRCs) at major medical institutions across the United States. ADRCs aim to translate research advances into improved diagnosis, treatment, care, and understanding of risk factors for people with dementia. While each Center has its own research emphasis, the ADRCs work as a network to enhance research on dementia, sharing new ideas, approaches, and data through the National Alzheimer’s Coordinating Center.

Intramural Research Program (IRP)

NIA’s IRP is comprised of eight scientific laboratories and branches and the Roy Blunt Center for Alzheimer's and Related Dementias (CARD). While these different units each focus on a specific research area, they work together to expand knowledge of the aging process and age-related disease. IRP also supports training programs for students and recent graduates that provide junior scientists with opportunities to learn skills in basic and clinical aging research. Notably, IRP’s longitudinal cohort studies have contributed greatly to progress in aging research. Prominent studies include the trailblazing Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging (BLSA) . BLSA is the nation’s most comprehensive and longest running scientific study of human aging, having launched in 1958 when the study of aging was still nascent. BLSA explores trajectories of changes of multiple physiological, medical, psychological, and behavioral parameters over the lifespan. Recently, this has included analysis of multi-omic molecular data and application of evolving approaches for the analysis and interpretation of biological data. This world-renowned study has generated thousands of scientific papers and serves as an exemplary data resource. The study is also assessing a large set of blood samples collected over time; these data will be processed using novel statistical methods, including AI, to develop biomarkers of aging and chronic diseases to inform clinical applications. The BLSA is now exploring factors that lead to exceptional aging, as well as new and more effective interventions that may prevent or delay disease and promote healthy aging.

In 2020, NIA launched CARD in partnership with other NIH Institute support. CARD brings together experts from across NIH and visiting investigators from around the globe, to accelerate the translation of scientific findings in dementia into real-world applications. CARD complements efforts of the extramural community by leveraging NIH’s unique campus resources to address key scientific gaps. CARD supports the largest-ever genome engineering project for human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), which are cells, such as blood or skin, donated by individuals and “reprogrammed” into stem cells to generate other cell types, like neurons. This program, the iPSC Neurodegenerative Disease Initiative project , has generated over 270 iPSC lines relevant to dementia. These publicly available cell lines enable researchers to study genes linked to dementia to understand how mutations affect disease pathology. Over 650 laboratories from 30 countries have utilized these cell lines.

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Noncompeting Research Project Grants (-$1,212.1 million; total $1,369.6 million):

NIA will continue to support its established noncompeting Research Project Grants (RPGs) by awarding a total of 1,730 RPGs, a decrease of 609 from FY 2025. The decrease in funding is also due to funding noncompeting RPGs at 10 percent below full commitment level.

Competing Research Project Grants (-$177.2 million; total $334.4 million):

NIA will award 229 competing RPGs in FY 2026. The reduction relative to FY 2025 is due largely to the reduction in proposed funding for NIA in FY 2026. The FY 2026 request will continue the FY 2025 NIH policy of allocating half of the budget for competing RPGs for awards that fully fund their outyear commitments as part of the initial grant awards.

Research Centers (-$74.9 million; total $230.6 million):

NIA will award a total of 142 Research Centers Grants, flat to FY 2025. This allows NIA to fund existing commitments while retaining the ability to renew select programs.

Other Research (-$65.6 million; total $177.6 million):

NIA will award a total of 484 Other Research Grants, a decrease of 220 from FY 2025. The reduction relative to FY 2025 is due largely to the reduction in proposed funding for NIA in FY 2026.

Research & Development (R&D) Contracts (-$68.5 million; total $132.0 million):

The reduction in Contracts is due largely to the reduction in proposed funding for NIA in FY 2026.

Intramural Research (-$56.7 million; total $200.5 million):

The reduction in Intramural Research is due largely to the reduction in proposed funding for NIA in FY 2026, and includes a reduction in staff from 269 FTE to 228 FTE and lower contributions toward centrally-funded services such as the NIH Clinical Center.

Research Management and Support (-$51.3 million; total $124.3 million):

The reduction in Research Management and Support is due largely to the reduction in proposed funding for NIA in FY 2026, and includes a staffing reduction from 406 FTE to 285 FTE and lower contributions toward centrally-funded services.

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