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You may have ‘noticed’ that all Notices of Special Interest (NOSIs) expired on September 9, 2025. The original purpose of these notices was to stimulate research in high-priority and high-opportunity areas of science. A NOSI would direct applicants to one or more active Notices of Funding Opportunities (NOFOs) to which they could submit applications on a particular topic.
NIA adopted the use of NOSIs, especially as a strategy for announcing Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias research topics we support. Since NOSIs have now been eliminated, we plan to sunset NIA’s two “parent-like” Alzheimer’s and related dementias NOFOs — PAR-25-332 for R01s and PAR-25-331 for R21s.
Applications Budget, Paylines, and Funding Policy 2025-09-15T00:00:00Z What do I do now?
Don’t worry! NIA still supports the research areas previously outlined by these NOSIs. Applicants can submit an unsolicited grant application to any of the NIH Parent NOFOs . This is especially true now that PAR-25-332 and PAR-25-331 will soon expire. We assure you that NIA is still committed to all aspects of aging research, including research on Alzheimer’s and related dementias.
Why is this happening?
Recently, there have been several pivotal changes at NIH in an effort to streamline processes, make grant submission more efficient, and reduce the complexity of NOFOs. First off, NIH is making a concerted effort to reduce the overall number of NOFOs and better utilize NIH-wide parent NOFOs for unsolicited research interests. In addition, NIH developed a new Highlighted Topics and Institute Profiles website. This consolidated resource will identify the top research priority areas of each Institute, Center, and Office at the NIH to help you better direct your research strategy.
Reach out to your program official with questions
We understand that there may be confusion when navigating these changes. Your program officer is your best source for answers to questions about the most appropriate NOFO to use when applying to NIA. We thank you for your continued support!