New or emerging researchers in aging can invest a week of their summers for a career and support network building opportunity that will last a lifetime. Applications are now being accepted for the 2019 Butler-Williams Scholars Program. A truly unique experience, the B-W Scholars Program teaches new skills to build a successful research career and to engage peers with similar career goals.

We are pleased to announce the establishment of the AgingResearchBiobank, a central biorepository for the storage and distribution of a vast collection of biospecimens and data from longitudinal and clinical studies to the broader scientific community.

If you’re looking for help bringing an idea to market that could help people live vibrant and healthy lives as they age, or assist in the fight against Alzheimer’s disease and its related dementias, then 2019 is an excellent time to apply for small business or tech transfer funding.

Question: What do these study questions from published papers have in common? What’s the relationship between widowhood and depression in the United States, Europe, Korea, and China? How and why do disability and morbidity among older people differ across 30 countries and three continents? Does making transportation universally accessible through free bus passes for older people in the United Kingdom reduce social isolation and increase physical activity?

I have an early holiday present for those of you who’ve been waiting for this news: NIA’s FY 2019 pay lines for our career development program are 21 for our general allocation and 28 for our Alzheimer’s allocation. These numbers mean that we will pay most general allocation career award applications to the 21 score. We may require some applicants to resubmit within that line, and we may pay one or two beyond that line. The same holds true for the 28 score—for career award applications that focus on Alzheimer’s disease or related dementias.

There’s an old saying: “If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together.” That sums up an exciting new NIA-funded resource—the Research Centers Collaborative Network—that promises to advance aging research by bringing different research groups and disciplines together.

The dementia research landscape is wide, varied, and growing. While NIH funds a huge amount of dementia research, we’re not the only funding organization supporting research to understand the underlying mechanisms of age-related dementias, or to identify biomarkers, or to develop and test therapies, or increase knowledge around patient care. Whether you’re a researcher, caregiver, or just interested in learning more about Alzheimer’s research, the International Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias Research Portfolio (IADRP) is a resource you should know about.

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.