Grants for Early Medical/Surgical Specialists' Transition to Aging Research (GEMSSTAR) (R03 Clinical Trial Optional)
Supports early-career medical or surgical clinician-scientists at eligible U.S. institutions to conduct pilot aging or geriatric-focused research and build a path toward future aging research careers.
⚑ Clinical Trial Optional · Foreign organizations are not eligible; U.S. entities may not include foreign subawards/subcontracts · Designed for early-career clinician-scientists in medical or surgical specialties · Requires a Professional Development Plan
This is a clinician-scientist career-development mechanism for medical/surgical specialists doing aging or geriatric biomedical research, which is far outside IPPRA’s social-science policy/risk/evaluation portfolio. The team might understand public-health framing in the abstract, but none of the roster has a gerontology or clinical specialty research line that fits as PI-level work.
JUDGED AGAINST THE ROSTER'S PUBLICATION DOSSIER · GPT-5.4-MINI · 2026-09-02
Unit fits — one characterization, each unit's own rules
| IPPRA | 58 good | peripheral portfolio topic: public_health; social/behavioral work is minor; funds applied research; biomedical core — IPPRA health lane is communication/crisis/policy (capped); clinical-trial/biomedical core — IPPRA angle is policy/community (capped) |
| Physical Sciences & Engineering (demo) | 55 good | technical depth: minor; funds applied research |
| Tom Love Innovation Hub | 30 weak | funds applied research; deep-tech content |
Description
The goal of the Grants for Early Medical/Surgical Specialists' Transition to Aging Research (GEMSSTAR) program is to provide support for early-career clinician-scientists trained in medical or surgical specialties to launch careers as future leaders in aging- or geriatric-focused research. In support of the program's goal, this GEMSSTAR Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) invites applications that propose to conduct transdisciplinary aging research that will yield pilot data and experience for subsequent aging research projects. The GEMSSTAR program encourages candidates to seek out a supportive research environment to further the program's objectives of fostering the development of early-career clinician-scientists in aging- or geriatric-focused research, particularly as it applies to their clinical specialty/discipline. Toward this end, GEMSSTAR candidates should include a Professional Development Plan that reflects this supportive research environment. In selecting GEMSSTAR recipients, the National Institute on Aging (NIA) will consider the extent to which a candidate's environment is supportive of aging- or geriatric-focused research.
Eligibility
Refer to Section III. Eligibility Information in the NOFO for additional information on eligibility.Foreign Organizations/International CollaborationsNon-domestic (non-U.S.) Entities (Foreign Organizations) are not eligible to apply.Non-domestic (non-U.S.) components of U.S. Organizations are not eligible to apply.Foreign components, as defined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement, are allowed.NIH will no longer issue awards (i.e., new, renewal, or non-competing continuation) to domestic or foreign entities that involve foreign subawards/subcontracts. All NIH-funded research involving foreign subawards/subcontracts must be submitted in response to a NOFO that is specifically designated for funded international collaborations. See NIH Grants Policy Statement 16.8 Collaborative International Research Awards.Applications involving foreign subawards/subcontracts submitted in response to this NOFO will be deemed noncompliant and will not be considered for funding. This policy applies to all monetary international collaborations resulting in foreign subawards/subcontracts, however, it does not preclude unfunded international collaborations or foreign components, funding for foreign consultants, or procurement of unique equipment or supplies from foreign vendors.
Apply
View on Grants.gov → CONTACT: National Institutes of Health <NIATraining@mail.nih.gov>
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