New Investigator Awards

Congratulations to the winners of the 2022-2023 New Investigator Awards!

Andrew Yang, PhD, University of California, San Francisco ADRC

Yuriko Katsuma, PhD, University of Kentucky ADRC

Jaime Ramos-Cejudo, PhD, New York University ADRC

About the New Investigator Awards

The New Investigator Awards, offered each year by NACC, are awarded to promising early-career investigators to support their career development and advance their research on Alzheimer's and other neurodegenerative diseases.

Successful New Investigator Projects are hypothesis-driven and address a scientific question outright. Investigations of reliability or validity or diagnostic/data standardization are also acceptable.

The maximum total funding for each project will be $135,000, which is inclusive of any indirect costs.

Eligibility Requirements

You must be a new investigator New investigators are defined as post-doctoral fellows, residents, or junior faculty that have not yet been promoted to associate professor rank (MD or PhD), and not already having had an R01 grant.
New investigaors must be affiliated with an ADRC ADRC Directors must provide a letter on behalf of each new investigator award applicant confirming this affiliation. ADRC Directors please see this link for a template letter.

Eligibility FAQ

Does NACC honor the NIH 12-month extension within the 5 year-of-rank eligibility for parental leave or other qualified reason for absence?
Yes, the NIH 12-month extension applies to the New Investigator Award funding as well.
My position is classified as a "Research Associate" and is consistent with that of a mentored, postdoctoral training position that additionally meets my capacity to function as a research clinician (DPT/PhD) at our institution that is necessary for my clinical translational research project in ADRD. Does my position meet the eligibility criteria to apply for this award?
Yes, the intent of the New Investigator Awards is to provide funding for early career and new investigators who have not received an R01 or similar type funding, and who are not classified as Senior Investigators.
I am a postdoctoral researcher at an ADRC. Do researchers with a temporary visa status (F1- OPT) eligible to apply for the New Investigator Awards?
At the time of application, you must have a visa status that shows that you will be eligible to remain in the United States through the latest possible end date of the award, 06/01/2024.
If the investigator from our subaward institution is interested in applying, does this mean they will need to apply through the Prime institution that has the ADRC award?
Yes, the ADRC Director must provide a letter acknowledging that the applicant is actually “affiliated with” (i.e., a known participating researcher/clinician with the ADRC). The applicant does not have to be a formally listed “co-investigator” on the ADRC grant per se but acknowledged by the Director as a researcher/clinician in the studies supported by the infrastructure of the ADRC. The funds will be dispersed through the ADRC institution’s subcontract with NACC.
Are investigators from Exploratory ADRCs eligible to apply?
Yes
I am a cardiologist working closely with an ADRC and I am interested in knowing if I am eligible for this RFA by the NACC New Investigator Awards?
If your research your application proves you are “engaging in research related to Alzheimer’s Disease and other neurodegenerative diseases” and you are connected closely with research at an ADRC, you are eligible to apply. Please include a Letter of Acknowledgement from your ADRC Director with your application.
Is there a limit to the number of applications a single center can submit?
No, we do not have a limit on the number of applications an ADRC can submit.
Our ADRC is a non-academic institute, so our investigator’s titles do not follow the academic ranking system (e.g faculty ranks). If an applicant has a position that is equivalent to that of an assistant professor, are they eligible to apply? And do we need to include any documentation confirming such equivalency?
Yes, if your positions are equivalent, you are eligible to apply for the New Investigator Awards. Please include a 1-2 sentence note about the equivalency in your final application.
My project focuses on the cellular and molecular investigations of a new treatment approach for Alzheimer’s Disease using cell lines and transgenic animal models. Since my proposal will not involve human subjects or data analysis, I would like to know whether my study qualifies for the NACC New Investigator Award.
Yes, your project would qualify for the New Investigator Award, as there is no strict “requirement” that basic science/animal model applications would be excluded from New Investigator Award applications. (There is also NO requirement to use NACC data, per se)
I am wondering whether investigators outside my organization can be consultants. Do they need to be affiliated with ADRC?
There is no specific restriction on consultants. However, the consultants must also be “acceptable” to ADRC Director as consistent with the project; and perhaps more importantly that the Investigator themselves is primarily involved and “doing” the study as well as benefiting from the educational experience of completing a project.
Does the NACC new investigator award accept multiple PIs in the application?
The intent is that there would be only a single PI, since the purpose is to provide essentially “pre-K” or pre R01 support for a single individual. While we have not specifically tested that premise with a vote of the Steering Committee at this point, we would expect that we would at least say that single PI is “strongly preferred.”
Does the NACC new investigator award accept data collection in the project?
Data collection may always occur within the project, such that it is related to the research question which the subject of the application. Applications with only the goal of “collecting data” would be regarded as non-responsive or simply low impact.
I was looking for information on the allowable indirect cost of the New Investigator Award. Could you please clarify if there are any restrictions regarding indirect costs?
The restrictions for indirect costs the New Investigator Awards:
- Award Funding Amount: The maximum total funding for each project will be $135,000, which is inclusive of any indirect costs.
- If the project is awarded funding by the Steering Committee, NACC will distribute the award to the Center Director as part of the Center’s annual NACC sub-award.
- The Director will be responsible for redistributing the funds internally (via an appropriate internal accounting mechanism) to the New Investigator and for tracking these project costs independently of expenditures associated with other NACC projects in the same funding cycle.
Since The New Investigator Award is a supplement to the Center’s NACC sub-award, the indirect cost rate is the same as your ADRC’s rate. Please refer to your Center’s NACC sub-award for details.

If your question is not addressed in the FAQ, please contact us at info@naccdata.org