Environmental Influences on Aging: Effects of Extreme Weather and Disaster Events on Aging Populations (R01 Clinical Trial Optional) | PAR 19 250

Opportunity Information: Apply for PAR 19 250

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding opportunity titled Environmental Influences on Aging: Effects of Extreme Weather and Disaster Events on Aging Populations (R01 Clinical Trial Optional) supports research that clarifies how extreme weather and disaster events affect older adults in real-world human populations. The central aim is to deepen scientific understanding of what happens to aging individuals before, during, and after events such as hurricanes, floods, wildfires, heat waves, severe storms, and other disasters, with particular attention to how these events shape health trajectories and aging processes over time. The announcement emphasizes that disasters are not only acute crises; they can also trigger longer-term biological, behavioral, and social changes that may accelerate decline, worsen chronic disease, or alter resilience and recovery among older people.

A key feature of this opportunity is its focus on population-based and human-subjects research, including but not limited to clinical trials (hence "clinical trial optional"). NIH is looking for studies that can unpack multiple, interacting pathways through which extreme events influence aging. These pathways explicitly include behavioral factors (for example, stress responses, medication adherence disruptions, sleep changes, nutrition, physical activity), biological processes (such as inflammation, cardiometabolic strain, immune function), and more specialized domains like epigenetic and genetic influences, neurological outcomes, and socioecological dynamics. In practice, this means proposed projects might examine how environmental shocks translate into measurable changes in cognition, mental health, functional status, disability, morbidity, and mortality, and why some groups of older adults experience disproportionate harm or slower recovery.

The FOA is paired with a companion funding opportunity (PAR-19-XXX) that targets basic mechanisms of aging using animal models. NIH frames the two announcements as complementary: human population studies can identify patterns, risk factors, and outcomes in actual disaster-exposed communities, while mechanistic animal research can help explain underlying causal pathways. The intention is that findings across the two tracks can be integrated to create a more complete picture, linking observed real-world impacts (for example, worsening frailty after displacement) to plausible mechanistic explanations (for example, stress-mediated biological aging). This integrated approach is meant to move the field toward actionable knowledge that can improve preparedness, response, and recovery strategies tailored to older adults.

The public health goal is strongly practical: to improve the health and well-being of older adults by generating evidence that can inform disaster planning and resilience building. This includes strengthening understanding of which interventions, policies, community supports, or healthcare system practices help older adults fare better during and after extreme events. The emphasis on preparedness, response, and recovery suggests NIH is interested not only in documenting harm, but also in identifying modifiable factors and opportunities to reduce risk, support continuity of care, and speed functional and psychological recovery.

This is an NIH discretionary grant using the R01 mechanism, which is commonly used for substantial research projects. The funding opportunity number is PAR 19 250, and the activity categories listed span education, environment, and health, reflecting the cross-cutting nature of the topic. Multiple CFDA numbers are associated with the opportunity (93.113, 93.307, 93.361, 93.866), indicating involvement or relevance across NIH programs connected to aging and health research.

Eligibility is broad across U.S.-based institutions and organizations that can carry out the work. Eligible applicants include state, county, city or township governments; special district governments; independent school districts; public and state-controlled institutions of higher education; private institutions of higher education; federally recognized Native American tribal governments; public housing authorities and Indian housing authorities; tribal organizations that are not federally recognized; nonprofits with or without 501(c)(3) status (outside higher education); for-profit organizations (other than small businesses); and small businesses. The announcement also highlights inclusion of institutions that serve underrepresented populations and community-focused organizations, such as Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions, Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions, Hispanic-serving Institutions, Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities, eligible federal agencies, faith-based or community-based organizations, regional organizations, and U.S. territories or possessions.

At the same time, there are clear restrictions on foreign involvement. Non-domestic (non-U.S.) entities and foreign institutions are not eligible to apply, non-domestic components of U.S. organizations are not eligible, and foreign components (as NIH defines them in its Grants Policy Statement) are not allowed. In other words, the supported work must be based within eligible U.S. organizational structures without foreign components as part of the project scope.

Administrative details included in the source indicate the opportunity was created on 2019-04-11, with an original closing date listed as 2021-03-08. The award ceiling and expected awards fields are not specified in the provided excerpt. Overall, the opportunity is geared toward rigorous, multidisciplinary research that connects environmental extremes and disasters to the short- and long-term realities of aging, with the expectation that results will translate into better protection and support for older adults facing increasingly frequent and severe climate- and disaster-related events.

• The National Institutes of Health in the education, environment, health sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Environmental Influences on Aging: Effects of Extreme Weather and Disaster Events on Aging Populations (R01 Clinical Trial Optional)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 93.113, 93.307, 93.361, 93.866.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2019-04-11.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2021-03-08. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Independent school districts, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, For-profit organizations other than small businesses, Small businesses, Others.

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