HEALTH AND RETIREMENT STUDIES
AROUND THE WORLD
This project fosters a cross-country research agenda by encouraging the development of new health and retirement studies around the world and their harmonization with existing studies that are comparable to the Health and Retirement Studies (HRS), and facilitating further innovations among this network of surveys. Click here to learn more about the studies.
Principal Investigator:
David Weir, PhD (U Michigan), Principal Investigator
Rose M Li, MBA, PhD (RLA), Project Manager
NOTICES
NIA Launches 2026 Mentorship Prize Competition
The National Institute on Aging is launching a new prize competition on August 17, 2026 to recognize excellence in aging research mentorship. The competition will award $100,000 each for up to six outstanding faculty mentors — three in the Early Career category and three in the Midcareer/Established category — for a total prize pool of $600,000. Current and former trainees can nominate NIA-funded mentors who shaped their careers through October 15, 2026. Mentors with two or more nominations who meet eligibility requirements will then be invited to participate in the prize competition and complete a submission by November 23, 2026. Winners will be announced the week of April 12, 2027.
Full details and submission forms are available on NIH’s Challenges and Prize Competitions page.
Gateway Research Workshop on Cross-Country Comparisons: Call for Applications
The Gateway team is soliciting applications for a half-day research workshop focused on cross-country comparisons at the Gerontological Society of America (GSA) Annual Scientific Meeting on November 4, 2026 from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. in National Harbor, Maryland. The goal of the workshop is to support new research projects using cross-country data resources available through the Gateway to Global Aging Data.
Available resources highlighted in this workshop will include two new analysis-ready datasets designed to facilitate cross-country research on aging:
- Longitudinal Chronic Conditions Dataset, which combines harmonized data from the United States and England to support research on chronic disease prevalence, multimorbidity, age at diagnosis, recent diagnosis, modifiable risk factors, and related covariates. The dataset includes longitudinal data covering 2002 to 2022, allowing researchers to examine chronic conditions and related risk factors over time and across countries.
- Cross-Country Social Isolation Dataset, which combines harmonized 2017–2021 core interview data from the United States, England, India, Chile, and Northern Ireland to support research on social isolation, loneliness, social networks, family contact, social activities, health outcomes, and related risk factors.
Applications are due by Monday, August 3, 2026, and should include a brief proposal for a research project to be developed in conjunction with the workshop. Proposals should focus on analyses using one of the two new cross-country analysis datasets or other data resources available through the Gateway Data Enclave. The two highlighted datasets are available through public-use access in the Enclave. All accepted participants will be expected to create a Gateway user account and apply for a Gateway Data Enclave Workspace.
Accepted participants will be expected to begin work on their proposed projects before the workshop, including exploring the relevant Gateway Data Enclave resources and running preliminary analyses. The workshop will be collaborative: participants will briefly present their research proposals and preliminary progress during the morning session and receive feedback and hands-on assistance from the Gateway team and affiliated senior researchers.
The workshop will be limited to 20 participants. Participants will have opportunities to network with senior researchers affiliated with the Gateway, lunch during the workshop, and a $300 stipend to offset travel costs.
Apply for the Research Workshop on Cross-Country Comparisons here.
Learn more about the Gateway Data Enclave here.
NIH Seeking Input on Effective Approaches for Measuring and Rewarding Scientific Impact
NIH is seeking feedback from stakeholders to assist in defining specific, measurable indicators and incentives that reflect the collaborative, rigorous, and mission-driven nature of modern biomedical science.
NIH is particularly interested in comments that include specific examples of measurable indicators, implementation approaches, potential benefits or unintended consequences, and considerations for feasibility across career stages, disciplines, and institution types.
Comments must be received no later than August 19, 2026, and must be submitted through the online comment portal found here.
Questions about any of the above information may be sent to SciencePolicy@od.nih.gov
If you are not yet a subscriber to this listserv, please sign up here.
HRS ATW Network:
NIH has issued a Request for Information soliciting feedback on a proposal to cap the number of simultaneous research grants that a PI can hold at one time as a possible means to maximize scientific productivity and innovation. Comments and feedback must be submitted by August 3, 2026. To learn more about this proposal and to provide feedback, please visit:
https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-26-086.html
HRS ATW Colleagues,
Please see below several important updates from NIH related to international research collaborations, particularly changes affecting foreign subawards and mechanisms available for collaborative international projects. Given the potential impact on application development, partnership structures, and funding strategies, we hope this information will be helpful as you plan for future collaborations and applications. Please feel free to share this information with others in your networks who may be involved in international research activities.
Reminders
- NIH supports international research because responsible global collaboration can drive scientific progress.
- NIH will no longer allow foreign subawards in applications. US subawards are still allowed.
- Foreign institutions may apply to any NOFO in which they are eligible to apply but cannot have any foreign subawards.
- All research supported at international sites should have (see here):
- Clear scientific rationale to be conducted in a foreign country rather than in the US
- Direct potential to generate knowledge applicable to understanding, improving, or protecting the health of Americans.
Resources
- NIH has created new activity codes, Collaborative International Research Project (PF5) and Linked International Research Project (RF2) for foreign collaborations.
- This is the accompanying parent NOFO: PA-26-002: NIH Collaborative International Research Project (Parent PF5 Clinical Trial Optional)
- Here are the Foreign Subaward Policy Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
- See this 5-minute video about the NOFO: Introduction to the NIH Collaborative International Research Project (PF5) Application and Award Structure
- Another good reference: What Are the Components of a Collaborative International Research Project (PF5) Application and What Should Be Included? | Grants & Funding
Call for Papers: Emerging Challenges in Long-Term Care and Caregiving October 2, 2026 — Cambridge, MA
The NBER Center for Aging and Health Research is planning a conference on emerging challenges in long-term care and caregiving. The conference, which is made possible with support from the National Institute of Aging, will be organized by Brian McGarry (University of Rochester and NBER) and Corina Mommaerts (University of Wisconsin, Madison and NBER). It will be held in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on Friday, October 2, 2026. Kate McEvoy, executive director of the National Association of Medicaid Directors, will deliver keynote remarks.
The meeting will focus on several factors, including Medicaid and Medicare policy, household characteristics that affect care utilization, the ways in which different diseases affect caregiving needs, labor market policy, and immigration policy.
The organizers welcome submissions on any subject related to long-term care and informal caregiving. Submissions that use novel data sources are of particular interest. They hope to include perspectives from economics as well as other disciplines such as sociology, public health, and medicine. All researchers, including those who are not NBER affiliates and who are early in their careers, are welcome to submit papers. Topics of particular interest include:
- Innovative models for supporting informal caregivers
- Alternatives to nursing home care, including assisted living facilities or home- and community-based services
- Expanded Medicaid funding for home- and community-based services
- Approaches to improving the quality and reducing the cost of formal care, including innovative payment models
- Long-term care insurance
- Unique challenges faced by patients living with dementia and their families
- Cross-national differences in approaches to long-term care
- Novel data, including the measurement of informal care and administrative linkages
To be considered for presentation, papers or extended abstracts must be submitted via the following link by 11:59pm ET on Friday, July 31, 2026: https://conference.nber.org/confsubmit/backend/cfp?id=LTCf26
Authors chosen to present papers will be notified by early August, 2026.
The NBER will cover hotel and economy-class travel for up to two authors of each paper that is selected for presentation.
Please share this call with others who may be interested in submitting a paper. Logistical questions about this meeting should be directed to confer@nber.org; other questions about the meeting content should be directed to Sarah Holmes Berk at sholmes@nber.org.
Harmonization Recommendations from the Gateway to Global Aging Data
Many of our network and NIA collaborators were recently included in The Journals of Gerontology: Series B. You can view their published work via the link below:
Volume 81, Issue Supplement_1, February 2026
Harmonization Recommendations from the Gateway to Global Aging Data
https://academic.oup.com/psychsocgerontology/issue/81/Supplement_1
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