AFAR Grants for Junior Faculty and Glenn Foundation for Medical Research (GFMR) Grants for Junior Faculty

The AFAR Grants for Junior Faculty and Glenn Foundation for Medical Research offer up to $160,000 for one- to two-year research projects focusing on the biology of aging. Aimed at early career faculty, these grants support innovative studies not limited to age-related diseases but rather the fundamental mechanisms of aging. Approximately 10 grants will be awarded in 2026, with funding starting July 1. Applicants must be independent investigators within 10 years of their postdoctoral training.

Glenn Foundation for Medical Research and AFAR Grants for Junior Faculty
AFAR Grants for Junior Faculty and Glenn Foundation for Medical Research (GFMR) Grants for Junior Faculty provide up to $160,000 for a one- to two-year award to early career faculty (MDs and PhDs) to conduct research that will serve as the basis for longer-term research efforts on the biology of aging. These investigators study a broad range of biomedical and clinical topics related to aging.
The Program
The major goal of this program is to assist in the development of the careers of junior investigators committed to pursuing careers in aging research. The program supports research projects concerned with understanding the basic mechanisms of aging rather than disease-specific research. Projects investigating age-related diseases are supported if approached from the point of view of how basic aging processes may lead to these conditions. Projects concerning mechanisms underlying common geriatric functional disorders are also eligible, as long as these include connections to fundamental problems in the biology of aging. Projects that deal strictly with clinical problems such as the diagnosis and treatment of disease, health outcomes, or the social context of aging are not eligible.
Projects investigating mechanisms of, or putative therapies for, Alzheimer’s Disease and related dementias, are not eligible for this award and investigators should consider applying instead to the Small Research Grant Program for the Next Generation of Researchers in Alzheimer's Disease (R03).
Projects investigating ger-omics should apply for The Sagol Network GerOmic Award for Junior Faculty (currently waiting for renewal for 2026.)
It is anticipated that approximately 10 grants of up to $160,000 each will be awarded in 2026. Applicants may propose using the award over the course of one or two years as justified by the proposed research. Up to 8% of funds may be budgeted for overhead or indirect costs (not to exceed $11,852).

Eligibility

The applicant must be an independent investigator with independent research space as described in a form completed by the Dean or Department Chair, and must be no more than 10 years beyond the start of postdoctoral research training as of July 1, 2026.

Ineligibility

The AFAR Research Grant for Junior Faculty Program does not provide support for:Postdoctoral fellows in the laboratory of a senior investigatorInvestigators who have received major extramural funding for research in any area (such as an NIH R01 or NSF Research or equivalent grant) prior to and including the start date of this award (applicants may hold K or R21 funding)Senior faculty, i.e. at the rank of Associate Professor level or higherFormer recipients of this award and Sagol Network GerOmic AwardApplicants for the 2026 Glenn Foundation for Medical Research Discovery Award, and/or the 2026 Sagol Network GerOmic Award for Junior FacultyApplicants who are conducting research at a for-profit institution, or at an institution outside of the United StatesAlzheimer's Disease and/or related dementia research