The USC Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (ADRC) is pleased to announce two funding tracks for the 2026–2027 Development Project cycle.
Track 1: Traditional Development Project (TDP) – 1-year funding to support new, innovative research generating preliminary data toward future extramural funding.
Track 2A or 2B: REC Pipeline Development (RPD) – 3- to 6-month funding to support NIH grant resubmissions needing additional data to close gaps identified in prior review (RPD-A), or new interdisciplinary collaborative initiatives (RPD-B).
Track 2 supports two categories of proposals: RPD-2A, for teams whose NIH grant application received a favorable score but was not funded, to generate the additional preliminary data needed for a competitive resubmission; and RPD-2B, for new interdisciplinary collaborations with the ADRC that build the team, methodology, and preliminary data needed for a new NIH grant proposal.
The ADRC encourages clinical and basic science investigators to propose innovative projects that advance understanding of factors modifying the effects of APOE ε4 on cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) biomarkers. Proposals should bring forward new basic, clinical, and psychosocial approaches that inform disease pathogenesis, prevention, and treatment of early cognitive impairment in humans and animal models, with strong emphasis on translational and intervention strategies from pre-clinical models to early phase trials.
2026-27 Timetable
| Before Monday, October 13, 2026 | Consult with the ADRC Data Core statistician to ensure the scientific rigor of the proposed study design and statistical methods. For Track 1, also identify the ADRC datasets that align with your project objectives. |
| Monday, October 26, 2026 | Applications due. |
| Monday, November 16, 2026 | Announcement of Finalists. |
| Monday, December 14, 2026 | Final version of Finalist’s proposal due. |
| Monday, January 4, 2027 | Track 2: First amount awarded, contingent on satisfactory progress report. |
| Monday, March 1, 2027 | Track 1: First amount awarded, contingent on satisfactory progress report. |