The National Institute on Aging: Strategic Directions for Research, 2020-2025

From the Director

I am pleased to present the strategic directions of the National Institute on Aging (NIA) for 2020-2025. Today, there are more Americans ages 65 and older — just over 49 million, according to the U.S. Census — than at any other time in history, and we expect these numbers to grow as more Baby Boomers (individuals born between 1946 and 1964) reach retirement age. We can attribute this unprecedented demographic shift to a variety of factors, many of which benefit people of all ages. For example, even within the lifetimes of today’s older Americans, infectious diseases that once cut millions of lives short have been largely controlled in the U.S., and public health campaigns and policy changes — for example, smoking cessation efforts and laws mandating seat belt use — have saved many more lives.

Despite these advances, aging itself remains the most significant risk factor for many chronic diseases and conditions, including Alzheimer’s disease and related forms of dementia (AD/ADRD), most types of cancer, many types of heart disease, osteoporosis and hip fracture, kidney failure, and diabetes. While these diseases are rarely inevitable, it is probable that as the number of older Americans increases, so too will the number of people with age-related diseases. A significant increase in the number of individuals with serious chronic conditions will have profound social and economic effects on the nation.

NIA is meeting these challenges through its ongoing mission to:

Support and conduct genetic, biological, clinical, behavioral, social, and economic research on aging.

Foster the development of research and clinician scientists in aging.
Provide research resources.
Disseminate information about aging and advances in research to the public, health care professionals, and the scientific community, among a variety of audiences.

Our primary activities include funding extramural research at universities and research centers across the U.S. and around the world; maintaining an active communications and outreach program; and conducting a vibrant intramural research program at NIA laboratories in Baltimore and Bethesda, Maryland. In addition, as the lead federal agency for research on AD/ADRD, NIA has received an unprecedented influx of funding targeted toward understanding and addressing these conditions over the past seven years, and our plans and priorities reflect this extraordinary opportunity for discovery.

This document presents our scientific priorities for the next five years. Consistent with guidance in the 21st Century Cures Act, we also lay out our goals and objectives with respect to some of the “behind the scenes” activities we conduct in order to support the science. It is our hope that this description of our priorities is useful to you, whether you’re an independent researcher, an advocate, or an interested layperson.

For up-to-date information about NIA’s activities, priorities, and advances, I invite you to visit our web site at www.nia.nih.gov.

Sincerely,

Richard J. Hodes, M.D.

The National Institute on Aging

The National Institute on Aging (NIA) is one of 27 Institutes and Centers of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Our mission encompasses basic, translational, and clinical research; training and career support for investigators at all levels; resource allocation; and health communication to a range of audiences. Congress established the NIA in 1974 to lead a national scientific effort to understand the nature of aging in order to promote the health and well-being of older adults. The Institute was subsequently designated as the lead within NIH for research on Alzheimer’s disease and related forms of dementia (AD/ADRD).
NIA pursues its mission by funding extramural research at universities and medical centers across the U.S. and around the world; maintaining an active communications and outreach program; and conducting a vibrant intramural research program at NIA laboratories in Baltimore and Bethesda, Maryland.

Public Law 93-296 authorizes the establishment of a National Institute on Aging and requires that the institute develop a national comprehensive plan to coordinate the Health, Education, Welfare (HEW) agencies involved in aging research. The Institute’s purpose, functions, and certain activities are described in 42 U.S. Code §285e.

About This Document

Download a PDF of The National Institute on Aging: Strategic Directions for Research, 2020-2025. (PDF, 3.03M)

This document outlines NIA’s broad strategic directions. It provides a point of reference for setting priorities and a framework for systematically analyzing the Institute’s scientific portfolio and assessing progress. NIA developed and refined these goals over a one-year period, receiving valuable input and feedback from stakeholders in the research community, nongovernmental organizations, partners within NIH and elsewhere within the federal government, and members of the general public via a November 2018 Request for Information. We will update the document as needed as the field of aging research evolves.

Our goals are as follows:

Understanding the Dynamics of the Aging Process

Improving the Health, Well-Being, and Independence of Adults as They Age

Supporting the Research Enterprise

Our vision is to enable all Americans to enjoy robust health and independence with advancing age.

How will we measure progress?

As a component of the NIH, NIA supports research with the goal of curing disease and improving overall health. However, the path from bench to bedside — that is, from basic scientific discovery to clinical application — is often long and is rarely straightforward. It’s the nature of biomedical science that years or even decades worth of incremental advances may be necessary before a basic discovery, however ground-breaking, pays off in the form of new interventions to benefit health. While a direct link can sometimes be drawn between specific funding and an improvement in health, more often the story is complex. Furthermore, with each new breakthrough, science can advance and evolve in unanticipated ways. These new directions also serve as indicators of progress, and we consider them to be a successful outcome of our support, even when direct clinical application is not immediately evident.

With all of this in mind, NIA will use both quantitative and qualitative techniques to measure progress toward the priorities described in this document; analyze the scientific, clinical, and public health impact of its research; and periodically report results to stakeholders. We will do this through regular analysis and evaluation of programs and initiatives that have been developed in support of our priorities. Because no two programs or initiatives are exactly the same, the tools, measures, and approaches we use for each evaluation or analysis will differ. However, we anticipate working with partners across NIH, such as the Office of Portfolio Analysis and the Office of Program Evaluation, Performance, and Reporting to track progress and initiate course corrections where necessary.