Texas Resource Center for Minority Aging Research
CALL FOR APPLICATIONS – PILOT PROJECTS

University of Texas Medical Branch & University of Texas San Antonio
Resource Center for Minority Aging Research (RCMAR)
Supported by Grant Number P30 AG059301 from the
National Institute on Aging/National Institutes of Health

Funding will support 1-year Pilot Projects
$40,000 in direct costs for the period 07/01/2026-06/30/2027

The Texas RCMAR is a partnership between the University of Texas Medical Branch and the University of Texas San Antonio (K. Markides and F. Riosmena, MPIs), in close collaboration with the University of Texas at Austin.  The purpose of the Texas RCMAR is to provide infrastructure that facilitates the development of researchers and research on the health and aging of under-represented populations. While our Center has a special focus on the Hispanic population in the United States as well as in Latin America, we also aim to provide support for research on other groups in Texas and the United States more broadly.

Who Should Apply
We encourage applications from faculty who are interested in conducting research on health and aging (broadly defined) and particularly of under-represented populations. We provide support for junior faculty,
but we will consider applications from mid-career faculty moving their research toward the study of aging in under-represented populations.
Pilot funds are to be used to jumpstart or further support key parts of the applicant’s research agenda on
the themes above (as opposed to one-off projects). Funded applicants will be part of a small cohort of scientists receiving mentorship and training on aging research, including the development of a subsequent
grant application to the National Institute on Aging (NIA) -and more specifically, the Behavioral and Social Research Division- or other relevant funding agencies based on the pilot project as long as they are related to
social and/or behavioral research.

Pilot projects that use existing data resources for behavioral and social research on aging are encouraged.  See https://www.nia.nih.gov/research/dbsr/data-resources-behavioral-and-social-research-aging.

Up to four investigators called ‘RCMAR Scientists’ will be selected based on:

• Quality of proposed research
• Alignment of the proposed research with the RCMAR focus on behavioral and social science research in a priority area related to aging and/or health disparities in older adults
• Alignment of the proposed research with the investigator’s long-term career goals
• Relatedness of the proposed research to the Texas RCMAR mission
• Likelihood that the proposed research would lead to subsequent National Institute on Aging (NIA) – funded projects
• Investigator’s experience, training, and record of accomplishments
• Multi-disciplinary mentoring team (potential mentors included on page 5 below)

Application Process

• Proposals should be submitted to this link and are due by March 15, 2026.
• Decisions will be made by April 10, 2026.
• The start and end dates for pilot projects are July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027.

Please see the flyer for more information.

Speaker Slides