U.S. NAM Catalyst Award Competition Round 2

Deadline: 2021-04-25
Award: $50,000
Open to: The NAM Catalyst Awards are open to any person or team of any discipline or background. Individuals do not need to be affiliated with an organization to submit an application.*

As part of the Healthy Longevity Global Competition, the U.S. National Academy of Medicine (“NAM”), with support from Johnson & Johnson Innovation, will issue up to 24 Catalyst Awards per year, in three annual rounds (i.e., in 2020, 2021, and 2022). Each Catalyst Award includes a $50,000 cash prize as well as travel costs to attend an annual Innovator Summit.

There will be one application period per year. The current request for applications is for Round 2 of the NAM Catalyst Awards. The application period opens on January 25, 2021 and closes on April 25, 2021 (EXTENDED).

Catalyst Awards will reward bold, new, potentially transformative ideas to improve the physical, mental, or social well-being and health of people as they age, in a measurable and equitable way. The NAM seeks innovative approaches that aim to extend the human healthspan, especially approaches that challenge existing paradigms or propose new methodologies or concepts. High-risk ideas that could potentially yield high rewards and, in turn, dramatically change the field of healthy longevity are encouraged.

Ideas may focus on any stage of life, as long as they ultimately promote health as people age.

Applications may also originate from any field or combination of fields (e.g., biology, chemistry, medicine, engineering, behavioral and social sciences, technology, data science, and policy). Examples of topic areas include but are not limited to:

Behavioral health (e.g., social connectedness, engagement, and well-being)
Biology of aging and molecular pathways
Built environment and urban planning
Disease prevention, including biomarkers and indicators of disease
Health care delivery
Housing (e.g., smart-enabled homes, intergenerational housing models)
Physical health (e.g., mobility and functionality)
Policy (e.g., economic, health, and science policy)
Reproductive longevity and equality
Technology (e.g., artificial intelligence; robotics; medical, assistive, and information-technology)
The NAM does not seek to fund the following: existing programs (or slight variations thereof), approaches that are primarily public awareness or educational campaigns, or products that are already commercially available.