Iqbal Farrukh & Asad Jamal Stanford ADRC Zaffaroni Developmental Research Project - Call for Proposals 2026

The Farrukh-Jamal Stanford ADRC is pleased to announce a new developmental project funding opportunity supported by the Zaffaroni Alzheimer’s Disease Translational Research Program.

Iqbal Farrukh and Asad Jamal Stanford ADRC Zaffaroni Alzheimer’s Disease Translational Research Proposal

**A $200K internal funding opportunity for Stanford faculty with UTL, MCL, CE or NTLR faculty appointments**

Deadline: March 31, 2026 12pm, no exceptions

Eligibility: 

Stanford faculty with UTL, MCL, CE and NTL-Research faculty appointments may apply. Prior recipients of Stanford ADRC Developmental, Pilot or Zaffaroni projects are not eligible to apply. Current ADRC faculty are not eligible as PI but may contribute as co-investigator or consultant. Any individual may only be PI on one proposal over the project period.

Amount of Funding/Budget Information: 

Applicants may request up to $200K in direct costs ($100K/year) for a two-year duration of the Project under this program. No indirect costs are allowed. The Program plans to fund 2 projects this year under this RFA, and 1 new project per year over the next 2 years. For this project, the budget period is 5/1/26-3/31/28. Second year funding will be initiated pending satisfactory progress and reporting of year 1 activities. Funding for this project is non-transferrable to other institutions.

Purpose 

While the number of individuals with Alzheimer’s disease in the US and the world continues to increase, there are no treatments available proven to prevent, delay or reverse the disease. At the same time, NIH and other major funding sources require that new proposals, especially those proposing entirely novel perspectives or introducing the translation of newly available basic science discoveries, include substantial preliminary data indicating a strong chance of success. 

The Stanford ADRC Zaffaroni AD Translational Developmental Project Research Program will enable Stanford faculty from diverse research and clinical backgrounds to explore new approaches to prevent or treat Alzheimer’s disease. Programs may carry out either human or preclinical work. Funding will be prioritized for high impact studies that move the candidate program through key milestones, including those that show promise in obtaining future funding from other sources. Novel, collaborative, multidisciplinary approaches are encouraged. Proposals are encouraged to use data and resources from the Stanford Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (ADRC), including biological specimens (e.g., blood, CSF, autopsy tissues), imaging, genetic, and genomic resources, and biostatistical resources; or data from the National Alzheimer Coordinating Center (NACC) (https://www.alz.washington.edu/). 

Contact/Questions? 

Programmatic questions should be directed to Dr. Michael Greicius, chair of the Review Committee (greicius@stanford.edu); administrative questions to Nusha Askari (askarin@stanford.edu), Executive Director of the ADRC.

If selected and funded 

Funding is contingent upon receipt of all required documents and protocols hence; verification of approved protocols must be submitted to Nusha Askari at the ADRC. In addition, funding recipients are required to:

• Present their research findings at the annual ADRC external advisory committee meeting.
• Provide a final scientific report in NIH format and account for all funds used.
• Provide updates on extramural funding, scientific publications and other accomplishments associated with the program. The funding source should be acknowledged in all resulting publications.

• Upon funding, provide required documents and protocols including relevant approvals (human studies, animal use, etc.).

   

Submitting an Application 

By March 31, 2026, 12pm – no exceptions - please submit one PDF file containing the following in the order listed below (1-8) via email to:

Nusha Askari

Department of Neurology

askarin@stanford.edu

File name: Last name_Zaffaroni2026.pdf

1) Title Page

Stanford ADRC Zaffaroni Alzheimer’s Disease Translational Developmental Project Research Proposal

Project title

PI name, title, department, address, phone, email address

Co-investigator(s) name, title, department, address, phone, email address

2) Title and Abstract 

Provide title and project summary or abstract

3) Lay Abstract

Provide a lay language summary (this will be posted on the website for awardees only)

4) Research Proposal  

Specific Aims and Research Strategy (consisting of Significance, Innovation, and Approach), together limited to 3 pages, including any tables and figures. Bibliography (does not count against the 3-page limit). Use standard NIH page formatting. 

5) Detailed budgets 

Up to $100,000 direct costs per year expended over a maximum two-year period. Indirect costs are not allowed.

Budget period: 5/1/26-3/31/28

Please note: you do not have to have your RPM prepare your budget.

6) Budget Justification (2 page maximum)

7) Biosketches for the Project Leader and Co-Investigators (old or new NIH format accepted)

https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-21-073.html 

https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-21-110.html

8) Other Support (also NIH format) 

The proposed project should represent a new direction and should not be currently funded or overlap with existing funding. Please include both active and pending support – follow NIH guidelines: https://grants.nih.gov/grants/forms/othersupport.html

Selection Process:  

Projects will be selected for funding on the basis of:

1) Their relevance to AD and related disorders

2) Scientific merit and innovation

3) Use of ADRC resources

4) Likelihood of attracting new or additional extramural funding

A faculty review committee, including basic and clinical science faculty and chaired by Dr. Michael Greicius will award funds. You will receive a notification of our selection by late April. 

*Institutional representatives: not applicable for internal funding opportunities. You do not have to submit your application through your RPM.