Rising Stars in Aging Research Program and Workshops
The goal of the ‘Rising Star Program’, sponsored by the AGS through the American Foundation for Aging Research (AFAR) Clinician-Scientists Transdisciplinary Aging Research (Clin-STAR) Coordinating Center and the National Institute on Aging (NIA), is to provide mentoring and career development resources to early career clinician investigators in medical and surgical specialties who wish to focus their research in aging and/or geriatrics to improve competitiveness for future funding. Successful Rising Star applicants will receive one-on-one mentoring with a senior aging research mentor from geriatrics or another specialty, and connect with a current GEMSSTAR scholar who can provide advice on application revisions and re-submissions. The Rising Star program also provides support to attend the AGS Annual Meeting.
AGS/AFAR Clin-STAR Rising Star Mentoring and Grantsmanship Workshop and Workshop SeriesThe AGS/AFAR Clin-STAR Mentoring and Grantsmanship Workshop is held at the AGS Annual Scientific Meeting in May and is geared towards Rising Stars, current, former, and future GEMSSTARs, and junior investigators from all disciplines. The in-person workshop provides keynote presentations, opportunities for mentoring and networking, discusses important aspects of research across various funding organizations, and provides attendees with useful information on grantsmanship. For additional details and registration information, click here.
The AGS/AFAR Virtual Workshop Series allowed Rising Stars to participate in workshops that focused on grant writing tips, how to respond to grant review comments, and resubmissions. The full virtual workshop series can be found here.
Specialty Scholars
NIA GEMSSTAR Program (funding opportunity for junior faculty)
The National Institute on Aging’s (NIA) Grants for Early Medical/Surgical Specialists’ Transition to Aging Research (GEMSSTAR) awards support early career physicians trained in medical and surgical subspecialties through an R03 mechanism that will provide up to $200,000 in direct costs over two years for research on the geriatrics aspects of their specialty. The award is an early career award with the goal of helping researchers establish a research track record in the field of geriatrics research.
GEMSSTAR Applicants are encouraged, but not required, to include a Professional Development Plan (PDP) as a component of their application that provides protected time and mentoring for young investigators to develop the leadership and research skills that they will need in their careers. AGS serves as liaison between applicants and specialty societies to help secure funding for PDPs. The PDP can include formal classroom education, exposure to geriatrics-related activities, or other means of career development outlined in the GEMSSTAR RFA and GEMSSTAR website.
- RFA-AG-23-031: Apply for a GEMSSTAR Award