Columbia Roybal Center for Fearless Behavior Change

Behavioral RCT Funding Award Program

Overview

Each year, millions of Americans who experience serious health events such as heart attacks, strokes, or cancer diagnoses develop significant psychological distress, including anxiety, depression, and even PTSD. All too often, these individuals struggle to follow recommendations for health behaviors such as exercise, diet, or taking medication, even though they are essential to recovery and prognosis.

The Columbia Roybal Center for Fearless Behavior Change, funded through the National Institute on Aging (NIA), is dedicated to advancing behavioral interventions that reduce psychological distress and improve health behaviors in these patients, with the ultimate goal of advancing effective behavioral interventions that are routinely implemented into clinical practice.

Funding Opportunity

We are excited to announce our call for proposals to conduct randomized clinical trials (RCTs) that test behavioral interventions. These trials should test interventions that are designed to reduce psychological distress and/or improve health behaviors in midlife and older adults who have suffered serious health events.

Studies that test implementation strategies for increasing the uptake of effective behavioral interventions into practice will also be eligible. Interventions should be designed with consideration of mechanisms of behavior change and the potential to advance interventions toward implementation. Relevant study populations include, but are not limited to, patients with stroke, myocardial infarction, cardiac arrest, COPD, heart failure, respiratory failure, or a recent diagnosis of cancer or end-stage renal disease. Relevant behavioral outcomes include, but are not limited to, measures of quality of life or psychological distress such as depression, anxiety, or PTSD, and of health behaviors such as medication adherence, physical activity, or sleep.

Proposal Requirements

Applicants must demonstrate how they will follow the mechanism-driven approach to intervention development promoted by the Science of Behavior Change. This involves testing the effect of the intervention not only on the target health behavior (e.g., medication adherence or physical activity), but also on the proximal mechanism that explains how the intervention works (e.g., reducing fear of recurrent cardiovascular events).

Applicants are also expected to explain how the current trial will advance the intervention along the NIH Stage Model and what the next step in intervention development will be if they are successful. (See NIH Stage Model for nomenclature of behavioral intervention development.)

Early-stage studies that are limited to assessing the feasibility of behavioral interventions (i.e., Stage I on the NIH Stage Model) are not eligible.

Award Amount

Up to $300,000 in total costs over a two-year period.  Calculate salaries using your institution’s fringe rate. Please contact Tyla Yurgel at ty2267@cumc.columbia.edu with any budgetary questions.

Applicants may also explore co-funding opportunities with other Roybal Centers. If you are proposing a project for co-funding, please reach out to rmc2203@cumc.columbia.edu if you have not already scheduled a consultation with our Center about scope.

The second year of funding will be dependent on achieving milestones from Year 1.  

Investigators will also receive support from the Columbia Roybal Center in finalizing the study protocol, including selecting robust measures of behavioral mechanisms and health behaviors (e.g., actigraphy, electronic pill bottles); consultations on data management and analysis;  planning for data and safety monitoring; and advice on integrating implementation outcomes into their research plan. Investigators will also gain mentorship from experienced behavioral trialists involved in the Columbia Roybal Center, as well as opportunities for disseminating their study findings.

Duration

Up to two years, with an anticipated project period of 06/01/2027 – 5/31/2029.  

Number of Awards

Up to 2 awards.

Eligibility

Applicants must:

Postdoctoral fellows and faculty at any rank are eligible; early-stage investigators are strongly encouraged to apply.

Letter of Intent (LOI) – Required

  • Due Date: Thursday, October 1, 2026 (applications will be accepted until 11:59 pm ET).  
  • All LOIs must be submitted here (email submissions will not be considered). 
  • LOI applications (approx. 1-2 pages) are submitted using a web-based template and include the following:
    • Applicant Information
    • PI(s) and Key Personnel
    • Project Details
    • Proposed Project Duration
  • Prior to submitting LOI applications, a consultation with the Columbia Roybal Center for Fearless Behavior Change is welcome. Please contact rmc2203@cumc.columbia.edu to schedule a consultation meeting.
  • Applicants will be notified of their LOI status on Friday, October 23, 2026.

Full Proposal Application – if LOI is selected  

  • Due Date: Monday, December 7, 2026
  • Selected LOI applicants will be invited to submit a full proposal application.  
  • Invited applicants will receive an individualized application link on Friday, October 23, 2026.

Trial Selection

Applicants will be notified of the outcome of their full proposal application on Monday, February 15th, 2027. All submissions will receive written feedback from the review committee. Selected projects will then coordinate with the Roybal research team to formally submit a proposal for broader NIH approval, with an anticipated project period of June 01, 2027 – May 31, 2029, pending NIA and IRB approval.

Full Proposal Application Process Overview

Applicants will be required to submit a research strategy describing the significance, innovation, approach, and expertise of the study team, statistical analysis plan, budget, and biosketches of all co-investigators (approximately 5 pages total). Applications are only accepted via the individualized link for selected LOI applicants.

Review Process

Reviewers, including patient stakeholders, will score proposals from 1-9 for Overall Impact, broadly mirroring the NIH approach to grant review. Reviewers will judge each application on the basis of significance, innovation, expertise of the applicant and formation of multidisciplinary teams inclusive of patient stakeholders, rigor of the scientific approach, including its consideration of mechanisms of behavior change, likelihood that study activities can be completed on time, potential impact on public health, potential to lead to subsequent funding, and alignment with goals of the Columbia Roybal Center. Early-stage investigator status will be viewed favorably when prioritizing applications for funding.

At least two independent reviews will be obtained for each proposal. A study section will be convened in early 2027, at which the top-ranked proposals will be discussed. Up to two proposals will be selected for funding in the upcoming year.

Contact Us

For questions about the application process, including requests to schedule a consultation, please contact the Columbia Roybal Center Project Manager, Robin Cumella, at rmc2203@cumc.columbia.edu. 

How to Apply

Learn how to apply to the Columbia Roybal Center for Fearless Behavior Change Pilot.
doctor hand holding silver pen writing something on clipboard closeup
Back to top