Behavioral RCT Funding Award Program
Each year, millions of Americans who experience serious health events such as heart attacks, strokes, or cancer diagnoses develop severe anxiety, depression, and even PTSD. All too often, these individuals do not 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.
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.
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, contingent on institutional IC rates. 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. Applicants are also encouraged to inquire about the possibility of applying for co-funding from other Centers in the Roybal Network.
Duration
Up to two years, with an anticipated project period of 06/01/2026 – 5/31/2028.
Number of Awards
Up to 1 award per year.
Eligibility
Applicants can be post-doctoral research fellows or faculty at any rank but must show evidence of being able to complete the trial within two years. Early-stage investigators are particularly encouraged to apply. Applicants are not required to be affiliated with Columbia University; however, all applicants must be directly affiliated with a domestic, US-based institution. The project only supports US-based components and institutions.
Letter of Intent (LOI)
Submission of a 1-page LOI, though not required, is strongly encouraged. Submissions will receive feedback on whether the proposal is aligned with this funding announcement. To receive feedback, LOIs must be submitted by Friday, October 31, 2025, to rmc2203@cumc.columbia.edu.
Application Deadline
Applications are now being accepted. Applications must be submitted by Monday, December 1st, 2025.
Trial Selection
Applicants will be notified of the outcome of their application by Friday, January 30th, 2026. All submissions will receive written feedback from the review committee. Applications that are not selected may resubmit their application the following year. 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, 2026 – May 31, 2028, pending NIA and IRB approval.
Application Process Overview
Applicants will be required to submit a 3-page research strategy describing the significance, innovation, approach, and expertise of the study team, statistical analysis plan, preliminary budget, and biosketches of all co-investigators.
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 diverse 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 January 2026, at which the top-ranked proposals will be discussed. One proposal will be selected for funding in the upcoming year.
Contact Us
For any questions about the application process and format, please contact Columbia Roybal Center Project Manager, Robin Cumella at rmc2203@cumc.columbia.edu.
To learn more about the NIA’s Roybal Center Initiative, please visit this page.