Realigning for Impact: Sign On to Support our Cross-Institute Aging Consortia Proposal
Members of Congress and NIH Leadership
Full proposal here
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) invests approximately $48.7 billion annually in biomedical research. Over half of this budget is directed toward diseases that are fundamentally driven by biological aging: cancer, cardiovascular disease, neurodegeneration, diabetes, and other chronic conditions. Yet the NIA Division of Aging Biology (DAB), the only division within NIH that funds research into the upstream biological mechanisms of aging itself, receives just $346 million — less than 1% of the total NIH budget.
No formal methodology ties NIH funding to disease burden. Peer-reviewed research has repeatedly demonstrated that NIH budget allocations bear virtually no statistical relationship to the diseases that cause the most suffering and death in America. The strongest predictor of current NIH funding is the compounded historical allocation from previous decades, rather than the contemporary burden of disease.
Compounding the problem, significant aging-related research already occurs within disease-specific institutes — cancer researchers studying senescence, cardiologists investigating vascular aging, neurologists examining age-related neurodegeneration — but this work is categorized under disease headings and is effectively invisible in NIH’s budget tracking systems. The true federal investment in aging biology is unknown because it has never been consolidated or measured.
Disease Category | NIH Funding (FY24) | Evidence that Aging is the Primary Risk Factor | Upstream Hallmarks |
Cancer (NCI) | ~$7.2B | Incidence rises exponentially with age | Senescence, genomic instability, immune decline |
Heart/Lung/Blood (NHLBI) | ~$4.2B | CVD risk doubles each decade after 55 | Mitochondrial dysfunction, inflammaging |
Alzheimer’s/Dementia (NIA-DN) | ~$3.7B | Age is the dominant risk factor | Proteostasis loss, epigenetic drift |
Diabetes/Metabolic & Kidney (NIDDK) | ~$2.3B | T2D prevalence peaks in older adults | Nutrient sensing, mitochondrial decline |
Eyes (NEI) | ~$0.9B | Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of blindness & presbyopia prevalence age 55+ is nearly 100% | Cellular senescence, loss of proteostasis, mitochondrial dysfunction |
Neurological & Stroke (NINDS) | ~$2.8B | Stroke, Parkinson’s are age-driven | Stem cell exhaustion, DNA damage |
Deafness (NIDCD) | ~$0.5B | Age-related hearing loss (presbycusis) is the leading cause of deafness | Stem cell exhaustion, mitochondrial dysfunction, oxidative damage |
Division of Aging Biology (DAB) | $346M | Funds research on the upstream cause of all above | All hallmarks |
Our white paper proposes two interventions. First, we present a disease-burden-weighted framework that quantifies how NIH funding should be allocated if it were rationally tied to the health needs of the American public. Second, we propose a concrete mechanism: expanding the existing Onco-Aging Consortium model into a series of cross-institute joint funding programs, proportionally co-funded by both NIA-DAB and partner institutes. These consortia would make aging-related research visible, trackable, and accountable — while creating named budget lines that can grow as the science matures.
Sponsored by
To:
Members of Congress and NIH Leadership
From:
[Your Name]
To my Elected Officials,
I'm writing as a constituent and member of the Alliance for Longevity Initiatives (A4LI) to urge your support for the following National Institutes of Health (NIH)-Wide Strategic Plan for Fiscal Years 2027-2031 proposal. The National Institutes of Health invests approximately $48.7 billion annually in biomedical research. Over half of this budget is directed toward diseases that are fundamentally driven by biological aging: cancer, cardiovascular disease, neurodegeneration, diabetes, and other chronic conditions. Yet the NIA Division of Aging Biology (DAB), the only division within NIH that funds research into the upstream biological mechanisms of aging itself, receives just $346 million — less than 1% of the total NIH budget.
As a member of A4LI, I support the proposal for a disease-burden-weighted framework that quantifies how NIH funding should be allocated if it were rationally tied to the health needs of the American public. Additionally, expanding the existing Onco-Aging Consortium model into a series of cross-institute joint funding programs, proportionally co-funded by both NIA-DAB and partner institutes would make aging-related research visible, trackable, and accountable — while creating named budget lines that can grow as the science matures. As a result of these implementations, it would scale investment in aging biology and accelerate the development of preventive and disease-modifying interventions that address these conditions at their source, rather than treating them one by one.
Your support for this NIH Strategic Plan for Fiscal Year 2027-2031 will be crucial for delivering meaningful returns such as reduced long-term Medicare and healthcare spending, strengthened U.S. leadership in biomedical innovation, and a transformative opportunity to improve productivity and add trillions to the American economy. Please publicly endorse A4LI's NIH Strategic Plan proposal and help secure America's future in longevity science.
Thank you for your time and service.