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2026 US NAM Grand Prize Phase

In 2026, the National Academy of Medicine (NAM) will mark the culmination of itsHealthy Longevity Global Competitionby issuing a $1.5 million USD Grand Prize and several smaller awards for projects with the greatest impact—or potential for impact—on healthy longevity in humans. The Grand Prize Phase is open exclusively to the 720 global recipients of Healthy Longevity Catalyst Awards, issued between 2020and2025 during an earlier phase of the Healthy Longevity Global Competition.

Background

Founded by the NAM in 2019, thehelped jumpstart a worldwide movement to extend the humanhealthspanby accelerating research, innovation, and entrepreneurship in healthy longevity.

In theCatalyst Phase, theNAMand its global partners funded and administered Catalyst Award competitions open to innovators in over 50 countries and territories. Over six annual cycles (2020-2025), the NAM and its partners issued —totaling more than $36 million USD—to seed bold, innovative ideas and early-stage projects from across disciplines and with the potential to improve physical, mental, and social health and well-being as we age.

In theAccelerator Phaseof the Global Competition,13global Catalyst Awardees received support from Johnson & Johnson Innovation inandtocontinue ontheir innovation journey.Specifically, JJI ran two cycles of its Healthy LongevityQuickFireChallenge and issued approximately $2.5 million USD in grants plus mentorship opportunities to this select group of global innovators.

In 2026, the Global Competition will conclude with theGrand Prize Phase, administered by the NAM with support from its global partners. NAM is a private membership organization formed under the corporate charter of the 鶹ýԴ (NAS), which will award the prizes.

Overview

The NAM will issue one Grand Prize of $1.5 million USD for the project with the greatest impact—or potential for impact—on healthy longevity in humans. The NAM will also award one 2ndplace prize of$250,000 USD; one 3rdplace prize of$125,000 USD; andseveral honorable mention prizes of $10,000 USD.

The NAM defines healthy longevity as the state in which years in good health approach the biological life span, with physical, cognitive, and social functioning—enabling well-being across populations. For the Grand Prize Phase, the NAM is seeking projects that havedemonstrated(or havedemonstratedthe potential to do) the following:

  • Create transformative knowledge to enable everyone everywhere to live with health into the oldest ages
  • Transform current knowledge and ability to create healthy longevity
  • Bring about a true sense of paradigmatic change in science, opening new frontiers in the way we think about and drive research
  • Be a basic building block of intervention and solutions for creating healthy longevity for everyone

Eligibility

The Grand Prize Phase is open exclusively to global Catalyst Awardees. This includes the 720 teams worldwide that received a Catalyst Award between 2020and2025 from the NAM or one of its global partners. Global partners that administered Catalyst Awards as part of the Healthy Longevity Global Competition include (in alphabetical order):

  • Academia Sinica
  • Agency for Medical Research and Development of Japan
  • Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences
  • The Chinese University of Hong Kong & the University of Hong Kong
  • EIT Health
  • Ministry of Health/National Research Foundation of Singapore
  • National Academy of Medicine of the United States
  • National Agency for Research and Development of Chile
  • National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health of the United States
  • Research Grants Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
  • UK Research and Innovation

For the Grand Prize Phase, the NAM seeks projects that have advanced following receipt of the original CatalystAward.Projects must be able to speak to the trajectory of their work from the initial Catalyst Award to the present (this is part of the Project Submission component of their Grand Prize application).

An individual may only be named on one application for the Grand Prize. However, it is possible that there be multiple Grand Prize applications linked to the same Catalyst Award-winning project. For example, a Catalyst Award-winning project may have yielded results that evolved into two distinct lines of research, each led by a member of the original Catalyst Award-winning team. Each of those two researchers are eligible to apply for the Grand Prize with their respective projects.

The NAM acknowledges that Grand Prize applicants will have received their initial Catalyst Award in different years and therefore have had different amounts of time to advance their work. The Catalyst Award-winning projects are also extremely diverse and advance at different rates. These factors will be taken into accountin the evaluation of applications for the Grand Prize.

Review Process

The National Academy of Medicine (NAM) will oversee the review process for the Grand Prize Phase, with support from its global partners.

Following the submission deadline, applications will first be reviewed by the global partner that administered the corresponding Catalyst Award. Each partner willidentifya group of the most competitive projects based on the Grand Prize evaluation criteria.

Shortlisted applications will then advance to a multi-stage review coordinated by the NAM. This process will engage an international pool of experts and leaders with diverse disciplinary perspectives.

Final award decisions will be made by a multidisciplinary Selection Committee. Decisions of the Selection Committee are final.

2026 Timeline

Below is the timeline for the Grand Prize application, review, and award process.

  • Friday, March 20: Application window opens (portal becomes accessible)
  • Monday, May4, 11:59PM ET: Application window closes
  • May – August:Application review and selection process
  • Early September: Grand Prize Phase awardees notified
  • October 20: Healthy Longevity Global Innovator Summit in Washington, DC

Dates are based on an estimated timeline and are subject to change. The NAM will post any changes to key dates onitswebsiteand communicate with global partners.

Terms & Conditions

  • NAM is a private membership organization formed under the corporate charter of the 鶹ýԴ (NAS), which will award the prize.
  • By entering this Competition, each individual Submitter grants the NAS a world-wide nonexclusive, royalty-free, transferable license to use and distribute their submission to reviewers for the purposes of review and judging.
  • Reviewers will be asked to keep confidential the contents of Submissions.  
  • Submittersretainall intellectual property rights they may have in their Submissions. Submitters are encouraged to consult an attorney prior to entering the Competitionregardingany existing intellectual property used in the submission.
  • An individual may only be named on one application for the Grand Prize. However, it is possible that there be multiple Grand Prize applications linked to the same Catalyst Award-winning project. For example, a Catalyst Award-winning project may have yielded results that evolved into two distinct lines of research, each led by a member of the original Catalyst Award-winning team. Each of those two researchers are eligible to apply for the Grand Prize with their respective projects.

Team Eligibility

  • Applications may besubmittedby an individual or by a team of up to five (5) individuals. For team submissions, all team members must beidentifiedby name in the application at the time of submission. Changes to team composition, including substitutions or additions of team members, will not bepermittedafter the application deadline except at the sole discretion of NAM.
  • Each member of the winning team, as a condition of award, must provide a license and personal releases relating to NAS’s use of the Title and Abstractportionof the Submission and their name, affiliations, and likeness in connection with publicizing the Competition and their participation for NAS’s tax-exempt purposes.

Prize Distribution

  • For the Grand Prize, 2ndPlace Prize, and 3rdPlace Prize: If a team is selected as a prize recipient, the total prize amount will be divided among the named team membersunless an alternative approach is clearlystatedin the application.Unless otherwisedeterminedby NAMbased on the application, prize funds will be distributed in equal shares to each named individual.Each individuallisted will be considered a prize recipient if the application is selected.
  • For Honorable Mention Prizes: If a team is selected as a prize recipient, the total prize amount will be disbursed to the Principal Investigator listed on the application. Co-investigators listed on the application may still be acknowledged as members of the award-winning team (e.g., in NAM’s publicizing of the winners).
  • Paymentswill be made directly to the individual recipients and not to institutions or organizations unless explicitly authorized by NAM at its sole discretion upon written request.
  • All prize recipients willbe requiredto complete any documentation necessary for payment and tax reporting, includingas a condition of award, a completed W-9 or W-8BEN (asappropriate pertax law) and EFT (electronic funds transfer) information.
  • Prize payments are subject to applicable U.S. federal, state, and local tax reporting requirements. Depending on the recipient’s citizenship, residency status, and other applicable factors, withholding may be required under U.S. law.
  • Individuals who are not U.S. citizens or U.S. residents are eligible to receive the prize; however,additionaldocumentation may berequiredprior to payment, and applicable withholding taxes may apply.
  • NAM cannotprovidetax advice.Taxes, if any, are the sole responsibility of the winning team members.Prospective applicants and prize recipientsare responsible forconsulting their own tax advisorsregardingthe tax implications of participation in the prize program and receipt of prize funds.
  • Before winners are announced and awards are disbursed, a due diligence review will be conducted to verify that applicants areappropriate recipientsof the Grand Prize Phase awards.
  • By entering a Submission, each individualentrant agrees tocomply withand be bound by the official rules and decisions of NAS.Any Submitter who supplies false informationorviolatesthe eligibility criteria or terms of thecompetition shall be ineligible for any prize and shall be required toforfeitany prize obtained based onfalse or incomplete information.
  • Theprize competitionshall be governed by, construed and enforcedin accordance withthe laws of the District of Columbia.
  • A list of Award Winners will be posted on the.
  • Award winnersmaybe asked to complete a survey about their progress and milestones achieved; related media coverage, publications, etc.; ways in which the award has helped advance the project, etc. NAM staff will request responses from winners approximately one-year post receipt of the award.
  • Award Winners will be strongly encouraged to attend the Healthy Longevity Global Innovator Summit in Washington, DC on October 20, 2026. The Summit will be an opportunity for the Award Winners to share their work with a global audience, fellow Award Winners, and National Academies members.
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