Funding Opportunities
Pilot Funds
The UM-OAIC is providing funding for two-year pilot projects (3 projects at $30,000 direct costs each). This funding is designed to provide start-up support for quality research proposals of high relevance to the Center's mission which addresses the process by which function is lost, and the multiple factors that affect the onset and progression of disability in older adults.
Research Education Core Scholar Funds
The UM-OAIC provide an enriched, research training and educational environment to promote the career development of early career faculty toward independence as investigators in aging-related research. The REC Scholar position is funded for a period of up to two years contingent on adequate process.
Learn More: Pilot and REC Scholar funds
LOI deadline for both opportunities is October 30, 2026
Micro-Funds
The Center is excited to offer the opportunity for Pepper Center pilot investigators and junior scholars, as well as Pepper Center affiliates interested in applying for a pilot or junior scholar position in the future, to apply for micro-funds ranging from $500-$2,000 for a current project that relates to the Pepper Center theme. No deadline to apply; funds are available on an as-needed basis.
Learn More: Micro-Funding
Origin and Funding
The Claude D. Pepper Older Americans Independence Center Program was established in honor of the late Florida Senator Claude D. Pepper to establish centers of excellence in geriatrics research and research career development to increase scientific knowledge leading to better ways to maintain or restore independence in older persons. The program is funded by the National Institute of Aging (NIA).
The University of Maryland, Baltimore is one of 15 Pepper Centers located throughout the United States. Each Center focuses on increasing scientific knowledge to support older adults in maintaining their independence.
The University of Maryland Claude D. Pepper Older Americans Independence Center (UM-OAIC) has been continuously funded since 1994. Since that time, we have successfully demonstrated that rehabilitation interventions improve cardiovascular fitness, ambulation (walking), balance and activities of daily living which can reduce health-related risk factors in older individuals with chronic disabling diseases. The UM-OAIC is made possible by a grant from the National Institute on Aging (NIA).
Our Goal
The UM-OAIC continues to work on the design and implementation of interventions that will effectively delay declines and restore function to prevent chronic disability and maximize independent living, functional recovery, and quality of life, i.e., enablement. This will be accomplished by: 1) advancing our understanding of the mechanisms by which exercise and rehabilitation interventions directed at specific impairments affect multiple body systems; 2) developing and testing interventions including validation, and implementation of evidence-based rehabilitation technologies to restore function and minimize disability following acute disabling events and to prevent declines related to serious chronic conditions; and 3) training the next generation of investigators who will further the understanding of the aging process and develop interventions that help promote health and independence in older adults with disabling medical conditions.
Our Mission
The UM-OAIC mission is to promote enablement and to develop, implement, and evaluate rehabilitative strategies that are designed to improve and restore mobility and functional independence in older adults with disabling conditions due to chronic conditions or sudden disabling events. Building on these important perspectives, the UM-OAIC focuses on the restoration of function in order to improve function in those with impairments, and prevent or delay further progression in those who are already disabled. This has been aptly referred to as enablement.
Center Activities
The UM-OAIC is investigating innovative ways to maintain or restore independence for older adults. Our mission is being accomplished by:
- Conducting research on the aging processes and mechanisms that underly the functional impairments associated with sudden disabling events and prevalent chronic diseases in older people to generate foundational evidence on interventions that can restore independent function;
- Supporting studies designed to promote enablement, recovery, and functional independence and develop innovative methods to overcome methodologic gaps and strengthen UM-OAIC research (RC-1);
- Designing novel and efficacious rehabilitation interventions (RC-2 and RC-3) that improve clinically relevant outcomes and study the mechanisms underlying these interventions to translate findings to other clinical centers (e.g. clinics, hospitals, post-acute and long-term care settings) for implementation and to enable sustainable implementation in community settings (e.g. home, senior centers);
- Supporting pilot and exploratory studies (PESs), UM-OAIC Scholar research, and externally funded projects (EPs) that are advance the UM-OAIC mission;
- Supporting the development of early-stage faculty and Scholars from multiple disciplines as they pursue careers as independent, academic scientists and leaders in enablement research with expertise in the study of older persons with disabling diseases through mentor-based, didactic and experiential training.
The UM-OAIC has three resource cores (RC): Biostatistics, Data Science and Informatics (RC-1); Applied Physiology, Mechanisms and Translation (RC-2); and Rehabilitation Technology (RC-3), that serve as resources for the conduct of innovative enablement research. An enhanced Research Education Core (REC) will provide didactic and experiential, and leadership training under the guidance of interdisciplinary mentoring teams to prepare the next generation of scientists and leaders committed to careers in aging research. A Pilot and Exploratory Studies Core (PESC) supports the development, execution, and dissemination of pilot and Scholar projects.
University Earns Carnegie Community Engagement Classification- 2026
UMB has received the Carnegie Elective Classification for Community Engagement, a national designation recognizing colleges and universities for deep, sustained, and reciprocal partnerships with their communities. Administered by the American Council on Education in partnership with the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, which fewer than 10% of colleges and universities in the US hold this designation. UMB is also only 1 of 4 public academic medical institutions that was awarded the designation through a rigorous, evidence-based review process. Institutions must demonstrate that community engagement is embedded across teaching, research, and service, and that their work produces meaningful benefits in partnership with community members and organizations. “Many institutions believe that universities need to pick between meaningful academic community engagement and robust research outcomes,” said Bill Joyner, assistant vice president for community engagement and partnerships. “UMB is proof that you can do both.”
The University of Maryland Claude D. Pepper Older Americans Independence Center (UM-OAIC) engages quarterly with a Community Advisory Board, led by Dr. C. Daniel Mullins, which is composed of community residents and leaders of organizations serving the aging community. We are grateful to our CAB members as they provide guidance on issues that warrant attention to enable functional improvements in older persons from diverse communities in Baltimore and the state of Maryland, provide feedback on the relevance of research being conducted by UM-OAIC investigators and provide advice on implementation of successful projects to early career faculty.
Learn More: Carnegie Classification: UMB
