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LBDA New Investigator Pilot Study Award

Lewy Body Dementia Association

The Lewy Body Dementia Association (LBDA), now in its 22nd year, is the sole national nonprofit in the United States dedicated exclusively to improving the lives of those aOected by Lewy body dementia (LBD). LBDA’s mission is to optimize the quality of life for those aOected by Lewy body dementia, by accelerating awareness, advancing research for early diagnosis and improved care, and providing comprehensive education and compassionate support.

As part of our mission, LBDA is committed to supporting early-stage researchers and researchers new to LBD research. LBDA recognizes that larger grant proposals to agencies such as NIH are generally more likely to be funded if the proposal contains preliminary data. The New Investigator Pilot Study Award was developed to provide grant support to develop such data, thereby increasing the likelihood of larger LBD research projects being funded by NIH and other grant-making organizations.

Lewy body dementia is an umbrella term for two progressive disorders: dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) and Parkinson’s disease dementia (PDD). LBD symptoms include changes in cognition, movement, behavior, sleep and autonomic function. National research priorities for LBD were first developed in 2013 at the Alzheimer’s Disease-Related Dementias (ADRD) Summit organized by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Updated in 2025, the recommendations identified for Lewy body dementias were:

• Expand LBD clinical trial infrastructure and perform trials aimed to slow the clinical course, delay, and/or prevent the onset of symptoms, in addition to alleviating clinical symptoms.

• Expand and develop clinically, biologically, and/or genetically deeply phenotyped LBD cohorts, representative of the U.S. population with LBD, from pre-symptomatic disease to autopsy.

• Refine and validate existing diagnostic biomarkers and develop new biomarkers related to Lewy body pathology and identify biomarkers for mixed etiology dementia that includes Lewy body pathology.

• Develop and refine biomarkers of neuronal injury, neurotransmitters, pathophysiology, and neurodegeneration that are predictive and prognostic, provide monitoring to track progression, and identify therapeutic target engagement and biological response to therapeutic interventions.

• Integrate functional genomics of LBD by delineating genetic loci and their functions contributing to the onset and progression of LBD using multi-omic characterization analyses, to support drug discovery.

• Enhance and harmonize techniques for neuropathologic characterization of LBD, for use in well-characterized and representative LBD pathology cohorts.

• Develop models to understand the pathogenesis, mechanisms of toxicity, and normal molecular and cellular functions of α-synuclein, to support drug discovery.

• Identify multi-etiology mechanisms of selective vulnerability, disease heterogeneity, disease spread/propagation, and interaction with other age-related pathologies as therapeutic targets.

The 2023 Dementia Care Summit also identified gaps and opportunities to identify evidence-based programs, strategies, approaches, and other research that can be used to improve the care, services, and supports of persons with dementia and their caregivers (see final report, Appendix 1). There is little known about the unique impact of LBD on individuals and family caregivers to inform tailored interventions to meet the unique needs of a population affected by cognitive, motor, behavioral, sleep and autonomic symptoms. Further, there is a paucity of data on the impact of LBD on individuals and family caregivers by race and ethnicity, socioeconomic status, health disparities, gender identity, sexual orientation and geography.

Aims and Objectives

The Aim of the Lewy Body Dementia Association (LBDA) New Investigator Pilot Study Award is to support pilot translational or clinical studies for the purpose of developing preliminary data to be used in future grant applications. The program is open both to early-stage investigators, and to more established researchers from other fields, who have not yet received an NIH R01 in Lewy body dementia (LBD) research.

The Objective of the grant program is to enable pilot studies that address one or more of the national research recommendations for Lewy body dementia, as described in the Summit documents referenced above.

Project Funding and Period

LBDA intends to fund one or more grants under this program in 2026. Total budget per proposal may not exceed $50,000, including up to $5,000 in indirect costs.

The project period is one year.

AI Based Application Success Predictor

🧠 1. Strict Focus on Lewy Body Dementia (Non-Negotiable)

Projects must directly address:
- Lewy body dementia (LBD)
Includes:
- Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB)
- Parkinson’s disease dementia

👉 Non-LBD neurodegeneration research → not competitive

🎯 2. Clear Clinical Impact (Top Predictor)

LBDA funding is strongly aimed at:

Improving:
- Diagnosis, management, and patient care

👉 Key question:
“Will this improve diagnosis or care for people with LBD and their caregivers?”

🔄 3. Translational & Clinical Research Focus (Critical)

Programs explicitly fund:
- Clinical and translational pilot studies
Includes:
- Diagnostic tools
- Therapeutic strategies
- Care models

👉 Pure basic science is less competitive unless clearly translational

🧪 4. Pilot-Scale, Feasible Projects (Major Constraint)

LBDA awards are:
- Pilot grants designed to generate preliminary data
Must be:
- Focused
- Achievable within short timelines

👉 Overly ambitious proposals are commonly rejected

🧬 5. Focus on Diagnosis & Biomarkers (High Priority Area)

Major unmet need:
- Accurate diagnosis of LBD
High-success areas:
- Imaging biomarkers
- Clinical diagnostic tools

👉 Early diagnosis research is a key differentiator

🚀 6. Innovation in Understanding & Treatment

Funded projects often explore:

New imaging techniques
Immune mechanisms
Disease pathways

👉 Innovation is important, especially when linked to clinical application

👩‍🔬 7. Early-Career Investigator Support (Major Priority)

LBDA explicitly funds:
- New investigators and researchers entering LBD field

👉 Strong advantage for:

Early-career scientists
Cross-disciplinary entrants

🤝 8. Collaboration with Clinical & Research Networks

LBDA operates:
- Research Centers of Excellence
Encourages:
- Collaboration with specialized centers

👉 Access to patients and expertise improves success

👥 9. Inclusion of Caregiver & Patient Outcomes (Unique Strength)

LBDA uniquely emphasizes:
- Caregiver support and burden reduction

👉 Projects addressing:

Quality of life
Care models
→ are highly valued

📈 10. Potential for Future NIH/External Funding

Grants are designed to:
- Generate preliminary data for larger funding

👉 Projects with clear next-step funding plans score higher

📊 Summary: Key Predictors (Ranked)

Highest impact factors:

LBD-specific focus
Clinical impact (diagnosis & care)
Translational pathway

Moderate predictors:
4. Biomarker/diagnostic innovation
5. Feasibility (pilot scale)
6. Early-career investigator

Supporting factors:
7. Collaboration
8. Caregiver/patient outcomes
9. Future funding potential

💡 Insider Insight

Compared to Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s funders:

Lewy Body Dementia Association is:
👉 highly niche (LBD only)
👉 clinical + pilot funding oriented

👉 Winning formula:
LBD-focused idea + diagnostic/clinical impact + feasible pilot study

✔️ What wins:

Early diagnosis tools (biomarkers, imaging)
Clinical care improvement studies
Feasible pilot projects with translational impact

❌ What struggles:

Non-LBD neurodegeneration
Pure basic science
Large, unfocused proposals

Specialties

Neurosciences

Eligibility Requirements

This program is open to Early Stage Investigators and to more established researchers from other fields who have not yet received an NIH R01 (or equivalent) in LBD research (“new to LBD”). In either case, the applicant’s career stage should be no higher than assistant professor or equivalent, and the institution must be located within the United States.

Sponsor Details

Sponsor Institute/Organizations: Lewy Body Dementia Association

Sponsor Type: Corporate/Non-Profit

Address: 912 Killian Hill Road S.W., Lilburn, GA 30047

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