Novel educational programs and tools for increasing uptake of the NIH stage model in behavioral intervention development - even though behavioral factors are the largest contributors to healthy…

The National Institute on Aging awarded The Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York $748,772 on September 20, 2025, under the Aging Research program (CFDA 93.866) to develop and deliver novel educational programs increasing adoption of the NIH Stage Model in behavioral intervention development.

The recipient will create a free, asynchronous online Foundations Course delivering 12 hours of learning modules on the NIH Stage Model to an unlimited number of learners. The program will also offer a free intensive 4-week virtual Advanced Course for 30 Fellows per year, comprising live webinars and small group learning (5 Fellows and 2 Faculty Mentors per group) in a flipped classroom format. Fellows must complete the Foundations Course to be eligible for the Advanced Course. Course content includes instruction on using generative AI and chatbots to accelerate behavioral intervention development research and identifying funding resources at every stage. The recipient will establish an external advisory committee of behavioral medicine research leaders to advise on course content and format and assist disseminating the courses to learners across scientific disciplines.

Work is performed in New York, New York. The period of performance extends from September 20, 2025, through May 31, 2030. This is a Project Grant, the standard assistance type for research training under the Aging Research program.

Novel educational programs and tools for increasing uptake of the NIH stage model in behavioral intervention development - even though behavioral factors are the largest contributors to healthy aging and premature death in the US, there are currently few evidence-based behavioral interventions that are widely used. One reason for this GAP is that all too many behavioral interventions have been developed by individuals who lack rigorous training in mechanism-driven intervention development and behavioral translational models. To address this GAP, we propose to create a research education program for scientists at all stages of career who are interested in developing behavioral interventions according to the NIH stage model which promotes a rigorous, stepwise approach to developing potent and scalable behavioral interventions. The educational program will be comprised of an asynchronous, continuously available, free online foundations course with 12 hours of learning modules that deliver fundamental knowledge about the NIH stage model to an unlimited number of learners. IT will also include a free intensive 4-week virtual learning experience that delivers advanced education and training in how to apply the NIH stage model to their intervention development activities. The advanced course will be comprised of live webinars interspersed with small group learning (5 fellows and 2 faculty mentors/group) using a flipped classroom format for 30 fellows per year. Fellows will be required to complete the foundations course to be eligible to apply. Innovative course content will include teaching on the use of generative AI and chatbots to accelerate behavioral intervention development research and identifying funding resources for research at every stage. We will create an external advisory committee comprised of leaders in behavioral medicine research who will advise on course content and format and help disseminate the courses to learners from a broad range of scientific disciplines. We will seek to attract learners by doing outreach to organizations and programs that nurture scientists interested in conducting behavioral intervention development research. While priority will be given to applicants developing interventions focused on NIA priorities (e.g., healthy aging, dementia), all applicants demonstrating a commitment to developing rigorous behavioral interventions will be eligible. In their roles leading the science of behavior change resource coordinating center and the columbia roybal center for fearless behavior change, the faculty leading this program have a wealth of experience teaching mechanism-driven behavioral intervention development and the NIH stage model. For continuous program improvement, feedback from formative and summative evaluations will be provided to all faculty throughout the conduct of these courses. Overall, this research education program will increase the number of behavioral scientists who rigorously apply the NIH stage model. Therefore, IT will contribute to the goal of increasing the uptake of effective behavioral interventions into clinical practice.