The National Dairy Council invites the submission of pre-proposals that examine the role of dairy foods, dairy-derived ingredients, and/or unique dairy-derived bioactives in supporting multidimensional sleep health. The focus should be on adults and leverage either longitudinal observational datasets or human clinical trials.

Primary sleep-related outcomes of interest may include core dimensions of sleep health—such as duration, continuity, timing, regularity, and satisfaction—assessed using validated subjective instruments and/or objective measures (e.g., total sleep time, sleep efficiency, wake after sleep onset, sleep timing or regularity), consistent with NIH- and AHA-recognized sleep health frameworks.

Sleep-related daytime functioning may be included as a complementary outcome and may reflect downstream consequences of sleep health (e.g., daytime alertness or sleepiness, fatigue, cognitive or emotional functioning, appetite regulation, or functional impairment), where mechanistically linked to the primary sleep outcomes.

Proposed studies should specify primary sleep health dimensions of interest, justify measurement approaches, and articulate plausible biological or behavioral pathways linking dairy foods or dairy-derived components to sleep and downstream health outcomes.

The National Dairy Council invites research on pre-proposals to advance the current body of evidence for precision nutrition approaches in women’s health.

As such, we seek innovative studies that examine how individual variability (e.g., genetics, life stage, lifestyle, and metabolic status) influences responses to dietary patterns that include a specific dairy food or a variety of dairy foods. Emphasis should be made to understand how dairy foods contribute within overall dietary patterns rather than direct comparisons between specific dairy types.

Priority areas include:

• Investigate how nutrient-rich dairy foods modulate cardiometabolic risk factors (e.g., lipid metabolism, blood pressure regulation, glycemic control, systemic inflammation) across pre-, peri-, and postmenopausal stages, with integrated identification of phenotypes and biomarkers (e.g., hormonal status, metabolomic signatures, gut microbiome profiles, genetic variants) that predict interindividual variability in response.
• Develop and validate precision dietary strategies incorporating dairy foods that are tailored to peri- or menopausal stage and individual biological profiles, leveraging biomarker- and phenotype-driven approaches to optimize cardiometabolic, musculoskeletal, and overall health outcomes in female populations.

Pre-proposals could include mechanistic, real-world interventions, or longitudinal observational studies. The goal is to generate actionable insights that inform personalized nutrition guidance and support improved health in peri- and menopausal women.

The National Dairy Council invites the submission of pre-proposals that examine the role of milk and dairy foods in supporting childhood health and development. Priority areas include research that:

• Evaluates the effects of whole or flavored milk consumption on growth, weight status, metabolic health, and nutrient adequacy across key developmental stages. 
• Investigates, in school settings, how milk availability and type influence overall consumption, nutrient intake, and student behavior, including the impacts of changes in offerings or formulation and the balance between milk at all fat levels or added sugars and nutritional benefits. 
• Examine associations between dairy intake and cognitive outcomes, such as memory, attention, executive function, and academic performance, alongside mechanistic insights into how dairy nutrients support brain health.
• Examine the impact of school-based dairy offerings on dietary intake and cognitive-related outcomes across different age groups and populations, while exploring substitution patterns and precision nutrition approaches to inform more tailored, evidence-based dairy recommendations for children.

National Dairy Council sets aside a portion of our research budget to fund early-phase, basic science on the impact of dairy foods, dairy-derived ingredients, or unique dairy-derived bioactives on health and wellness. Pre-proposals submitted for this topic should focus on one of the following areas: joint health and mobility; biological age; cell or organ functionality; and skin, nail, or hair health. Discovery projects are expected to be smaller in scope and shorter in duration than more applied research projects. The total budget cannot exceed $100,000 and all projects must be completed within 12 months