APRE Grant Program

Grant Program Details

2025 Request For Proposals

The Alliance for Potato Research & Education (APRE) is inviting researchers to submit a Letter of Intent (LOI) that supports the improved understanding of the health-promoting properties of potatoes. Topics of interest to address are summarized below, as are LOI requirements. Please review these guidelines before considering a response to the RFP.

PRIMARY RESEARCH TOPICS

APRE is dedicated to funding research in a credible and transparent manner to help expand knowledge about the nutritional properties and health benefits of potatoes (not sweet potatoes or yams) in all forms — baked, boiled, chips, roasted, fried, fresh and frozen.

For the 2025 research funding cycle, APRE is seeking proposals for randomized controlled trials (RCTs; minimum 12-weeks; at least 30 participants per group or a power calculation indicating that the study is appropriately powered for the outcome(s) of interest) related to the consumption of potatoes as part of healthy dietary patterns among diverse populations, including traditionally underserved groups and vulnerable populations, inclusive of key life stage groups, such as adolescents, older adults, women of childbearing age, and pregnant/post-partum women representing various US cultural and ethnic populations.

Specific research areas of interest align with the 2025 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee’s recommendations and identified research gaps: cultural foodways, cultural relevance, and acceptability; food preferences, diet quality, portion size, and moderation; glycemic control and cardiometabolic risk factors.

For additional insight, we are sharing the following examples of research topics that may support these areas of interest. Please note, this is not an exhaustive nor inclusive list, and APRE welcomes and encourages novel ideas. Additionally, priority will be given to proposals that effectively address multiple topic areas described in this RFP.

Cultural Foodways, Cultural Relevance, and Acceptability

Are Americans, across cultures and ethnicities, more likely to follow the Dietary Guidelines for Americans when various forms of potatoes are eaten in a healthy dietary pattern? ​

• The unique contributions of potatoes and their role in healthy, equitable, and sustainable dietary patterns
• Potatoes as a vehicle (“springboard vegetable”) to increase variety and consumption of all vegetables and/or other under consumed food groups
• Traditional and global eating patterns that include potatoes and health outcomes

Food Preferences, Diet Quality, Portion Size, and Moderation

Can various forms of white potatoes, including fried forms, be eaten in a healthy dietary pattern and improve measures of health?

• Potatoes vs. other sources of carbohydrates and impacts on anthropometrics, nutrient intakes, and microbiome changes
• Older adult (ages 50+) potato exposure on total vegetable acceptance, taste preferences, and dietary patterns

Glycemic Control and Cardiometabolic Risk Factors

What is the relationship between a healthy dietary pattern including various forms of potatoes on cardiometabolic health outcomes?

• Potatoes vs. other carbohydrate sources and impacts on cardiometabolic risk factors
• Food combinations, including potatoes, and meal timing on type 2 diabetes risk and control (e.g., assessed by continuous glucose monitoring, glucose clamp, etc.)
• Potato consumption and gestational diabetes risk, anthropometric measures, and birth outcomes

EMERGING RESEARCH TOPICS

In addition to the request for LOIs describing RCTs on the above topics, APRE is interested in projects exploring emerging research topics, to better understand the potential impact of potato consumption on health outcomes and/or measures of health, that are growing opportunities and/or challenges for public health across all life stages.

SUBMISSION DETAILS

• LOIs are due by 11:59 pm CT on Monday, March 17.
• Please submit the LOI through Proposal Central where you will be prompted to provide the following information: title, principal investigator, institution, brief introduction, study hypotheses, study aims, experimental approach, budget, and timeline.
  • Project budgets should account for costs associated with securing open access rights to published manuscripts and include indirect costs.*
• Principal investigators may submit multiple LOIs.
• APRE will hold all information provided by the researcher in confidence while your LOI is under consideration.

APRE will consider funding robust:

• Multi-faceted clinical trials with a duration of at least 12 weeks and including at least 30 participants per group (or a power calculation indicating that the study is appropriately powered for the outcome(s) of interest), with a maximum budget of $650,000, though we may consider projects with larger budgets.
• Smaller projects exploring emerging research topics, with a maximum budget of $150,000.

Select applicants will be invited to submit a full proposal. Full proposals will be reviewed by recognized third-party content experts.

*APRE GRANT PROGRAM POLICIES

• The APRE research program adheres to Integrity Guidelines on Funding Nutrition Research, which align with the Guiding Principles for Managing and Conducting Nutrition Research Funded by Entities at Interest developed by the American Society for Nutrition.
• APRE’s policy is that indirect costs (i.e., facilities and administrative costs) of up to 10% of total direct costs will be permitted. Project applications should include indirect costs in the total proposed budget.

If you have any questions, please email us at research@apre.org.