Group items tagged

The Social Psychology Program at NSF supports basic research on human social behavior, including cultural differences and development over the life span.  Among the many research topics supported are: attitude formation and change, social cognition, personality processes, interpersonal relations and group processes, the self, emotion, social comparison and social influence, and the psychophysiological and neurophysiological bases of social behavior.  The scientific merit of a proposal depends on four important factors: (1) The problems investigated must be theoretically grounded. (2) The research should be based on empirical observation or be subject to empirical validation. (3) The research design must be appropriate to the questions asked. (4) The proposed research must advance basic understanding of social behavior.

The goal of this FOA is to support short courses geared to behavioral and social scientists who have existing expertise in aging research and can make research contributions in Alzheimer's disease and Alzheimer's disease-related dementias (AD/ADRD) with additional knowledge about the disease and related research resources. Fields of behavioral and social science research relevant for this FOA are health economics, labor economics, health services research, healthcare policy, public policy, demography, sociology, social epidemiology, psychology, and social neuroscience. Priority areas of focus include, but are not limited to, the following: dementia care; dementia caregiver research; cognitive and dementia epidemiology; behavioral and social pathways of AD/ADRD; role of social, contextual, environmental, and institutional factors in AD/ADRD; early psychological changes preceding AD/ADRD onset; prevention of AD/ADRD; disparities in AD/ADRD or dementia-related outcomes; and research resources and methods for studying the determinants and impact of AD/ADRD.

DLS supports fundamental research that increases our understanding of cognitive, linguistic, social, cultural, and biological processes related to children's and adolescents' development and learning.  Research supported by this program will add to our basic knowledge of how people learn and the underlying developmental processes that support learning, with the objective of leading to better educated children and adolescents who grow up to take productive roles as workers and as citizens. Among the many research topics supported by DLS are: developmental cognitive neuroscience; development of higher-order cognitive processes; transfer of knowledge from one domain or situation to another; use of molecular genetics to study continuities and discontinuities in development; development of peer relations and family interactions; multiple influences on development, including the impact of family, school, community, social institutions, and the media; adolescents' preparation for entry into the workforce; cross-cultural research on development and learning; and the role of cultural influences and demographic characteristics on development. Additional priorities include research that: incorporates multidisciplinary, multi-method, microgenetic, and longitudinal approaches; develops new methods, models, and theories for studying learning and development; and integrates different processes (e.g., learning, memory, emotion), levels of analysis (e.g., behavioral, social, neural), and time scales (e.g. infancy, middle childhood, adolescence).

This funding opportunity announcement (FOA) invites applications for basic research to better characterize the affective, cognitive, social, and motivational parameters of impaired and intact decision making in both normal aging and Alzheimer's disease (AD). Research is sought that will characterize the extent to which basic behavioral and neural processes involved in decision-making are differentially impacted in normal aging and AD, investigate the influence of social factors on decision-making, and investigate the decision-making factors that render older adults (with or without cognitive impairment) vulnerable to financial exploitation and other forms of mistreatment and abuse. The FOA also invites applications to apply basic research on the processes involved in decision-making to the design of decision-supportive interventions for midlife and older adults with and without AD. Specific opportunities include the development of decision-supportive interventions to leverage cognitive, emotional and motivational strengths of these populations; tools to assess decisional capacity; strategies for simplifying choices and offering better defaults; and the promotion of timely adoption of optimal delegation practices (e.g., power of attorney, living wells, etc.).

This funding opportunity announcement (FOA) invites applications for basic research to better characterize the affective, cognitive, social, and motivational parameters of impaired and intact decision making in both normal aging and Alzheimer's disease (AD). Research is sought that will characterize the extent to which basic behavioral and neural processes involved in decision-making are differentially impacted in normal aging and AD, investigate the influence of social factors on decision-making, and investigate the decision-making factors that render older adults (with or without cognitive impairment) vulnerable to financial exploitation and other forms of mistreatment and abuse. The FOA also invites applications to apply basic research on the processes involved in decision-making to the design of decision-supportive interventions for midlife and older adults with and without AD. Specific opportunities include the development of decision-supportive interventions to leverage cognitive, emotional and motivational strengths of these populations; tools to assess decisional capacity; strategies for simplifying choices and offering better defaults; and the promotion of timely adoption of optimal delegation practices (e.g., power of attorney, living wells, etc.).

This funding opportunity supports projects that test whether modifying electrophysiological patterns during behavior can improve cognitive, affective, or social processing. Applications must use experimental designs that incorporate active manipulations to address at least one, and ideally more, of the following topics: (1) in animals or humans, determine which parameters of neural coordination, when manipulated in isolation, improve particular aspects of cognitive, affective, or social processing; (2) in animals or humans, determine how particular abnormalities at the genomic, molecular, or cellular levels affect the systems-level coordination of electrophysiological patterns during behavior; (3) determine whether in vivo, systems-level electrophysiological changes in behaving animals predict analogous electrophysiological and cognitive improvements in healthy persons or clinical populations; and (4) use biologically-realistic computational models that include systems-level aspects to understand the function and mechanisms by which oscillatory and other electrophysiological patterns unfold across the brain to impact cognitive, affective, or social processing.

Founded in 1972, the Tourette Association of America (formerly known as the Tourette Syndrome Association) has emerged as the premier national nonprofit organization working to make life better for all people affected by Tourette and tic disorders. The association advances its work by raising public awareness and fostering social acceptance; working to advance scientific understanding, treatment options, and care; educating professionals to better serve the needs of children, adults, and families challenged by Tourette and tic disorders; advocating for public policies and services that promote positive school, work, and social environments; providing help, hope, and a supportive community across the nation; and empowering its community to deal with the complexities of this spectrum of disorders. To that end, grants of up to $150,000 over two years will be awarded for basic and clinical studies on all aspects of Tourette syndrome. To be eligible, investigators are required to have an advanced degree such as a Ph.D., M.D. or equivalent or be allied professionals with advanced degrees such as R.N.s, Drs. of O.T., social workers, and related fields. Investigators from nonprofit and for-profit organizations can apply.

A rich body of evidence suggests that optimal cognitive, affective, and social processes are associated with highly coordinated neural activity.  These findings suggest that oscillatory rhythms, their co-modulation across frequency bands, spike-phase correlations, spike population dynamics, and other patterns might be useful drivers of therapeutic development for treatment of cognitive, social, or affective symptoms in neuropsychiatric disorders. This funding opportunity supports projects that test whether modifying electrophysiological patterns during behavior can improve cognitive, affective, or social processing.

The National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) invites applications for the Minority Health and Health Disparities International Research Training (MHIRT) awards.These awards will support programs to offer international research training opportunities at a foreign site to qualified undergraduate, post-baccalaureates or graduate students in the life, physical, or social sciences; or medical students, dental students, or students in other health-professional programs who have not yet received terminal degrees who are from groups underrepresented in biomedical, behavioral, clinical and social sciences research.

The AAAS Early Career Award for Public Engagement with Science, established in 2010, recognizes early-career scientists and engineers who demonstrate excellence in their contribution to public engagement with science activities. A monetary prize of $5,000, a commemorative plaque, complimentary registration to the AAAS Annual Meeting, and reimbursement for reasonable hotel and travel expenses to attend the AAAS Annual Meeting to receive the prize are given to the recipient. Nominee must be an early-career scientist or engineer in academia, government or industry actively conducting research in any scientific discipline (including social sciences and medicine).  "Early career" is defined as an individual who has been in his/her current field for less than seven years and pre-tenure or job equivalent. Post-doctoral students are eligible for this award. Nominee will have demonstrated excellence in his/her contribution to public engagement with science activities, with a focus on interactive dialogue between the individual and a non-scientific, public audience(s). Types of public engagement activities might include: informal science education, public outreach, public policy, and/or science communication activities, such as mass media, public dialogue, radio, TV and film, science café, science exhibit, science fair, and social and online media.

Founded in 1972, the Tourette Association of America has emerged as the premier national nonprofit organization working to make life better for all people affected by Tourette and tic disorders. The association advances its work by raising public awareness and fostering social acceptance; working to advance scientific understanding, treatment options, and care; educating professionals to better serve the needs of children, adults, and families challenged by Tourette and tic disorders; advocating for public policies and services that promote positive school, work, and social environments; providing help, hope, and a supportive community across the nation; and empowering its community to deal with the complexities of this spectrum of disorders. To that end, grants of up to $150,000 over two years will be awarded for basic and clinical studies related to any aspect of Tourette syndrome. To be eligible, investigators are required to have an advanced degree such as a PhD, MD, or equivalent or be an allied professional with an advanced degree in a related field. Investigators from nonprofit and for-profit organizations are eligible to apply. Pre-proposals must be received no later than November 1, 2017. Upon review, selected applicants will be invited to submit a full application by February 15, 2018.

The SBIR program, as established by law, is intended to meet the following goals: stimulate technological innovation in the private sector; strengthen the role of small business in meeting Federal research or research and development (R/R&D) needs; increase the commercial application of Federally-supported research results; foster and encourage participation by socially and economically disadvantaged small business concerns and women-owned business concerns in the SBIR program; and improve the return on investment from Federally-funded research for economic and social benefits to the Nation.

We are looking for ideas that can lead to new multi-grant research portfolios on human flourishing. We are particularly interested in ideas for interdisciplinary scientific research towards discoveries that can promote physical, mental, social, and spiritual well-being. We welcome ideas that bridge gaps between empirical science and the humanities. Such ideas may include (but are not limited to):  Experimental testing of philosophically grounded models of human flourishing; Research on biological complexity in humans, including genetics, epigenetics, and microbiome research; Investigation of key psychological, neuroscientific, or human developmental concepts, such as (but not limited to) altruism, creativity, imagination, narrative, and meta-cognition; Research on cognitive, affective, or social capacities of individuals or groups; Studies of human biological or cultural evolution.

This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) invites applications to provide infrastructure support for advancing development of specific high-priority areas of behavioral and social research of relevance to Alzheimer's disease and Alzheimer's disease related dementias (AD/ADRD). The infrastructure support will facilitate research networks through meetings, conferences, small-scale pilots, short-term educational opportunities (such as intensive workshops, summer institutes, or visiting scholar programs), and dissemination to encourage growth and development of specified priority areas and build resources for advancing aging-relevant research in the field at large. Network applications are limited to the following areas: (1) AD/ADRD care and services research, and (2) the coordination of international studies conducting the Harmonized Cognitive Assessment Protocol.

This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) invites applications to provide infrastructure support to provide infrastructure support for advancing development of specific high priority areas of behavioral and social research of relevance to Alzheimers disease and Alzheimers disease related dementias (AD/ADRD). The infrastructure support will facilitate research networks through meetings, conferences, small scale pilots, short term educational opportunities (such as intensive workshops, summer institutes, or visiting scholar programs), and dissemination to encourage growth and development of specified priority areas and build resources for advancing aging-relevant research in the field at large. Network applications are limited to the following areas: (1) AD/ADRD care and services research and (2) the coordination of international studies conducting the Harmonized Cognitive Assessment Protocol.

Funding from this award will support the first year of a sub-study involving 5 of the 21 ABCD sites to include measures of delinquency and victimization in their investigations. The sub-study will address key questions on the interactions between substance use, brain development, delinquency, and victimization. The ABCD Study is the largest longitudinal study of brain development and child health in the US, following approximately 10,000 children (ages 9-10) across 21 sites into their early adulthood years. The ABCD Study, which is funded by NIDA, seeks to explore the standards of normal brain development across a young person's life trajectory, as well as numerous facets of adolescent brain, cognitive, social, emotional, and physical development.

The purpose of this FOA is to seek, identify and support bold and innovative approaches to broaden graduate and postdoctoral training, such that training programs reflect the range of career options that trainees (regardless of funding source) ultimately may pursue and that are required for a robust biomedical, behavioral, social and clinical research enterprise. Collaborations with non-academic partners are encouraged to ensure that experts from a broad spectrum of research and research-related careers contribute to coursework, rotations, internships or other forms of exposure. This program will establish a new paradigm for graduate and postdoctoral training; awardee institutions will work together to define needs and share best practices.

The Linguistics Program supports basic science in the domain of human language, encompassing investigations of the grammatical properties of individual human languages, and of natural language in general. Research areas include syntax, semantics, morphology, phonetics, and phonology. The program encourages projects that are interdisciplinary in methodological or theoretical perspective, and that address questions that cross disciplinary boundaries, such as (but not limited to): What are the psychological processes involved in the production, perception, and comprehension of language? What are the computational properties of language and/or the language processor that make fluent production, incremental comprehension or rapid learning possible? How do the acoustic and physiological properties of speech inform our theories of language and/or language processing? What role does human neurobiology play in shaping the various components of our linguistic capacities? How does language develop in children? What social and cultural factors underlie language variation and change?

To allow investigators time to plan and develop applications, NFRP is providing its strategic plan for award mechanisms to be offered in 2013 should funding become available. Congressional funds for the FY13 NFRP have not yet been appropriated, and this document is not to be construed as an obligation by the government; there is no guarantee of funding for these planned mechanisms. Areas of Emphasis: The FY13 NFRP encourages research projects applications that specifically address the critical needs of the NF community in the following areas of emphasis: Cognitive and social dysfunction in the setting of NF; Drug discovery for the treatment of NF; Heterogeneity of neurofibromas and other NF-related tumors using genomics, epigenetics, systems biology, or other similar approaches; Manifestations of NF post-adolescence; Novel disease markers such as imaging and proteomics of NF; Pain in the setting of NF.

The purpose of this cooperative agreement opportunity is to support the creation and/or maintenance of a transdisciplinary, multisite Research Network that will accelerate the translation of developmental science into MCH practice, promote scientific collaboration, and develop additional research capacity in the fields of adolescent and young adult (ages 10-25) health. A Research Network is a collaboration designed to conduct research across multiple sites, resulting in a greater collective impact. One institution serves as the primary awardee, and oversees and facilitates all Network activities. The Network must include researchers who study adolescence and young adulthood from a range of disciplines, including developmental neuroscience, behavioral and social sciences, and the medical and/or allied health fields, reflecting attention to the health and development of the whole person as well as to health care services for members of these two age groups.

The purpose of this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is to inform the scientific community of the pain research interests of the various Institutes and Centers (ICs) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and to stimulate and foster a wide range of basic, clinical, and translational studies on pain as they relate to the missions of these ICs. New advances are needed in every area of pain research, from the micro perspective of molecular sciences to the macro perspective of behavioral and social sciences. Although great strides have been made in some areas, such as the identification of neural pathways of pain, the experience of pain and the challenge of treatment have remained uniquely individual and unsolved. Furthermore, our understanding of how and why individuals transition to a chronic pain state after an acute injury is limited. Research to address these issues conducted by interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary research teams is strongly encouraged, as is research from underrepresented, minority, disabled, or women investigators.