OARS funding Neuroscience

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Defense Sciences Office (DSO) is sponsoring an event (D3) to (1) familiarize attendees with DSO's mission and the nature of the efforts we support; (2) promote understanding of how to do business with DSO and (3) facilitate discussions with potential performers. The event is scheduled for Thursday, June 15, 2017 at the DoubleTree Crystal City (300 Army Navy Drive Arlington, VA 22202); selected sessions will be webcast for those who would like to participate remotely.  Advance registration is required for attending the event in person or for viewing the webcast.

This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is issued by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) in conjunction with the NIH Pain Consortium. It solicits R21 grant applications from institutions/organizations to perform innovative research that will elucidate the mechanisms underlying migraine, expand our current knowledge of the role of genetic, physiological, biopsychosocial, and environmental influences in migraine susceptibility and progression, and explore new therapeutic targets and therapies for acute migraine management and longer term prevention. 

This funding opportunity announcement (FOA) is issued by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke to enable submission of program project grant applications that propose to conduct innovative, interactive research to answer significant scientific questions that are important for the mission of NINDS, via a synergistic collaboration between outstanding scientists who might not otherwise collaborate. The program project grant is designed to support research in which the funding of several interdependent highly meritorious projects as a group offers significant scientific advantages over support of these same projects as individual research grants. 

The primary objective of this FOA is to stimulate innovative Convergent Neuroscience (CN) approaches to establish causal and/or probabilistic linkages across contiguous levels of analysis (e.g., gene, molecule, cell, circuit, system, behavior) in an explanatory model of psychopathology. In particular, applicants should focus on how specific constituent biological processes at one level of analysis contribute to quantifiable properties at other levels, either directly or as emergent phenomena.  Although not required, it is preferable that applications link at least three levels of analysis and include an emphasis on genetics. The projects under this FOA will develop novel methods, theories, and approaches through a CN team framework, bringing together highly synergistic inter/transdisciplinary teams from neuroscience and "orthogonal" fields (e.g., data/computational science, physics, engineering, mathematics, and environmental sciences). Successful teams will combine, expand upon, or develop conceptual frameworks and theoretical approaches, and build explanatory computational models that connect contiguous levels of analysis. Such frameworks, theories, and computational explanatory models should be validated through experimental approaches to elucidate biological underpinnings of complex behavioral (including cognitive and affective) outcomes in psychopathology. Additionally, a goal of this program is to advance research in CN by creating a shared community framework of resources which may be used by the broader research community to further research, as such, successful team will have robust plan for sharing data and other resources.

The purpose of this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is to encourage research on the role of the nervous system in metabolism, homeostasis, remodeling and/or regeneration of the postnatal dental and craniofacial skeletal system (DCS) in health and disease. The objectives are to enhance basic science knowledge about interactions between the peripheral and central nervous systems (PNS/CNS) and the DCS, and facilitate development of strategies to optimize normal function, reduce the impact of disease, and develop capacity to repair and regenerate injured teeth and craniofacial bones. 

1) Philip R. Dodge Young Investigator Award: An award for basic science or clinical research by promising young investigators who are members of the Child Neurology Society. Applications will be judged on the basis of originality, scientific merit, succinctness, and relevance. The recipient of the Dodge award will receive a grant-in-aid of $20,000 and will be invited to present their work at the 46th Annual Meeting of the Child Neurology Society in Kansas City, MO on October 6, 2017. 2) Child Neurology Shields Research Grant: The grant supports translational or clinical research by a child neurologist or developmental pediatrician early in his/her academic career. The selected investigator will receive a $100,000 grant of $50,000 per year for two years. 3) Pediatric Epilepsy Research Foundation (PERF) Scientific Research Grant: The grant supports clinical or basic science research by a child neurologist or developmental pediatrician early in his/her academic career. The selected investigator will receive a $100,000 grant of $50,000 per year for two years.

The annual award recognizes a senior researcher who has made a significant contribution to research on the causes and treatment of schizophrenia as both a researcher and a mentor. A $1,500 award will be made to the senior researcher, and $20,000 will support the research career development of a young research psychiatrist working in a mentor-trainee relationship with the award winner on further research in this field.

The institute seeks teams of researchers working at different levels of analysis and employing integrative, novel, and creative experimental approaches to address high-risk, high-impact questions in basic neuroscience research, or in translational research with the primary objectives of: (a) advancing the state of the science in basic brain and behavior research that will uncover and dissect the underlying mechanisms that will ultimately provide the foundation for understanding mental disorders; (b) supporting the integration and translation of basic and clinical neuroscience research on severe mental illnesses; and/or (c) advancing our understanding of the neurobehavioral developmental mechanisms and trajectories of psychopathology that begin in childhood and adolescence.

Genetic and genomic studies have identified genes and gene variants that may impact the fundamental biological mechanisms underpinning substance use disorders (SUDs).  Discovery of these genes/variants, while extremely valuable, is only the first step in understanding the molecular processes that influence SUDs. This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) encourages basic functional genetic and genomic research in two areas:  1. functional validation to determine which candidate genes/variants/epigenetic/non-coding RNA features have an authentic role in SUDs, and 2. detailed elucidation of the molecular pathways and processes modulated by candidate genes/variants, particularly for those genes with an unanticipated role in SUDs.   

The Alternatives Research & Development Foundation, a U.S. leader in the funding and promotion of alternatives to the use of laboratory animals in research, testing, and education, is currently soliciting research proposals for its 2017 Alternatives Research Grant Program. For over 20 years, this innovative program has created opportunities for scientists who have interest and expertise in alternatives research.

This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is dedicated to the discovery of therapeutic Biotechnology Products and Biologics (e.g., peptides, proteins, oligonucleotides, gene therapies, and cell therapies) for disorders that fall under the NINDS mission.  It supports the optimization of therapeutic lead(s) showing convincing proof-of-concept.   At the end of the funding period, projects that successfully advance through support from this program will have identified a optimized candidate, which has sufficient bioactivity, stability, manufacturability, bioavailability, in vivo efficacy and/or target engagement, and other favorable properties that are consistent with the desired clinical application, and will be ready for entry into the CREATE Bio Development track for further development to enable filing for an Investigational New Drug (IND).   

The "epitranscriptome" refers to chemical modifications of RNA molecules.  RNA modifications in the brain have been reported to regulate the fate and function of both coding and noncoding RNAs and are emerging as a critical element of cellular function. The purpose of this initiative is to stimulate research into the functions of modified RNAs in the brain and in the associated modification proteins that act on RNA (readers, writers, and erasers) that play a role in basic neurobiological and behavioral processes implicated in mental and substance use disorders.   

Through this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA), the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) seeks applications to develop, sustain, enhance, and enrich a centralized national biorepository for genetic studies of psychiatric disorders for facilitation and acceleration of the scientific understanding of the genetic risk architecture underlying mental disorders. This effort is expected to involve a functionally integrated, multi-disciplinary team that will provide for open sharing of biosamples and data resources through a single, centralized, national resource to advance basic and translational research in the genetics of mental disorders.

This NIH Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is part of the Stimulating Peripheral Activity to Relieve Conditions (SPARC) Common Fund program. This FOA solicits applications for support of research to gather critical data and answer critical questions on functional peripheral neuroanatomy of organs and reveal the organ function controlled by neural circuits.   Organs of interest include those where the peripheral neuroanatomy and functional neurobiology of the organ have been understudied, and which are not the subject of existing SPARC funding under RFA-RM-15-018 (see below).  

NIJ seeks proposals for research and evaluation on the abuse, neglect, and exploitation of elderly individuals. NIJ is interested in research that either helps to define and operationalize polyvictimization among elderly individuals or to identify successful outcomes in elder abuse intervention research. These are two areas that have been identified as gaps for a number of years in the field.

The ADDF-Harrington Scholar Program is a collaboration between the Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation (ADDF) and Harrington Discovery Institute. The goal of developing new therapies will be achieved by providing award recipients with both research funding and committed project support by a team of pharmaceutical industry experts. Proposals should show potential to advance discovery into meaningful therapeutics to treat, prevent, or slow Alzheimer's disease, other dementias, and cognitive aging.

This Request for Proposal (RFP) seeks to support the development and validation of novel and existing biomarkers that will enhance the design and performance of clinical trials for Alzheimer's disease, related dementias, and cognitive aging. More accurate and comprehensive biomarkers will improve patient selection and pharmacodynamic measurements, and provide additional tools for early detection and accurate diagnosis.

In this application round we are limiting the focus of our grants program to research that directly investigates the underlying biology of anorexia nervosa, and the questions of how and why it develops and persists.  

Long-term misuse and chronic exposure to abused substances can produce widespread changes in brain structure and function. Although much progress has been made, additional research is still needed to identify the neurobiological changes that result from substance use, and how these changes contribute to substance use disorders. The overarching goals of the research areas described in this FOA are to understand the neurobiological mechanisms underlying substance use disorders, with special emphasis on identifying changes and neuroadaptations that occur during dependence, withdrawal, and relapse to chronic substance use. An understanding of the basic mechanisms underlying substance use disorders can help to identify targets for prevention and treatment interventions. Research utilizing basic, translational, or clinical approaches is appropriate.

This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) encourages applications from investigators that propose to study the developing brain or brain areas that play significant roles in mediating emotional and motivated behavior and in substance use and dependence.  All stages of brain development are of interest, but a new emphasis of the current reissue of this initiative is to support basic neuroscience research on fundamental mechanisms of brain development during prepuberty and the adolescent period in relation to the problems of substance abuse and co-morbidity with psychiatric disorders.  Topics of interest pertaining to brain development of this initiative include, but are not limited to, the euphoric properties of abused substances, actions of psychotherapeutic agents, and their consequences on memory, cognitive and emotional processes.  A major goal of this initiative is to understand how exposure to substances of abuse and environmental insults affects the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying nervous system development and neural circuit functions implicated in substance use and addiction.