OARS funding Neuroscience

This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) encourages research grant applications from institutions/organizations to investigate mechanisms by which the gut microbiome modulates the development and function of brain circuits that subserve behavioral functions of direct relevance to the mission of the NIMH. Because initial colonization of the gut by microbiota occurs early in life and may influence the subsequent development and modifiability of the central nervous system, developmental studies are of interest. Applicants may propose to use wild-type, gnotobiotic, and/or specific pathogen-free model organisms. With this FOA, the NIMH encourages investigator teams to initiate hypothesis-driven research in this cross-cutting research area and to identify promising mechanistic leads for future basic and translational research that will advance the mission of the NIMH.

The mission of the Simons Foundation is to advance the frontiers of research in mathematics and the basic sciences. To that end, the foundation is inviting applications for the 2015 Simons Fellows Programs in both mathematics and theoretical physics. Through the two programs, the foundation will award grants of up to $100,000 to university faculty for a research leave from classroom teaching and administrative obligations of up to a semester in order to help boost their creativity and/or provide intellectual stimulation. The goal of the program is to make it easier to take such leaves, or to extend sabbatical leaves by an extra half year.

The NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) application period is now open!  NSF is soliciting applications for the GRFP until the posted deadlines in late October and early November 2014.  Since 1952, GRFP has provided Fellowships to individuals selected early in their graduate careers based on their demonstrated potential for significant achievements in science and engineering. Three years of support is provided by the program for graduate study in science or engineering and leads to a research-based master's or doctoral degree.  The NSF expects to award 2,000 Graduate Research Fellowships under this program solicitation pending availability of funds. 

The goal of this NIEHS undergraduate research education R25 program is to support educational activities that enhance the diversity of the biomedical, behavioral and clinical research workforce in the environmental health sciences. To this end, this funding opportunity announcement (FOA) encourages the development of creative educational activities with a primary focus on research experiences for undergraduates at the junior and senior level.

AFTD provides support for highly innovative basic and clinical research in frontotemporal degeneration (FTD) including: behavioral variant FTD, primary progressive aphasia, progressive supranuclear palsy, corticobasal syndrome and FTD-ALS. The Pilot Grant is designed to seed original projects, (one clinical research project and one basic science project*) with the goal of generating preliminary data toward a larger grant application to the NIH or other public or private agencies concerned with this important medical and social problem.

The NIH Research Education Program (R25) supports research education activities in the mission areas of the NIH. The goal of this NIH Blueprint R25 program is to support educational activities that enhance the diversity of the biomedical, behavioral and clinical research workforce. To this end, this funding opportunity announcement encourages the development of creative educational activities with a primary focus on Research Experiences, Courses for Skills Development, and Mentoring Activities.

The L'Oréal USA For Women in Science fellowship program is a national awards program that annually recognizes and rewards five U.S.-based women researchers at the beginning of their scientific careers. Recipients receive up to $60,000 each that they must put towards their postdoctoral research. The program's partner, AAAS, manages the peer-review process. Launched in 2003 as the U.S. Fellowships component of the L'Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science International Fellowship program, the program aim to: Raise awareness of the contribution of women to the sciences Identify exceptional female researchers in the U.S. to serve as role models for younger generations An inter-disciplinary panel of scientists reviews all applications submitted. The top candidates chosen by the review panel are then forwarded for final selection to a distinguished Jury of career scientists and former North American L'ORÉAL-UNESCO For Women in Science Laureates. The Jury seeks candidates with exceptional academic records and intellectual merit, clearly articulated research proposals with the potential for scientific advancement and outstanding letters of recommendation from advisers. New to the program this year, applicants will also be evaluated in part on their commitment to supporting women and girls in science.

This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) aims to stimulate the broader research community to utilize a resource funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act) to generate and evaluate hypotheses about the complex interrelationships and multi-directional influences among genetics, brain maturation, neurocognitive function, and psychiatric symptoms during development. This FOA is a strategic effort to disseminate this data resource, stimulate the broader research community to use the resource, and accelerate research on neurodevelopment and trajectories of risk for mental illness. Secondary goals of this initiative are to foster collaborations among researchers from diverse fields of expertise, enhance diversity of research questions and analytic approaches, advance methods for integration across data modalities and levels of analyses (i.e., imaging, genomics, behavior), and encourage inclusion of early stage investigators among these collaborations.

A rich body of evidence suggests that cognitive processes are associated with particular patterns of neural activity. These data indicate 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 cognitive improvement in neuropsychiatric disorders.  This initiative encourages applications to test whether modifying electrophysiological patterns during behavior can improve cognitive abilities.  Applications should use experimental designs that incorporate active manipulations to address at least one, and ideally more, of the following topics: (1) in behaving animals, determine which parameters of neural coordination, when manipulated in isolation, improve particular aspects of cognition;  (2) in animals or humans, determine how particular abnormalities at the cellular or molecular level, such as specific receptor dysfunction, affect the 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 normal humans or clinical populations; and (4) use systems-level computational modeling to develop a principled understanding of the function and mechanisms by which oscillatory and other electrophysiological temporal dynamic patterns unfold across the brain (cortically and subcortically) to impact cognition.   

This FOA encourages Research Project Grant (R01) applications from institutions/organizations that propose to study the neuroimmune mechanisms of alcohol-related disorders. Studies using animal models and post-mortem human alcoholic brains suggest that alcohol exposure alters the neuroimmune system in the brain. However, it remains unclear how the altered neuroimmune signaling contributes to brain functional and behavioral changes associated with alcohol dependence. Recent studies reveal that neuroimmune molecules are expressed in neurons and glia, and play an important role in modulating synaptic function, neurodevelopment, and neuroendocrine function. These neuromodulatory properties, together with their essential roles in neuroinflammation, provide a new frame work to understand the role of neuroimmune factors in mediating neuroadaptation and behavioral phenotypes associated with alcohol use disorders. Studies supported by this FOA will provide fundamental insights of neuroimmune mechanisms underlying brain functional and behavioral changes induced by alcohol. 

A rich body of evidence suggests that cognitive processes are associated with particular patterns of neural activity. These data indicate 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 cognitive improvement in neuropsychiatric disorders.  This initiative encourages applications to test whether modifying electrophysiological patterns during behavior can improve cognitive abilities.  Applications should use experimental designs that incorporate active manipulations to address at least one, and ideally more, of the following topics: (1) in behaving animals, determine which parameters of neural coordination, when manipulated in isolation, improve particular aspects of cognition;  (2) in animals or humans, determine how particular abnormalities at the cellular or molecular level, such as specific receptor dysfunction, affect the 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 normal humans or clinical populations; and (4) use systems-level computational modeling to develop a principled understanding of the function and mechanisms by which oscillatory and other electrophysiological temporal dynamic patterns unfold across the brain (cortically and subcortically) to impact cognition.

This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) invites research grant applications focused on defining the pathogenic mechanisms involved in Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)-1 Associated Neurocognitive Disorders (HAND) and, identifying therapeutic strategies to treat and prevent the neurobehavioral and neurological effects of HIV-1 on the central nervous system (CNS). Basic and translational research in domestic and international settings are of interest. Multidisciplinary research teams and collaborative alliances are encouraged but not required.

This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) invites applications for Silvio O. Conte Centers for Basic or Translational Mental Health Research. 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 with the primary objective of: (a) advancing the state of the science in brain and behavior research 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. The Conte Centers program is intended to support interdisciplinary basic and/or translational research demonstrating an extraordinary level of synergy, integration, and potential for advancing the state of the field. This program is intended only for projects that could not be achieved using other, more standard grant mechanisms. The Conte Centers program also provides an opportunity to establish interdisciplinary basic and/or translational research experiences for individuals in training.  

A rich body of evidence suggests that cognitive processes are associated with particular patterns of neural activity. These data indicate 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 cognitive improvement in neuropsychiatric disorders. This initiative encourages applications to test whether modifying electrophysiological patterns during behavior can improve cognitive abilities. Applications should use experimental designs that incorporate active manipulations to address at least one, and ideally more, of the following topics: (1) in behaving animals, determine which parameters of neural coordination, when manipulated in isolation, improve particular aspects of cognition; (2) in animals or humans, determine how particular abnormalities at the cellular or molecular level, such as specific receptor dysfunction, affect the 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 normal humans or clinical populations; and (4) use systems-level computational modeling to develop a principled understanding of the function and mechanisms by which oscillatory and other electrophysiological temporal dynamic patterns unfold across the brain (cortically and subcortically) to impact cognition.

This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) encourages Exploratory/Developmental Research Project Grant (R21) applications from institutions/organizations that propose to study the neuroimmune mechanisms of alcohol related disorders. Studies using animal models and post-mortem human alcoholic brains suggest that alcohol exposure alters the neuroimmune system in the brain. However, it remains unclear how the altered neuroimmune signaling contributes to brain functional and behavioral changes associated with alcohol dependence. Recent studies reveal that neuroimmune molecules are expressed in neurons and glia, and play an important role in modulating synaptic function, neurodevelopment, and neuroendocrine function. These neuromodulatory properties, together with their essential roles in neuroinflammation, provide a new frame work to understand the role of neuroimmune factors in mediating neuroadaptation and behavioral phenotypes associated with alcohol use disorders. Studies supported by this FOA will provide fundamental insights of neuroimmune mechanisms underlying brain functional and behavioral changes induced by alcohol.

A rich body of evidence suggests that cognitive processes are associated with particular patterns of neural activity. These data indicate 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 cognitive improvement in neuropsychiatric disorders. This initiative encourages applications to test whether modifying electrophysiological patterns during behavior can improve cognitive abilities. Applications should use experimental designs that incorporate active manipulations to address at least one, and ideally more, of the following topics: (1) in behaving animals, determine which parameters of neural coordination, when manipulated in isolation, improve particular aspects of cognition; (2) in animals or humans, determine how particular abnormalities at the cellular or molecular level, such as specific receptor dysfunction, affect the 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 normal humans or clinical populations; and (4) use systems-level computational modeling to develop a principled understanding of the function and mechanisms by which oscillatory and other electrophysiological temporal dynamic patterns unfold across the brain (cortically and subcortically) to impact cognition.

This fall, OARS will host a series of brown-bag workshops on navigating the NSF proposal process.  Workshops will be held select Tuesdays from noon to 1:00pm in Pearson 208.  You are welcome to attend any or all of the sessions.  Click through for dates and registration information.

Interdisciplinary Research to Understand the Vascular Contributions to Alzheimer's Disease (R01)

The purpose of the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) is to help ensure the vitality and diversity of the scientific and engineering workforce of the United States. The program recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students who are pursuing research-based master's and doctoral degrees in science and engineering. The GRFP provides three years of support for the graduate education of individuals who have demonstrated their potential for significant achievements in science and engineering.

The Society for Women's Health Research (SWHR) is pleased to announce a travel award opportunity for neuroscience students to present their research on sex differences in the brain at a scientific conference in 2014. SWHR is accepting applications for travel awards sponsored by Donald G. and Darel Stein in memory of Anne Hammer. Awardees must provide evidence that the poster or oral presentation has been accepted for inclusion in the conference. Funds can be used to pay for expenses associated with attending a neuroscience-related conference, including an abstract submission fee, society membership and/or conference registration, and travel and/or lodging. The research presented must stem from a current project on sex differences in neuroscience.