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The vision of the Human Animal Bond Research Institute (HABRI) is for the human-animal bond to be universally embraced as an essential element of human wellness. To that end, HABRI works to establish the vital role of companion animals in the health and well-being of individuals, families, and communities. HABRI has issued a Request for Proposals for projects that investigate the health outcomes of pet ownership and/or animal-assisted activity or therapy, both for the people and the animals involved. The organization is interested in projects that involve a variety of companion animals (e.g., small animals, dogs, cats, fish, and horses). Proposals should have a strong theoretical framework and focus on innovative approaches to the study of the health effects of companion animals on humans within the following broad categories: child health and development; healthy aging; and mental health and wellness.

Attention veterinarians, lab technicians, animal technicians, and all who work with laboratory animals: The Johns Hopkins Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing (CAAT) now is accepting proposals for the 2014 Science-based Refinement Awards (formerly the Animal Welfare Enhancement Awards). The focus of these awards is to elicit scientific evidence to support the enhancement of the housing, handling and/or experimental situations for laboratory animals. Studies may, for example, examine: how physiological and behavioral stress responses to common husbandry (e.g., capture) and traditional treatment procedures (e.g., gavage, injection, blood collection) can be reduced or eliminated (e.g., by training the subjects to cooperate rather than resist); whether animals caged at different tier levels show different physiological and behavioral stress responses when being approached by personnel, and how these responses can be minimized or avoided; whether the presence of a compatible companion buffers physiological and behavioral stress responses to experimental situations (e.g., enforced restraint); whether animals kept in legally minimum-sized cages benefit from a moderate increase in space that is (a) empty versus (b) structured in species-appropriate ways (e.g., shelter, visual blind, perch, platform, PVC tube).

This funding opportunity announcement (FOA), issued by the NIH Basic Behavioral & Social Science Opportunity Network (OppNet), invites applications for short-term mentored career enhancement (K18) awards in basic behavioral and social sciences research (b-BSSR). This funding mechanism will support development of research capability in b-BSSR, with specific emphasis on cross-training and establishing collaborations between researchers with expertise in animal models of basic behavioral and social processes and those studying similar or related processes in human subjects. Basic research using any non-human species or with human subjects in laboratory- or field-based settings is appropriate for this FOA. Eligible candidates for this K18 will be either: (a) scientists conducting b-BSSR in animal models who seek training in the study of similar or related behavioral or social processes in humans; or (b) investigators conducting b-BSSR in human subjects who seek training in the study of similar or related processes in animal models. Candidates may be at any rank or level of research/academic development beyond three years of postdoctoral experience.

Nearly 75% of US households have pets. The decreasing size of families, with the reduction in the number of younger siblings, babies, and elderly from family homes, means that many children may be more likely to grow up with an animal than with a younger sibling or grandparent in the home. It has been documented in the literature that pets offer a source of emotional support to children, and studies suggest they may be helpful to prevent allergies, ease anxiety and encourage exercise. However, most of the studies focusing on how animals affect children's health, development and well-being are correlational and stop short of providing answers to key developmental questions and establishing causal relationships. Likewise, most studies conducted to date have not included diverse samples that would allow researchers to examine possible cultural, racial or ethnic differences in HAI.

The Klarman Family Foundation is interested in providing strategic investment in translational research that will accelerate progress in developing effective treatments for anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorder. The Program's short-term goal is to support the most outstanding science and expand the pool of scientists whose research explores the basic biology of feeding, anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and/or binge eating disorder. The long-term goal is to improve the lives of patients suffering from these conditions. Examples of funding areas include but are not limited to molecular genetic analysis of relevant neural circuit assembly and function; genetic and epigenetic research; animal models created by genetically altering neural circuits; and testing of new chemical entities that might be used in animal models as exploratory treatments.  Please note that imaging studies involving humans are not eligible. Investigators conducting research in the neuro-circuitry of fear conditioning or reward behavior may also apply but must justify the relevance of their research projects to the basic biology of eating disorders. Clinical psychotherapeutic studies, medication trials and research in the medical complications of these disorders are outside the scope of this Program.

The overall goal of this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is to identify, in animals, in vivo neurophysiological and behavioral measures for use as assays in the early screening phase of treatment development. The FOA will support efforts to optimize and evaluate measures of neurophysiological and behavioral processes that may serve as surrogate markers of neural processes of clinical interest based on available knowledge of the neurobiology of mental illnesses. The screening assays thus developed from this FOA are expected to build upon systems neurobiology and clinical neuroscience to enhance the scientific value of preclinical animal data contributing to a therapeutic development pipeline by assessing the impact of therapeutic targets and treatment candidates on neurobiological mechanisms of clinical relevance to mental illnesses.

The overall goal of this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is to identify, in animals, in vivo neurophysiological and behavioral measures for use as assays in the early screening phase of treatment development. The FOA will support efforts to optimize and evaluate measures of neurophysiological and behavioral processes that may serve as surrogate markers of neural processes of clinical interest based on available knowledge of the neurobiology of mental illnesses. The screening assays thus developed from this FOA are expected to build upon systems neurobiology and clinical neuroscience to enhance the scientific value of preclinical animal data contributing to a therapeutic development pipeline by assessing the impact of therapeutic targets and treatment candidates on neurobiological mechanisms of clinical relevance to mental illnesses.

The multi-agency Ecology and Evolution of Infectious Diseases program supports research on the ecological, evolutionary, and social drivers that influence the transmission dynamics of infectious diseases. The central theme of submitted projects must be the quantitative or computational understanding of pathogen transmission dynamics. The intent is discovery of principles of infectious disease transmission and testing mathematical or computational models that elucidate infectious disease systems. Projects should be broad, interdisciplinary efforts that go beyond the scope of typical studies. They should focus on the determinants and interactions of transmission among humans, non-human animals, and/or plants. This includes, for example, the spread of pathogens; the influence of environmental factors such as climate; the population dynamics and genetics of reservoir species or hosts; the feedback between ecological transmission and evolutionary dynamics; and the cultural, social, behavioral, and economic dimensions of pathogen transmission. Research may be on zoonotic, environmentally-borne, vector-borne, or enteric pathogens of either terrestrial or aquatic systems and organisms, including diseases of animals and plants, at any scale from specific pathogens to inclusive environmental systems.

The overall goal of this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is to identify, in animals, in vivo neurophysiological and behavioral measures for use as assays in the early screening phase of treatment development. The FOA will support efforts to optimize and evaluate measures of neurophysiological and behavioral processes that may serve as surrogate markers of neural processes of clinical interest based on available knowledge of the neurobiology of mental illnesses. The screening assays thus developed from this FOA are expected to build upon systems neurobiology and clinical neuroscience to enhance the scientific value of preclinical animal data contributing to a therapeutic development pipeline by assessing the impact of therapeutic targets and treatment candidates on neurobiological mechanisms of clinical relevance to mental illnesses.

This encompasses basic biological processes governing differentiation and development involving both human and animal model systems, genetics and genomics of these processes, clinical studies, reproductive health and environmental toxicology. Social and behavioral studies are encouraged concerning cognitive and behavioral risks that affect outcomes of pregnancy, the perinatal period, and subsequent child development. The latter may involve family units and those genes, toxicants and social determinants that adversely affect language or behavior.

This encompasses basic biological processes governing differentiation and development involving both human and animal model systems, genetics and genomics of these processes, clinical studies, reproductive health and environmental toxicology. Social and behavioral studies are encouraged concerning cognitive and behavioral risks that affect outcomes of pregnancy, the perinatal period, and subsequent child development. The latter may involve family units and those genes, toxicants and social determinants that adversely affect language or behavior.

The goals of this initiative are to discover allelic variants, genomic alterations, and functional changes associated with addictive behaviors in non-human animals through systems studies that employ genetic and genomics strategies. We also encourage proposals that take genetic and/or genomics approaches to integrate data, delineate gene networks, and uncover the function of known or newly discovered genetic or epigenetic variants.

This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) encourages applications for short-term mentored career development (K18) awards that improve synergies among researchers in basic and applied behavioral-social sciences, human subjects and model animals settings; and biomedical and behavioral-social sciences. Link to Additional Information: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-17-486.html

The International Foundation for Ethical Research (IFER) is pleased to call for pre-proposal applications for its 2013 Graduate Student Fellowships for Alternatives to the Use of Animals in Science. The fellowships provide up to $12,500 annually in stipendiary support and up to $2,500 for supplies per year. The fellowships are renewable annually for up to three years. Continued funding is dependent on student progress and availability of funds.

This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) encourages exploratory and developmental grant applications to lay the foundation for innovative and collaborative basic research on the role of epigenetics in social, behavioral, environmental and biological relationships, throughout the life-span and across generations. Research plans that are responsive to this FOA will use existing bio-psycho-social and environmental data from human cohorts or animal studies that have biospecimens available for epigenetic profiling. The one year exploratory/developmental awards are expected to generate preliminary data for comprehensive basic research applications to study interactions between epigenetics and social/behavioral/biological/environmental factors in both normal function and pathophysiology throughout life and across generations. The results may ultimately inform research to develop clinical decision/diagnostic tools and prevention/treatment strategies.   

This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is intended to stimulate model-driven research to understand the ways that people make decisions about engaging in behaviors that impact the risk of acquiring or transmitting HIV, or to adhere to treatments for HIV. Decision making processes may contribute to both substance use/abuse and other HIV acquisition or transmission risks. A better understanding of decision making processes in the context of brain neural networks and their associated functions would lead to the development of better strategies to reduce the frequency of HIV-risk behaviors. Therefore, this FOA encourages applications to study 1) cognitive, motivational or emotional mechanisms and/or 2) brain neuroendocrine and reinforcement systems that related to HIV-risk behaviors or treatment non-compliance. Interdisciplinary studies that incorporate approaches from psychology, economics, anthropology, sociology, decision sciences, neuroscience and computational modeling are encouraged. This FOA for R01 applications solicits empirical, hypothesis-driven, confirmatory research and modeling approaches. Exploratory, descriptive or hypothesis-generating research are more appropriate for the complementary FOAs using the R21 or R03 mechanisms. In no cases, should research involving animals be proposed.

This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is intended to stimulate model-driven research to understand the ways that people make decisions about engaging in behaviors that impact the risk of acquiring or transmitting HIV, or to adhere to treatments for HIV. Decision making processes may contribute to both substance use/abuse and other HIV acquisition or transmission risks. A better understanding of decision making processes in the context of brain neural networks and their associated functions would lead to the development of better strategies to reduce the frequency of HIV-risk behaviors. Therefore, this FOA encourages applications to study 1) cognitive, motivational or emotional mechanisms and/or 2) brain neuroendocrine and reinforcement systems that related to HIV-risk behaviors or treatment non-compliance. Interdisciplinary studies that incorporate approaches from psychology, economics, anthropology, sociology, decision sciences, neuroscience and computational modeling are encouraged. This FOA for R03 applications encourages small research projects that can be carried out in a short period of time with limited resources. The R03 activity code supports different types of projects including pilot and feasibility studies; secondary analysis of existing data; small, self-contained research projects; development of research methodology; and development of new research technology. In no cases, should research involving animals be proposed.

The purpose of this funding opportunity announcement (FOA) issued by the National Institute on Aging (NIA) is to solicit two-year Research Project Grant (R01) applications that propose to explore the potential for midlife plasticity of biobehavioral or psychological systems affected by early life disadvantage. In order to speed the development of novel intervention strategies, applicants are encouraged either to use existing human cohort data to identify circumstances that mitigate or exacerbate the effects of early adversity or to use human and/or animal models to test the feasibility of developing interventions aimed specifically at increasing malleability in adulthood of risk persistence mechanisms.

The Division of Integrative Organismal Systems (IOS) supports research aimed at understanding why organisms are structured the way they are and function as they do. Proposals should focus on organisms as a fundamental unit of biological organization. Principal Investigators (PIs) are encouraged to apply systems approaches that will lead to conceptual and theoretical insights and predictions about emergent organismal properties. Areas of inquiry include, but are not limited to, developmental biology and the evolution of developmental processes, nervous system development, structure, and function, physiological processes, functional morphology, symbioses, interactions of organisms with biotic and abiotic environments, and animal behavior.

The purpose of this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is to advance research on male-females differences in drug and alcohol abuse and addiction and on factors specific to women. Both human and animal model studies are sought.

The purpose of this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is to advance research on male-females differences in drug and alcohol abuse and addiction and on factors specific to women. Both human and animal model studies are sought.