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TRANSLATIONAL MEDICINE AND THERAPEUTICS: The goal of the PhRMA Foundation's Translational Medicine and Therapeutics Program is to promote the development and use of experimental and computational methods in an integrative approach towards clinical needs in diagnosis, treatment and prevention. This can involve enhanced understanding of human biological and disease processes but requires a strong translational component. This program will support the concepts of Translational Medicine and Therapeutics as defined by the Foundation: "Translational medicine and therapeutics is a discipline focused on bridging experimental and computational technologies and discoveries in the research laboratory to their application in clinical practice. Examples of research components include activities in molecular and cellular biology, pathophysiology, systems biology, bioinformatics, modeling and simulation, and other quantitative sciences to connect basic biological concepts and entities to directly address unmet medical needs. The goals are to use clinical observation as the basis for hypothesis generation to further basic research and to efficiently advance the product of basic research to patients." Translational Medicine and Therapeutics awards will advance training and support career development of scientists engaged in research that significantly integrates cutting-edge technologies with advanced biological, chemical, and pharmacological sciences and engineering methodologies in such areas as (but not restricted to): * Genetics (Molecular, Pharmaco-, Population, Medical) * Genomics (Functional, Structural, Toxico-, Pharmaco-, Comparative) * Systems (Biology and Pharmacology) * Pathways and networks * Integrative biology * Modeling and simulation * Target Identification and Validation * Biomarker Discovery and Validation * Vaccine Development * Molecular Epidimiology * Imaging * Disease Modeling

The Nano-Biosensing program is part of the Engineering Biology and Health cluster, which includes also 1) Cellular and Biochemical Engineering; 2) Engineering of Biomedical Systems; 3) Biophotonics; and 4) Disability and Rehabilitation Engineering. The Nano-Biosensing program supports fundamental engineering research on devices and methods for measurement and quantification of biological analytes. Proposals that incorporate emerging nanotechnology methods are especially encouraged. Areas of interest include: -Multi-purpose sensor platforms that exceed the performance of current state-of-the-art devices. -Novel transduction principles, mechanisms and sensor designs suitable for measurement in practical matrix and sample-preparation-free approaches. These include error-free detection of pathogens and toxins in food matrices, waterborne pathogens, parasites, toxins, biomarkers in body fluids, and others that improve human condition. -Nano-biosensors that enable measurement of biomolecular interactions in their native states, transmembrane transport, intracellular transport and reactions, and other biological phenomena. -Studies that examine intracellular measurements must include discussion on the significance of the measurement. 

This funding opportunity announcement (FOA) encourages Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant applications from small business concerns (SBCs) to develop and validate next-generation single cell analysis technologies and tools. The purpose is to foster the commercialization of innovative single cell analysis technologies for their broad use in biomedical research. The novel single-cell analysis technologies will aid in obtaining a fine-grained and dynamic view of heterogeneous cellular states and intercellular interactions, thereby providing new mechanistic insight into biological processes in health and disease. Applications should define the current state of technologies and tools as a benchmark against which the new approach(es) will be measured. The new approach(es) should provide substantially improved performance in sensitivity, selectivity, spatiotemporal resolution, scalability, multiplexing capability, or non-destructive analysis of molecular or functional measures of single cells.

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.   

This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) encourages exploratory/developmental grant (R21) applications from institutions and organizations that propose to study the effects and functional consequences of cannabis and cannabinoid exposures on the developing brain, from pre-, peri-, post-natal development through young adulthood in animal models and humans. Topics of interest pertaining to this PA include, but are not limited to: molecular and cellular mechanisms of cannabis/cannabinoid effects on the developing brain; long term functional consequences of cannabis/cannabinoid exposure on learning and memory, cognitive and emotional development. 

This award is designed to support young scientists just embarking on their independent research careers.  The applicants' research interests should be consonant with those of the March of Dimes' mission: The  Mission of the March of Dimes is to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality. The March of Dimes defines a birth defect as any abnormality of structure or function, whether inherited, or acquired in utero and presenting in infancy or early childhood. Deviations from reproductive health of women and men as an underlying basis of birth defects, i.e. preconceptional events, perinatal course, and premature births, are appropriate subjects for research support. Relevance is interpreted broadly to include fundamental cell biology (embryogenesis, cell lineage, differentiation), genetics and genomics, fundamental cellular and clinical pathogenesis of disorders of importance to mothers and infants, biomedical engineering and imaging, and social and behavioral aspects. Each application should be accompanied by a Letter of Support from a Nominator (see below). The award is $150,000 for two years, including 10 percent indirect costs to sponsoring institutions.

This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) solicits applications to start a new initiative, the Genomics of Gene Regulation (GGR), which is intended to explore genomic approaches to understanding the role of genomic sequence in the regulation of gene networks. A long-term goal of functional genomics is to decipher the rules by which gene networks are regulated and to understand how such regulation affects cellular function, development and disease. The GGR initiative will address the genome-proximal component of the regulation of gene networks by supporting a set of demonstration projects to develop and validate models that describe how a comprehensive set of sequence-based functional elements work in concert to regulate the finite set of genes that determine a biological phenomenon, using RNA amounts, and perhaps transcript structure, as the readout. This FOA seeks to support substantial improvement in the methods for developing gene regulatory network models, rather than an incremental improvement on existing methods. This work will move the field closer to the long-term goal of reading DNA sequence and accurately predicting when and at what levels a gene is expressed, in the context of a particular cell state. These demonstration projects will be organized as a research consortium to accelerate progress through the coordination of analytical methods and functional genomic data.

The goal of this FOA is to establish functional genotype-phenotype relationships of genes known to cause Alzheimer's disease (AD), genes or genetic variants suspected of altering the risk of AD, and genetic and biological modifiers that contribute to the disease process in neural cells using human pluripotent stem cells (hPSC) and genome editing approaches. Determining the function of AD candidate risk genes and genetic variants, identified in GWAS and other studies, in hPSC derived human neurons and glial cells is expected to identify new gene or cellular networks and molecular targets underlying the etiology of AD.

The mission of the Biomedical Engineering (BME) program is to provide opportunities to develop novel ideas into discovery-level and transformative projects that integrate engineering and life science principles in solving biomedical problems that serve humanity in the long-term.  The Biomedical Engineering (BME) program supports fundamental research in the following BME themes: Neural engineering (brain science, computational neuroscience, brain-computer interface, neurotech, cognitive engineering) Cellular biomechanics (motion, deformation, and forces in biological systems; how mechanical forces alter cell growth, differentiation, movement, signal transduction, transport, cell adhesion, cell cytoskeleton dynamics, cell-cell and cell-ECM interactions; genetically engineered stem cell differentiation with long-term impact in tissue repair and regenerative medicine) The BME projects must be at the interface of engineering and life sciences, and advance both engineering and life sciences.  The projects should focus on high impact transforming methods and technologies. The project should include methods, models and tools of understanding and controlling of living systems; fundamental improvements in deriving information from cells, tissues, organs, and organ systems; new approaches to the design of structures and materials for eventual medical use in the long-term; and new novel methods of reducing health care costs through new technologies. The projects should emphasize the advancement of fundamental engineering knowledge, possibly leading to the development of new methods and technologies in the long-term; and highlight multi-disciplinary nature, integrating engineering and the sciences. The long-term impact of the projects can be related to disease diagnosis and/or treatment, improved health care delivery, or product development.

The Biotechnology, Biochemical, and Biomass Engineering (BBBE) program supports fundamental engineering research that advances the understanding of cellular and biomolecular processes (in vivo, in vitro, and/or ex vivo) and eventually leads to the development of enabling technology and/or applications in support of the biopharmaceutical, biotechnology, and bioenergy industries, or with applications in health or the environment.  Quantitative assessments of bioprocesses are considered vital to successful research projects in the BBBE program.  Fundamental to many research projects in this area is the understanding of how biomolecules and cells interact in their environment, and how those molecular level interactions lead to changes in structure, function, phenotype, and/or behavior.  The program encourages proposals that address emerging research areas and technologies that effectively integrate knowledge and practices from different disciplines, and effectively incorporate ongoing research into educational activities. Research projects of particular interest in BBBE include, but are not limited to: Metabolic engineering and synthetic biology Quantitative systems biotechnology Tissue engineering and stem cell culture technologies Protein engineering/protein design Development of novel "omics" tools for biotechnology applications

The overarching goals of this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) and the companion announcement (RFA-RM-13-011) are to foster the development of technologies and information management to facilitate the unveiling of the functions of the poorly characterized and/or un-annotated members in four protein classes of the Druggable Genome. This FOA calls for adaptation of an ensemble of scalable technology platforms to characterize functions of proteins as a large group at molecular and cellular levels in medium- to high-throughput fashion, rather than repeating the one at a time approach that might otherwise be undertaken. The objective is to establish transformative scalable technology platforms and streamlined experimental workflows incorporated with multiple robust assay and physiological perturbation protocols for large-scale functional studies of poorly characterized and/or un-annotated proteins encoded by the Druggable Genome.

PoLS encourages research that emphasizes the physical principles of organization and function of living systems, including the exploration of artificial life forms. While the problems under study must be important to advancing our understanding of the living world in a quantitative way, particular emphasis will be placed on those projects in which lessons learned from the biological application also expand the intellectual range of physics. Awards will cover a broad spectrum of physics approaches in biology, ranging from the physical principles and mechanisms at the single cell level such as cellular organization (e.g. cytoskeleton), energy metabolism, gene regulation and intracellular and intercellular communication, to collective behavior and evolution of complexity in life forms and living populations of organisms. This systems approach in physics has been very successful in understanding inanimate systems, and has the potential to bring deep understanding of the world of animated, replicating systems, through testable phenomenological theories. The program funds individual investigators, although collaborative proposals between physicists and biological researchers are welcome. Proposals with potential societal impact such as renewable energy and human health are good examples of strong broader impact and are of interest to the program.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), as part of its Science to Achieve Results (STAR) program, is seeking applications for research centers to investigate toxic effects of chemical substances in three-dimensional (3D) in vitro models, hereafter referred to as 'organotypic culture models' (OCMs). OCMs are tissue culture models that mimic in vivo tissue architecture through interactions of heterotypic cell types (e.g., epithelium-stroma) and extracellular matrices (ECM). They can be established from isolated cells or from tissue fragments harvested in vivo, and will bridge the gap between conventional monolayer cell cultures and whole-animal systems. EPA is interested in the potential application of OCMs that mimic complex cell arrangements and physiologies, scalable from mid to higher throughput screening (HTS), and high-content screening (HCS) approaches. This solicitation seeks the formation of research centers that will guide the development and evaluation of OCMs that will accelerate translational research in predictive toxicology. Three dimensional tissue models may, for example, utilize animal cells combined with mechanical scaffolds or microfluidics devices. Under this solicitation, the successful applicant will lead a Center to craft OCMs that can recapitulate critical features of in vivo cellular organization and communication, cell-matrix interplay, morphogenetic processes and differentiation, physiology and chemical metabolism. 

This FOA encourages R01 applications from institutions/organizations that propose to study the neurobiological and behavioral mechanisms that might explain how alcohol and stimulants interact at genetic, epigenetic, cellular, neurocircuitry and behavioral levels to promote co-addiction.

This FOA encourages R01 applications from institutions/organizations that propose to study the neurobiological and behavioral mechanisms that might explain how alcohol and stimulants interact at genetic, epigenetic, cellular, neurocircuitry and behavioral levels to promote co-addiction.

This initiative encourages research that targets the reduction of health disparities among children. Specific targeted areas of research include biobehavioral studies that incorporate multiple factors that influence child health disparities such as biological (e.g., genetics, cellular, organ systems), lifestyle factors, environmental (e.g., physical and family environments) social (e.g., peers), economic, institutional, and cultural and family influences; studies that target the specific health promotion needs of children with a known health condition and/or disability; and studies that test and evaluate the comparative effectiveness of health promotion interventions conducted in traditional and nontraditional settings.

This initiative encourages research that targets the reduction of health disparities among children. Specific targeted areas of research include biobehavioral studies that incorporate multiple factors that influence child health disparities such as biological (e.g., genetics, cellular, organ systems), lifestyle factors, environmental (e.g., physical and family environments) social (e.g., peers), economic, institutional, and cultural and family influences; studies that target the specific health promotion needs of children with a known health condition and/or disability; and studies that test and evaluate the comparative effectiveness of health promotion interventions conducted in traditional and nontraditional settings.

The mission of the Biomedical Engineering (BME) program is to provide opportunities to develop novel ideas into discovery-level and transformative projects that integrate engineering and life science principles in solving biomedical problems that serve humanity in the long-term.  The Biomedical Engineering (BME) program supports fundamental research in the following BME themes: Neural engineering (brain science, computational neuroscience, brain-computer interface, neurotech, cognitive engineering) Cellular biomechanics (motion, deformation, and forces in biological systems; how mechanical forces alter cell growth, differentiation, movement, signal transduction, transport, cell adhesion, cell cytoskeleton dynamics, cell-cell and cell-ECM interactions; genetically engineered stem cell differentiation with long-term impact in tissue repair and regenerative medicine) The BME projects must be at the interface of engineering and life sciences, and advance both engineering and life sciences.  The projects should focus on high impact transforming methods and technologies. The project should include methods, models and tools of understanding and controlling of living systems; fundamental improvements in deriving information from cells, tissues, organs, and organ systems; new approaches to the design of structures and materials for eventual medical use in the long-term; and new novel methods of reducing health care costs through new technologies.

AFAR provides up to $100,000 for a one- to two-year award to junior faculty (M.D.s and Ph.D.s) to conduct research that will serve as the basis for longer term research efforts. AFAR-supported investigators study a broad range of biomedical and clinical topics including the causes of cellular senescence, the role of estrogen in the development of osteoporosis, the genetic factors associated with Alzheimer's disease, the effects of nutrition and exercise on the aging process, and much more. Since 1981, over 680 AFAR Research Grants have been awarded.

The biennial prize provides a $100,000 honorarium, national and international recognition, and support to an international leader in the clinical sciences of cardiovascular medicine, cardiothoracic surgery, or the basic sciences of molecular or cellular cardiology.