OARS funding Biomed

The purpose of this award is to support outstanding basic and/or clinical researchers with the vision and expertise to translate research discoveries into medications for the treatment of Substance Use Disorders (SUDs) stemming from tobacco, cannabis, cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin, or prescription opiate use.Eligible applicants must demonstrate the ability to develop molecules with the potential to treat SUDs and advance them in the drug development continuum. The ultimate goal of this FOA is to bring molecules closer to FDA approval.

This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) invites submission of investigator-initiated program project applications. The proposed programs should address scientific areas relevant to the NIDDK mission including diabetes, selected endocrine and metabolic diseases, obesity, digestive diseases and nutrition, and kidney, urologic and hematologic diseases, as well as new approaches to prevent, treat and cure these diseases, including clinical research.

This announcement solicits applications for the Life Course Research Network (LCRN).  The life course theory posits that multiple determinants, such as health care, nutrition, stress and supports, and environmental exposures, operating over the life course are critical drivers of MCH outcomes.  The LCRN is designed to accelerate the translation of the life course theory to MCH practice and policy and foster its rapid adoption into clinical and public health settings through systems integration and collaboration among entities interested in improving MCH outcomes. This cooperative agreement opportunity will establish and maintain an interdisciplinary, multi-site research network.  A network is a scientific forum for collaboration and infrastructure building that provides national leadership to improve and advance the field of life course research.

The overall objective of the Research Scholar Award (RSA) is to enable young investigators, instructors, research associates or equivalents to develop independent and productive research careers in digestive diseases by ensuring that a major proportion of their time is protected for research.

The SCIMS program is designed to provide a multidisciplinary system of rehabilitation care specifically to meet the needs of individuals with SCI. To be eligible for a SCI Model Systems grant, an applicant institution must encompass a continuum of care for people with SCI, including emergency medical services, acute care services, acute medical rehabilitation services, and post-acute services. For purposes of this program, SCI is defined as a clinically discernible degree of neurologic impairment of the spinal cord following a traumatic event. NIDILRR currently supports 14 SCIMS centers through this program. The funding for these Centers is primarily used to conduct SCI research and to collect and send data to the SCIMS longitudinal database. SCIMS Centers will be funded at varying amounts up to the maximum award based on the numbers of subjects eligible for follow-up in the existing SCIMS longitudinal database. Existing centers with significantly larger numbers of subjects will receive higher funding within the specified range, as determined by NIDILRR after the applicant is selected for funding. Applicants provide detailed budgets for each research project and for data collection costs associated with the longitudinal database. Funding will be determined individually for each successful applicant, up to the maximum allowed, based upon the documented workload associated with the follow-up data collection, the other costs of the grant, and the overall budgetary limits of the program

The 711th Human Performance Wing intends to solicit White Papers under this announcement for Aerospace Medicine, Human Performance Research, and Expeditionary Medicine for innovative and state-of-the-art research to enhance the following fields of Force Health Protection, EN Route Care, Operational Medicine, Expeditionary Medicine, and Human Performance and Systems Integration.

Cell-based therapies, especially immune cells, have the potential to revolutionize human healthcare in various different contexts, including cancer and personalized medicine. For example, CAR (Chimeric antigen receptor) T-cell therapy for cancer requires modification, in vitro culture and expansion of human T-cells.   Manufacturing of therapeutic cells as the end product presents major engineering challenges.  New therapies and cell-based products depend critically on the development of robust, reliable and reproducible biomanufacturing technologies.

The goal of a Bioengineering Research Partnership (BRP) is to drive the development and speed the adoption of promising tools and technologies that can address important biomedical problems for which insufficient or no solutions exist.  The use of engineering principles is encouraged to establish these tools and technologies as robust, well-characterized solutions that fulfill an unmet need. A synergistic partnership between engineering and the life, physical, and computational sciences is also encouraged, where the unique skills of each discipline combine to enhance our understanding of life science processes or the practice of medicine. The purpose of this FOA is to encourage BRP applications that: 1) establish a robust engineering solution to a problem in biomedical research or the practice of medicine; 2) develop a strategic alliance of multidisciplinary partners based on a well-defined leadership plan; and 3) realize a specific endpoint within 5-10 years based on a detailed plan with a timeline and quantitative milestones.

The purpose of this project is to: 1) continue a birth defects surveillance system implemented under award #1U01GH000487 in four main hospitals in Kampala, Uganda focusing on major external structural birth defects; and 2) conduct a nested case-control study concurrently with the surveillance to determine if maternal use of cotrimoxazole or ARTs during very early pregnancy is associated with a higher risk of birth defects in newborns. Results from this study will provide background rates of birth defects in Kampala and provide baseline estimates of maternal medication use to treat HIV/AIDS in pregnancy and the prevalence of major external birth defects.

This FOA aims to increase testing of populations most affected by chronic hepatitis B and/or hepatitis C; and training of health care providers. Part A is Networking & Capacity Building and Part B is Professional Education & Training. Part A strategies & activities should focus on leading and growing an existing national coalition that is geographically diverse, is in at least different 10 states; and whose members are actively involved in viral hepatitis. The aim is to share strategies, materials, and lessons learned among coalition members; provide technical assistance to conduct culturally competent educational outreach; build the capacity to test the target populations for chronic viral hepatitis; and engage members in implementing CDC’s national viral hepatitis educational campaign(s).Outcomes for Part A are: increased number and capacity of coalition members to deliver culturally competent educational outreach to target population; increased numbers of individuals tested for chronic viral hepatitis; and increased exposure to CDC’s national education campaign. Part B activities are: developing free, accurate, up-to-date, CE-accredited comprehensive web-based, on-demand hepatitis materials, resources and trainings for health care professionals. The outcomes for part B are increasing the knowledge and skills of health care professionals, including the ability to screen, diagnose, medically manage, and provide care to people with chronic viral hepatitis.

The intent of the Breakthrough Award is to support promising research that has high potential to lead to or make breakthroughs in breast cancer. The critical components of this award mechanism are: Impact: Research supported by the Breakthrough Award will have the potential for a major impact and accelerate progress toward ending breast cancer. The impact may be near-term or long-term, but must be significant and move beyond an incremental advancement. Applications must articulate the pathway to making a clinical impact for individuals with, or at risk for, breast cancer, even if clinical impact is not an immediate outcome. Research Scope: Research proposed under this award mechanism may be small- to large-scale projects, at different stages of idea and research development.

he intent of the Breakthrough Award is to support promising research that has high potential to lead to or make breakthroughs in breast cancer. The critical components of this award mechanism are: Impact: Research supported by the Breakthrough Award will have the potential for a major impact and accelerate progress toward ending breast cancer. The impact may be near-term or long-term, but must be significant and move beyond an incremental advancement. Applications must articulate the pathway to making a clinical impact for individuals with, or at risk for, breast cancer, even if clinical impact is not an immediate outcome. Research Scope: Research proposed under this award mechanism may be small- to large-scale projects, at different stages of idea and research development.

The Breakthrough Fellowship Award mechanism is being offered for the first time in FY16. The Breakthrough Fellowship Award supports recent doctoral or medical graduates in pursuit of innovative, high-impact breast cancer research during their postdoctoral fellowship and allows them to obtain the necessary experience for an independent career at the forefront of breast cancer research. Those individuals should be exceptionally talented researchers who have demonstrated that they are the "best and brightest" of their peers. Applicants for this award must exhibit a strong desire to pursue a career in breast cancer research, with clear evidence for a researcher development plan that will lead to a successful independent career in breast cancer. Applicants must also demonstrate that the proposed research has high potential to lead to or make breakthroughs in breast cancer.

The Era of Hope Scholar Award supports individuals early in their careers who have demonstrated significant potential to effect meaningful change in breast cancer. These individuals should be exceptionally talented scientists who have shown that they are the "best and brightest" in their field(s) through extraordinary creativity, vision, leadership, innovation, and productivity. They should have demonstrated experience in forming effective partnerships and collaborations and should exhibit strong potential for future leadership in the breast cancer research community. As the intent of the Era of Hope Scholar Award is to recognize creative and innovative individuals rather than projects, the central features of the award are the applicant's demonstrated ability to go beyond conventional thinking in their field and the innovative contribution that the Principal Investigator (PI) can make toward ending breast cancer. The PI should articulate a vision that challenges current dogma and demonstrates an ability to look beyond tradition and convention. Experience in breast cancer research is not required; however, the application must focus on breast cancer, and the PI must maintain a 50% dedication of his/her full-time professional effort during the award period to breast cancer research. This professional effort in breast cancer research can be through a combination of this award and other current support. Individuals from other disciplines who will apply novel concepts to breast cancer are encouraged to submit. The PI is expected to assemble a research team that will provide the necessary expertise and collaborative efforts toward accomplishing the research goals. The PI's research team must include two or more breast cancer consumer advocates. As lay representatives, the consumer advocates must be individuals who have been diagnosed with breast cancer and are actively involved in a breast cancer advocacy organization.

The Innovator Award supports visionary individuals who have demonstrated exceptional creativity, innovative work, and paradigm-shifting leadership in any field including, but not limited to, breast cancer. The Innovator Award will provide these individuals with the funding and freedom to pursue their most novel, visionary, high-risk ideas that could accelerate progress to ending breast cancer. Because the intent of the Innovator Award mechanism is to recognize these remarkably creative and innovative, visionary individuals rather than projects, the central feature of the award is the innovative contribution that the Principal Investigator (PI) can make toward ending breast cancer.

This program will investigate the base of the Selawik River basin aquatic food web, and link it to the anticipated increase in terrestrial inputs of carbon and nitrogen to the aquatic ecosystem as a result of climate change. The main objectives are: 1) assess the quality and quantity of terrestrial dissolved organic carbon (DOC), organic and inorganic nitrogen, and phosphorus released with increased soil thaw depth during spring and early summer, and its entry to the aquatic ecosystem; 2) quantify change in aquatic microbial, mainly bacterial, respiration and production rates with change in DOC quality and quantity; and 3) examine how change in terrestrial DOC and nitrogen inputs to the aquatic ecosystem might alter the rate of phytoplankton primary production, the community composition, and energy (lipid) content.

Consequently, this funding opportunity will use the investigator-initiated award mechanism to support work focused on the molecular pathogenesis of, diagnosis, and treatment of endocrine dysfunction in patients with Fanconi anemia. We expect that the nature and scope of the proposed research will vary from application to application, and it is anticipated that the size and duration of each award will also vary. The total amount awarded and the number of awards will depend upon the numbers, quality, duration, and costs of the applications received.

In May of 2013 the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), with input from the National Institute on Aging (NIA), held an Alzheimer's Disease-Related Dementias Conference in response to the National Plan to Address Alzheimer's Disease. The Conference brought together national and international experts and members of the public to develop research priorities for accelerating the development of therapies for the Alzheimer's disease-related dementias (ADRDs). The ADRD 2013 research recommendations that resulted are part of the National Plan to Address Alzheimer's Disease. This FOA addresses the National Plan's highest priority for human-based research on vascular contributions to cognitive impairment and dementia (VCID): to develop noninvasive markers of key vascular processes related to VCID in Alzheimer's and related dementias. The research program initiated here underscores the need to facilitate the development of biomarkers to improve the efficiency and outcome of Phase II and III clinical trials and advance therapeutic development. These companion FOAs (RFA-NS-16-019, i.e. this FOA; and RFA-NS-16-020 for the Biomarkers Development Projects) establish the Small Vessel VCID Biomarkers Consortium, and are focused on small vessel (i.e. arterioles, capillaries, and venules) VCID in vascular cognitive impairment (VCI), vascular dementia, and all mixed and pure cognitive impairment and dementias with contributing small vessel vascular disease, including such as commonly occurs in sporadic Alzheimer's disease. Awards funded under these two FOAs create a consortium and infrastructure to complete development projects as well as planning that will enable follow-up activities (to be carried out under future separate funding; for example large scale multi-site validation studies and other activities, for future FDA qualification of small vessel VCID biomarkers and use in clinical trials).

The 711th Human Performance Wing intends to solicit White Papers under this announcement for Aerospace Medicine, Clinical Research, Human Performance Research, and Expeditionary Medicine for innovative and state-of-the-art research to enhance the following fields of En Route Care, Expeditionary Medicine, Force Health Protection, Human Performance and Systems Integration, and Operational Medicine.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) seeks to develop and nurture a national innovation ecosystem that builds upon research to guide the output of scientific discoveries closer to the development of technologies, products and processes that benefit society.