Group items tagged

The functionality of the NeuroImaging Tools and Resources Collaboratory (NITRC) has enabled three distinct components to flourish: Resources Registry (NITRC-R): a collaboratory enabling the distribution, enhancement, and adoption of neuroimaging tools and resources. Image Repository (NITRC-IR): a curated repository of free neuroimaging datasets meeting global standards. Computational Environment (NITRC-CE): a freely downloadable or pay-as-you-go virtual computing cloud-based platform that is pre-configured with popular neuroimaging tools. NITRC-R has become the major web-based collaborative environment enabling the distribution, enhancement, and adoption of neuroinformatics resources. It currently hosts more than 1,000 tools and resources in areas such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computed tomography (CT), optical imaging, positron emission tomography/single-photon emission computed tomography (PET/SPECT), electroencephalography/magnetoencephalography/electrocorticography (EEG/MEG/ECoG), computational neuroscience, and imaging genomics. Since NITRC's inception, there have been more than 10 million total downloads of tools from NITRC-R.

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 National Science Foundation is announcing its intentions to build upon the success of previous Early Concept Grants for Exploratory Research (EAGERs) in the area supported by the Secure and Trustworthy Cyberspace (SaTC) program (see solicitation 13-578: http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2013/nsf13578/nsf13578.htm) and to accept additional EAGER proposals that encourage novel interdisciplinary research resulting from new collaborations between one or more Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) researchers and one or more Social, Behavioral and Economic Science (SBE) researchers. (Research teams with a history of collaborating together should instead submit directly to the SaTC solicitation.) The proposed research should fit both the Trustworthy Computing (TWC) and the Social, Behavioral and Economic (SBE) Sciences perspectives within the SaTC solicitation.

CISE's Division of Computer and Network Systems (CNS) supports research and education projects that develop new knowledge in two core programs: Computer Systems Research (CSR) program; and Networking Technology and Systems (NeTS) program. Proposers are invited to submit proposals in three project classes, which are defined as follows: Small Projects - up to $500,000 total budget with durations up to three years; Medium Projects - $500,001 to $1,200,000 total budget with durations up to four years; and Large Projects - $1,200,001 to $3,000,000 total budget with durations up to five years.

The purpose of this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) and the companion FOA is to solicit applications for computational and functional analysis of gene networks and complex pathways that confer susceptibility to severe mental illnesses. These studies should leverage existing diverse multi-scale datasets and apply a combination of cutting-edge bioinformatics, computational predictive modeling, and systems biology approaches to identify and begin to evaluate novel genetic factors and molecular networks underlying functional pathways relevant to psychiatric disorders to verify their relationship or causality with disease/disease risk.  The computational model predictions should be further replicated through independent datasets and confirmed using biological measures from existing and/or new experimental data.

The purpose of this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) and the companion FOA is to solicit applications for computational and functional analysis of gene networks and complex pathways that confer susceptibility to severe mental illnesses. These studies should leverage existing diverse multi-scale datasets and apply a combination of cutting-edge bioinformatics, computational predictive modeling, and systems biology approaches to identify and begin to evaluate novel genetic factors and molecular networks underlying functional pathways relevant to psychiatric disorders to verify their relationship or causality with disease/disease risk.  The computational model predictions should be further replicated through independent datasets and confirmed using biological measures from existing and/or new experimental data.

The purpose of this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is to support the development of advanced computational, bioinformatic and statistical tools to determine the functional relevance of genetic variants associated with mental disorders of complex etiologies identified through genome-wide association or sequencing studies. The overarching goal of this initiative is to support the development of innovative computational methods that facilitate the elucidation of the functionality of genetic variants associated with mental illness, taking into account the added complexities and nuances of brain diseases, and to ultimately inform the identification and validation of potential targets for novel treatment development. This FOA should be used when two or more sites are needed to complete the study. For a linked set of collaborative R01s, each site must have its own Program Director/Principal Investigator and the set of linked applications provide a mechanism for cross-site coordination, quality control, database management, statistical analysis, and reporting.

The BIGDATA program seeks novel approaches in computer science, statistics, computational science, and mathematics, along with innovative applications in domain science, including social and behavioral sciences, geosciences, education, biology, the physical sciences, and engineering that lead towards the further development of the interdisciplinary field of data science

This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) solicits proposals for research projects that will use computational approaches to test the validity of dimensional constructs in the NIMH Research Domain Criteria matrix (or similar constructs based on comparable criteria). Some elements of the RDoC matrix have been updated since its first release, but a thorough data-driven validation that broadly explores, compares, and validates the constructs within the matrix has not been performed. This FOA seeks research that addresses the following questions: do the different domains of behavior segregate from each other? How much do they rely on distinct vs. overlapping neural circuits? What are the relationships between domains, constructs and subordinate subconstructs, both in terms of their correlational structure and their underlying neural circuitry? By answering these questions, proposals will test integrative models of functioning and identify dysregulation in psychopathology-related mechanisms that may cut across traditional diagnostic categories and may change over time. This FOA seeks to promote projects where the computational and the experimental components are well-integrated. The ultimate goal is to advance translational research that will identify novel classification approaches and/or treatment targets, and lead to more effective and timely interventions for serious mental illness.

The IMEE program supports fundamental, multidisciplinary research on the impact of hazards and disasters upon civil infrastructure and society. The program is focused upon research on the mitigation of, preparedness for, response to, and recovery from multi-hazard disasters. Community and societal resilience and sustainability are important topics within the research portfolio of IMEE. The program is deeply multidisciplinary, integrating multiple perspectives, methods and results from diverse areas in engineering, social and natural sciences, and computing. Among these are civil, mechanical, transportation and system engineering; sociology, cognitive science and psychology, economics, geography, political science and urban planning; geology, biology and meteorology; and applied computing. Methodological innovations that span multiple, diverse disciplines are strongly encouraged.

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is soliciting innovative research proposals in the areas of physical sciences, engineering, materials, mathematics, biology, computing, informatics, social science, and manufacturing of interest to DARPA's Defense Sciences Office (DSO), Microsystems Technology Office (MTO), and Biological Technologies Office (BTO).

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is soliciting innovative research proposals in the areas of physical sciences, engineering, materials, mathematics, biology, computing, informatics, social science, and manufacturing of interest to DARPA's Defense Sciences Office (DSO), Microsystems Technology Office (MTO), and Biological Technologies Office (BTO).

The directorates for Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences (SBE) and Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) invite investigators to submit proposals that address the need to develop new and deeper understandings of privacy in today's networked world. Our interest spans both disciplinary and interdisciplinary research in an array of SBE sciences. Proposals for workshops to explore novel and interdisciplinary SBE and SBE/CISE approaches to privacy are also welcome. Below are some examples of the types of topics that SBE scientists or teams of SBE and CISE scientists could conceivably propose under this Dear Colleague Letter. The list is not exhaustive and is meant to suggest the broad spectrum of possibilities for research in this area. Topics might include, but are by no means limited to the following: The social and psychological functions of privacy The relationship between technical and psychological conceptualizations of privacy and trust Factors encouraging attention or inattention to privacy, including the role of technology The psychological or social consequences of privacy violations, especially those involving technology Institutional engagement with privacy-invading technologies, including adaptation to, utilization and avoidance The contextual nature of privacy and understanding what constitutes privacy or privacy violations in different social, political, cultural or technical contexts Privacy issues and impacts across different levels of analysis (e.g., the individual, dyad, group, organization, sector, or societal level) and with different kinds of technologies

Through the CRCNS program, the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung, BMBF), the French National Research Agency (Agence Nationale de la Recherche, ANR), and the United States-Israel Binational Science Foundation (BSF) support collaborative activities that will advance the understanding of nervous system structure and function, mechanisms underlying nervous system disorders, and computational strategies used by the nervous system.

The Linguistics Program supports basic science in the domain of human language, encompassing investigations of the grammatical properties of individual human languages, and of natural language in general. Research areas include syntax, semantics, morphology, phonetics, and phonology. The program encourages projects that are interdisciplinary in methodological or theoretical perspective, and that address questions that cross disciplinary boundaries, such as (but not limited to): What are the psychological processes involved in the production, perception, and comprehension of language? What are the computational properties of language and/or the language processor that make fluent production, incremental comprehension or rapid learning possible? How do the acoustic and physiological properties of speech inform our theories of language and/or language processing? What role does human neurobiology play in shaping the various components of our linguistic capacities? How does language develop in children? What social and cultural factors underlie language variation and change?

This funding opportunity announcement (FOA) invites Cooperative Agreement (U01) applications from multi-disciplinary and synergistic teams of investigators proposing to identify and characterize the full spectrum of somatic variation in human brain samples and to assess the relationship of such variation with the pathophysiology of neuropsychiatric disorders.  This FOA seeks to support applications exploring the extent of somatic variations across different brain regions in one or more psychiatric disorders using state-of-the-art genomic, computational, single-cell and other relevant approaches.  Awards made under this FOA and the companion FOA (PAR-14-173) will be governed by a Brain Somatic Mosaicism (BSM) Network Steering Committee to accelerate scientific progress through the coordination of research strategies, analytical methods and data.  The ultimate goal of this FOA and the companion FOA (PAR-14-173) is to address gaps in our understanding of the role of somatic genomic perturbations in the etiology of neuropsychiatric disorders.

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 R21 applications is intended to encourage exploratory and developmental research projects by providing support for the early and conceptual stages of these projects. These studies may involve considerable risk but may lead to a breakthrough in a particular area, or to the development of novel techniques, agents, methodologies, models, or applications that could have a major impact.

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.

This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) invites research grant applications from organizations/institutions that propose the development of novel radioligands for positron emission tomography (PET) or single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) imaging in human brain, and that incorporate pilot or clinical feasibility evaluation in pre-clinical studies, model development, or clinical studies.

The Science of Science & Innovation Policy (SciSIP) program supports research designed to advance the scientific basis of science and innovation policy. Research funded by the program thus develops, improves and expands models, analytical tools, data and metrics that can be applied in the science policy decision making process. For example, research proposals may develop behavioral and analytical conceptualizations, frameworks or models that have applications across a broad array of SciSIP challenges, including the relationship between broader participation and innovation or creativity. Proposals may also develop methodologies to analyze science and technology data, and to convey the information to a variety of audiences. Researchers are also encouraged to create or improve science and engineering data, metrics and indicators reflecting current discovery, particularly proposals that demonstrate the viability of collecting and analyzing data on knowledge generation and innovation in organizations. Among the many research topics supported are:examinations of the ways in which the contexts, structures and processes of science and engineering research are affected by policy decision, the evaluation of the tangible and intangible returns from investments in science and from investments in research and development, the study of structures and processes that facilitate the development of usable knowledge, theories of creative processes and their transformation into social and economic outcomes, the collection, analysis and visualization of new data describing the scientific and engineering enterprise. The SciSIP program invites the participation of researchers from all of the social, behavioral and economic sciences as well as those working in domain-specific applications such as chemistry, biology, physics, or nanotechnology. The program welcomes proposals for individual or multi-investigator research projects, doctoral dissertation improvement awards, conferences, wo