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The purpose of this FOA is to promote the development of in vitro microphysiological systems in modeling human diseases and conditions that mimic the pathology in major organs and tissues in the human body, when exposed to the extreme environments of space, and the use of these models at the International Space Station-U.S. National Laboratory (ISS-NL) to facilitate the assessment of biomarkers, bioavailability, efficacy, and toxicity of therapeutic agents prior to entry into clinical trials. Funds from the NIH will be made available through the UG3/UH3 cooperative agreement mechanism. During the initial two-year UG3 phase, support will be provided to develop robust models that recapitulate the progression and pathology of human diseases and conditions exposed to prolonged microgravity environment. Following administrative review, the two-year UH3 phase will build upon successful UG3 models to demonstrate the functional utility of the models for more defined experiments at the ISS-NL. It is anticipated that these studies will lead to identification of novel treatment mechanisms through better understanding of disease biology, drug screening, assessment of candidate therapies for efficacy and safety assessments, and establishing the pre-clinical foundation that will inform clinical trial design on Earth.

The National Institute on Aging is seeking applications to develop systems biology approaches to understand the basic biology underpinning neurodegeneration which might ultimately contribute to Alzheimer's disease or related dementias, using non-mammalian laboratory animal models. It is expected that research carried under the auspices of this FOA will lead to discovery of new mechanisms that provoke neurodegeneration and to new molecular pathways that might be involved in causing, amplifying or protecting against neurodegeneration. Applications should propose to use established non-mammalian laboratory animals which have a history of contributions to our understanding of neurobiology or aging biology.  

The National Institute on Aging is seeking applications on systems biology approaches using non-mammalian laboratory animal models to increase our understanding of the basic biology underpinning neurodegeneration. It is expected that research supported under this FOA will provide new insights into molecular networks that might be involved in causing, amplifying or protecting against neurodegeneration, and that, in turn, might ultimately contribute to Alzheimer's disease or related dementias. Importantly, a major goal of this FOA is to use interaction and regulatory networks produced and analyzed using systems biology to gain these new insights. Because this FOA is directed toward discovery, currently employed genetically modified laboratory animals used to study AD are not required, although they may be used. Because this FOA requires systems biology approaches, data used to build interaction or regulatory networks may also come from humans or other mammals in which AD, related dementias, or aging-related cognitive decline have been observed. This FOA will only support studies using non-mammalian laboratory animal models; studies involving humans or experiments with mammals will not be allowed under this FOA.

The goal of the Smart and Connected Health (SCH) Program is to accelerate the development and use of innovative approaches that would support the much needed transformation of healthcare from reactive and hospital-centered to preventive, proactive, evidence-based, person-centered and focused on well-being rather than disease. Approaches that partner technology-based solutions with biobehavioral health research are supported by multiple agencies of the federal government including the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The purpose of this program is to develop next generation health care solutions and encourage existing and new research communities to focus on breakthrough ideas in a variety of areas of value to health, such as sensor technology, networking, information and machine learning technology, decision support systems, modeling of behavioral and cognitive processes, as well as system and process modeling.

CDC, in collaboration with the National AIDS Control Program/Department of AIDS Control, has successfully laid the foundation for quality standards and approaches within India's vast HIV laboratory network through a previous five-year laboratory strengthening funding opportunity announcement (FOA). Many achievements were made during the course of the five-year project period, including accreditation of national and state reference labs. This follow-on FOA is expected to build upon and sustain previous accomplishments through onsite mentoring and in service staff training with an eye to higher quality services and scale up. A plan will be developed to facilitate laboratory quality at the grassroots level for 12,000 + Integrated HIV Testing and Counseling Centers (ICTCs). This shall be done through trainer/mentor creation within the HIV laboratory network to assist peripheral laboratories in implementing minimum quality standards. Given its expanded technical assistance (TA) scope, it is also expected to build the capacity and assure quality in a phased manner for HIV related tests like CD4 enumeration, HIV viral load and STI through strengthening leadership and mentoring capacity within the laboratory network. Now in Phase IV of its HIV/AIDS response, the Government of India (GoI) is keen to address any gaps in testing coverage.

The purpose of this FOA is to support a more efficient method for jurisdictions to de-duplicate the National HIV Surveillance System. The applicant will develop a privacy data-sharing tool capable of identifying potential duplicates across jurisdictions. Activities will include acquiring a Security Assessment and Authorization, negotiating with the 59 jurisdictions to obtain their participation, providing a data sharing tool that will allow for secure, encrypted submission and matching of person-level HIV surveillance data, and providing a report back to jurisdictions on matching levels.