Nov. 2, 2016 

Funding Application Due Date: Pediatric Centers of Excellence in Nephrology 

This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) invites applications for the Pediatric Centers of Excellence in Nephrology (PCEN) to support both basic and clinical research on pediatric kidney disease.  The emphases for this program are several-fold: (1) to continue to attract new scientific expertise into the study of human pediatric physiology and kidney disorders in humans and in disease models; (2) to encourage multidisciplinary research in these areas; 3) to explore new areas with translational potential and 4) to design Developmental Research (DR)/Pilot and Feasibility (P and F) studies which should lead to new and innovative approaches to study kidney disease in the pediatric population, and the eventual submission of competitive investigator-initiated R01 research grant applications. These Centers complement the O’Brien Kidney and Urological Research Centers. 

More information: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-DK-16-032.html

Nov. 6, 2016 

Letter of Intent Due Date: Kidney Precision Medicine Project - Recruitment Sites (UG3/UH3)

This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) requests applications for the Kidney Precision Medicine Project (KPMP) Recruitment Sites (RS) to recruit participants with either acute kidney injury (AKI) or chronic kidney disease (CKD) into longitudinal cohort studies. The RS will collaborate with the KPMP Tissue Interrogation Sites and Central Hub to obtain and evaluate kidney biopsies from participants, create a kidney tissue atlas, define disease subgroups, and identify critical cells, pathways and targets for novel therapies. Applicants should propose to study either AKI or CKD, outline initial cohorts of interest, provide inclusion/exclusion criteria, and estimate recruitment targets given the FOA budget and KPMP objectives. Applicants should have documented experience with patient recruitment and safely obtaining kidney biopsies for clinical and/or research purposes. The initial UG3 exploratory phase will be used to demonstrate that the site can recruit and follow a sufficient number of well-characterized participants with either AKI or CKD, and safely obtain high-quality research kidney biopsies while conforming to the highest ethical, research and clinical standards. UG3 projects that have met their milestones will be administratively considered by the NIDDK and prioritized for transition to the UH3 implementation phase. UH3 awards will support continued recruitment into larger cohort studies. Applicants to this FOA must address both the UG3 and UH3 phases. This FOA is intended to support only human studies and applications that include animal or model systems are not responsive. 

More information: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-DK-16-026.html

Nov. 6, 2016 

Letter of Intent Due Date: Kidney Precision Medicine Project - Central Hub (U2C)

This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) requests applications for the Kidney Precision Medicine Project (KPMP) Central Hub (CH) to aggregate, analyze and visualize all participant data and samples and to provide scientific, infrastructure and administrative support for the entire KPMP. The CH will collaborate with the KPMP Recruitment Sites and Tissue Interrogation Sites to obtain and evaluate kidney biopsies from participants with acute kidney injury or chronic kidney disease, create a kidney tissue atlas, define disease subgroups, and identify cells, pathways and targets for novel therapies.

More information: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-DK-16-028.html

Nov. 6, 2016 

Letter of Intent Due Date: Kidney Precision Medicine Project - Tissue Interrogation Sites (UG3/UH3)

This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) requests applications for the Kidney Precision Medicine Project (KPMP) Tissue Interrogation Sites (TIS) to use and develop innovative technologies to analyze human kidney tissue. The TIS will collaborate with the KPMP Recruitment Sites and Central Hub to obtain and evaluate kidney biopsies from participants with acute kidney injury and chronic kidney disease, create a kidney tissue atlas, define disease subgroups, and identify critical cells, pathways and targets for novel therapies. Applicant teams should have documented experience with a current state-of-the-art method that can be used or adapted to interrogate human kidney tissue. The initial UG3 exploratory phase will be used to demonstrate that the site can interrogate existing tissue samples and small numbers of new biopsies. The UG3 phase will also encourage the development of next generation tissue interrogation technologies that probe the structural, functional and molecular complexities of kidney tissue. UG3 projects that have met their milestones will be administratively considered by the NIDDK and prioritized for transition to the UH3 implementation phase. UH3 awards will support further validation, scale-up and technology development. Applicants must address both the UG3 and UH3 phases. This FOA is intended to support only human studies and applications that include animal or model systems are not responsive.

More information: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-DK-16-027.html

Nov. 7, 2016 

Letter of Intent Due Date: Nuclear Receptor Signaling Atlas (NURSA) Hub Open Competition for NURSA Data Source Projects (NDSP) 

Goal:  The NR community has generated a large number of omics-scale datasets that collectively document functional endpoints of NR signaling pathways throughout the body. Despite their potential in elucidating NR signaling in health and disease, these datasets have yet to be leveraged to their full potential.  Accordingly, the NURSA Hub has invested considerable effort in aggregating, annotating, curating, and processing these datasets to enhance their use. The full current list of datasets can be browsed on the NURSA Dataset home page, or the resource’s 40,000,000+ data points can be mined via Transcriptomine. To fully capitalize on this significant investment of knowledge and expertise, this NDSP announcement solicits applications based on the following goals:

• Extend Transcriptomine by building new visualization and analysis tools.

• Leverage the Transcriptomine API to build web applications that will reach research communities beyond the nuclear receptor field 

• Improve the scope of Transcriptomine through biocuration of complementary ‘omics-scale datasets. 

Successful applications will have a substantial informatics focus and relevance to the physiology and/or pathophysiology of metabolic disease. Unlike previous solicitations, and recognizing integrative cross-talk between different signaling paradigms, applications need not themselves relate specifically to nuclear receptor signaling. Where appropriate, applicants are encouraged to use the Transcriptomine application programming interface (API). Applications that propose active collaboration with the NURSA Informatics Hub are particularly welcome, and discussions with the NURSA Project Scientist Dr. Corinne Silva (silvacm@niddk.nih.gov) or the NURSA Project Leader Dr. Neil McKenna (nmckenna@bcm.edu) prior to submission of proposals are strongly encouraged.

APPLICATION:  Funding is limited to $150,000 total costs for 1 year of support.  Only applications that are responsive to this announcement will be reviewed.  Please send letter of intent to Dr. Neil McKenna (nmckenna@bcm.edu).Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA), under the Big Data to Knowledge (BD2K) initiative, is to provide time-limited, catalytic support for activities necessary to develop or extend/refine data and metadata standards and/or related tools in areas relevant to the NIH basic, translational, and clinical research mission. Projects can support activities at any point in the data standards lifecycle and should build on existing partnerships, infrastructure, and resources whenever possible.  Projects must demonstrate a compelling science community interest and need for standards efforts in the specific domain(s) of interest, as well as a plan for meaningful engagement of the end-user communities and relevant stakeholders in the process. The data standard and any associated tools or products developed should be made freely available to the scientific research community via a curated, searchable portal. Projects should address long-term maintenance and sustainability of the data standard after the period of the NIH award; issues to be considered include approaches for dissemination, evaluation, and updating/refinement.  Both short-term and longer-term projects are eligible.

Nov. 8, 2016 

Funding Application Due Date: Limited Competition for the Continuation of Epidemiology of Diabetes Interventions and Complications (EDIC) Study Biostatistics Research Center (Collaborative U01) 

The purpose of this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is to continue to follow the Epidemiology of Diabetes Interventions and Complications (EDIC) cohort through a collaborative cooperative agreement. EDIC is an observational study that was launched at the completion of the Diabetes Control and Complications Trial (DCCT) trial. The DCCT showed that intensive therapy significantly reduced the risk of diabetes complications compared to conventional therapy. At DCCT completion, all cohort members were taught intensive diabetes therapy. In 1994, EDIC was launched to: (1) evaluate the long-term effects of DCCT intensive therapy, (2) describe the long-term effects of glycemia and other risk factors on diabetes complications, and (3) characterize type 1 diabetes complications by supporting collaborative research to utilize the EDIC cohort as well as its data set and biologic/genetic samples. To date, EDIC has: (1) demonstrated a continued benefit of intensive therapy on the development and progression of diabetes complications and (2) characterized the development and progression of diabetes complications. The primary purpose of this FOA is to support the EDIC Biostatistics Research Center to continue follow-up of the EDIC cohort to study the development of complications and the longer term course of type 1 diabetes in a well characterized type 1 diabetes population, including but not limited to cardiovascular disease, mortality, severe microvascular disease (blindness, kidney failure, amputation), neurocognitive impairments, and physical fragility. The EDIC Biostatistics Research Center will manage and support EDIC operations and analyses, including but not limited to support of other EDIC core facilities and other subcontractors as well as provision of biostatistical design and analysis, data and sample management, quality control, dissemination, and public accessibility. RFA-DK-16-508 will support continuation of the EDIC Clinical Research Center.

More information: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-DK-16-509.html

Nov. 9, 2016 

Funding Application Due Date: Big Data to Knowledge (BD2K) Community - Based Data and Metadata Standards Efforts (R24) 

This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA), under the Big Data to Knowledge (BD2K) initiative, is to provide time-limited, catalytic support for activities necessary to develop or extend/refine data and metadata standards and/or related tools in areas relevant to the NIH basic, translational, and clinical research mission. Projects can support activities at any point in the data standards lifecycle and should build on existing partnerships, infrastructure, and resources whenever possible.  Projects must demonstrate a compelling science community interest and need for standards efforts in the specific domain(s) of interest, as well as a plan for meaningful engagement of the end-user communities and relevant stakeholders in the process. The data standard and any associated tools or products developed should be made freely available to the scientific research community via a curated, searchable portal. Projects should address long-term maintenance and sustainability of the data standard after the period of the NIH award; issues to be considered include approaches for dissemination, evaluation, and updating/refinement.  Both short-term and longer-term projects are eligible. 

More information: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-ES-16-010.html

Nov. 13, 2016 

Letter of Intent Due Date: Microphysiological Systems (MPS) for Disease Modeling and Eddicacy Testing (UG3/UH3) 

This FOA invites applications for the Microphysiological Systems (MPS) for Disease Modeling and Efficacy Testing Program to develop highly reproducible and translatable in vitro models for preclinical efficacy studies through discovery and validation of translatable biomarkers, development of standardized methods for preclinical efficacy testing and definitive efficacy testing of candidate therapeutics using best practices and rigorous study design. An essential feature will be a multidisciplinary approach that brings together experts in bioengineering, microfluidics, material science, "omic" sciences, computational biology, disease biology, pathology, electrophysiology, pharmacology, biostatistics and clinical science.

Funds from the NIH will be made available through the UG3/UH3 cooperative agreement award mechanism. The initial UG3 phase will support studies to develop in vitro disease models using tissue chip technologies and iPSC and/or primary tissues derived from patients, and functional validation of the models.   The UH3 phase will support studies to demonstrate the functional utility of the disease models for 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. A UG3 project that meets its milestones will be administratively considered by NCATS and other participating ICs and prioritized for transition to the UH3 award. Applicants responding to this FOA must address objectives for both the UG3 and UH3 phases. 

More information: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-TR-16-017.html

Nov. 14, 2016 

Funding Application Due Date: NIH Big Data to Knowledge (BD2K) Enhancing Diversity in Biomedical Data Science (R25) 

The NIH Research Education Program (R25) supports research education activities in the mission areas of the NIH.  The over-arching goal of this  NIH Big Data to Knowledge (BD2K) Enhancing Diversity in Biomedical Data Science (R25) program is to support educational activities that enhance the diversity of the biomedical, behavioral, and clinical research workforce. To accomplish the stated over-arching goal, this FOA will support creative educational activities with a primary focus on research experiences and curriculum or methods development. 

More information: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-MD-16-002.html

Nov. 14, 2016 

Letter of Intent Due Date: Limited Competition for the Data Coordinating Center (DCC) for the NIDDK IBDGC (U24) 

NIH NIDDK funding opportunity: Limited Competition for the Data Coordinating Center (DCC) for the NIDDK Inflammatory Bowel Disease Genetics Consortium (IBDGC) (U24). The NIDDK Inflammatory Bowel Disease Genetics Consortium (IBDGC) was established in July, 2002 for the purpose of identifying genes predisposing to IBD.  Since its establishment, the IBDGC, in collaboration with the International IBD Genetics Consortium, has identified about 200 such susceptibility loci.  However, most of these loci include multiple genes, and for the great majority of the loci, specific casual genes and alleles have not yet been identified.  The mechanisms by which the most of the causative genes influence IBD pathophysiology also remain unknown.  The purpose of this FOA is to renew the IBDGC to identify risk-conferring and protective variants of causal genes for IBD, and to elucidate the mechanisms by which these variants influence the pathophysiology of IBD.  The DCC will coordinate collaboration among the Genetic Research Centers (GRCs, described in the companion FOA RFA-DK-16-029), enrollment of subjects into the study, submission of blood and other biological samples to centralized repositories, processing of blood samples for extraction of DNA and isolation of cells and serum, submission of clinical, genetic, and molecular data to central databases, and analyses of data, and manage the operations of the Steering Committee and other operational committees.  The DCC will also coordinate the development of pilot projects for rapid follow-up of emerging findings by members of the IBDGC and external collaborators.  In addition, the DCC will coordinate the collaboration of the IBDGC with the International IBDGC, and with other external investigators conducting ancillary studies.  The PD/PI of the DCC shall serve as a voting member of the Steering Committee of the IBDGC, and be bound by all of the operational decisions of this Committee.

More information: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-DK-16-510.html

Nov. 14, 2016 

Letter of Intent Due Date: NIDDK Inflammatory Bowel Disease Genetics Consortium (IBDGC) Genetic Research Centers (GRCs) (U01) 

The NIDDK Inflammatory Bowel Disease Genetics Consortium (IBDGC) was established in July, 2002 for the purpose of identifying genes predisposing to IBD.  Since its establishment, the IBDGC, in collaboration with the International IBD Genetics Consortium, has identified about 200 such susceptibility loci.  However, most of these loci include multiple genes, and for the great majority of the loci, specific causal genes and alleles have not yet been identified.  The mechanisms by which the most of the causative genes influence IBD pathophysiology also remain unknown.  The purpose of this FOA is to renew the IBDGC to identify risk-conferring and protective variants of causal genes for IBD, and to elucidate the mechanisms by which these variants influence the pathophysiology of IBD.  The GRCs will serve as sites of enrollment of IBD patients, relatives, and healthy controls for these studies, and for laboratory-based studies on biological samples taken from these subjects.  The Program Directors/Principal Investigators of the GRCs will serve as members of the Steering Committee of the IBDGC, which will be responsible for all of the IBDGC's operational decisions, which will be binding upon all of the IBDGC's members.

More information: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-DK-16-029.html

Nov. 17, 2016 

Funding Application Due Date: Interdisciplinary Training in Bioinformatics and Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolic Disease (T32) 

The purpose of this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is to promote the development of an interdisciplinary workforce for conducting bioinformatics research in diabetes, obesity and related metabolic diseases that are relevant to the research mission of NIDDK.  This FOA will support institutional training programs for predoctoral and postdoctoral level researchers with backgrounds in bioinformatics, mathematics and/or computational sciences with mentors from both computational and biological backgrounds.

More information: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-15-182.html

Nov. 21, 2016 

Funding Application Due Date: Nuclear Receptor Signaling Atlas (NURSA) Hub Open Competition for NURSA Data Source Projects (NDSP) 

Goal:  The NR community has generated a large number of omics-scale datasets that collectively document functional endpoints of NR signaling pathways throughout the body. Despite their potential in elucidating NR signaling in health and disease, these datasets have yet to be leveraged to their full potential.  Accordingly, the NURSA Hub has invested considerable effort in aggregating, annotating, curating, and processing these datasets to enhance their use. The full current list of datasets can be browsed on the NURSA Dataset home page, or the resource’s 40,000,000+ data points can be mined via Transcriptomine. To fully capitalize on this significant investment of knowledge and expertise, this NDSP announcement solicits applications based on the following goals:

• Extend Transcriptomine by building new visualization and analysis tools.

• Leverage the Transcriptomine API to build web applications that will reach research communities beyond the nuclear receptor field 

• Improve the scope of Transcriptomine through biocuration of complementary ‘omics-scale datasets. 

Successful applications will have a substantial informatics focus and relevance to the physiology and/or pathophysiology of metabolic disease. Unlike previous solicitations, and recognizing integrative cross-talk between different signaling paradigms, applications need not themselves relate specifically to nuclear receptor signaling. Where appropriate, applicants are encouraged to use the Transcriptomine application programming interface (API). Applications that propose active collaboration with the NURSA Informatics Hub are particularly welcome, and discussions with the NURSA Project Scientist Dr. Corinne Silva (silvacm@niddk.nih.gov) or the NURSA Project Leader Dr. Neil McKenna (nmckenna@bcm.edu) prior to submission of proposals are strongly encouraged.

APPLICATION:  Funding is limited to $150,000 total costs for 1 year of support.  Only applications that are responsive to this announcement will be reviewed.  Please send letter of intent to Dr. Neil McKenna (nmckenna@bcm.edu).

Nov. 23, 2016 

Funding Application Due Date: Nutrition Obesity Research Centers (NORCs) (P30)

This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) invites applications from institutions/organizations that propose to establish core centers that are part of an integrated and existing program of nutrition and/or obesity research. The Nutrition Obesity Research Centers (NORC) program is designed to support and enhance the national research effort in nutrition and obesity.  NORCs support three primary research-related activities:  Research Core services, a Pilot and Feasibility (P and F) program, and an Enrichment program.  All activities pursued by Nutrition Obesity Research Centers are designed to enhance the efficiency, productivity, effectiveness and multidisciplinary nature of research in nutrition and obesity.

More information: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-DK-16-006.html