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The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) and the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) invite applications to promote research into the role of neuroinflammation in the initiation and expansion of cellular injury and death in the context of HIV-1 infection of the central nervous system (CNS). Recent evidence indicates that microglial and astrocytic activation results in the release of excitotoxins, arachidonic acid metabolites, reactive oxygen species, cytokines and chemokines that lead to neurodegeneration and cognitive impairment in HIV-1 infected individuals. The intent of this PAS is to intensify interest and investigator-initiated research, to attract new investigators to this field, and to mobilize interdisciplinary approaches.

The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) and the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) invite applications dealing with nervous system control of reproduction. The purpose of this PA is to stimulate the development of new technologies and the application of existing innovative technologies to answer questions regarding the neuroendocrine control of reproduction that, up to this point, could not be answered due to limitations in technology. Answers to these questions are particularly critical for human reproduction given the increased evidence for altered neuroendocrine function as an etiological underpinning for certain reproductive diseases and disorders.

The National Center for Research Resources (NCRR) the Office of Rare Diseases, National Institutes of Health (ORD, NIH), the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) invite applications for Rare Diseases Clinical Research Centers (RDCRCs) and a Data and Technology Coordinating Center (DTCC), which together will form the Rare Diseases Clinical Research Network. The purpose of this cooperative research network is to facilitate clinical research in rare diseases through support for 1) collaborative clinical research in rare diseases, including longitudinal studies of individuals with rare diseases, clinical studies, phase one and two trials, and/or pilot and demonstration projects; 2) training of clinical investigators in rare diseases research; 3) a test bed for distributed clinical data management that incorporates novel approaches and technologies for data management, data mining, and data sharing across rare diseases, data types, and platforms; and 4) access to information related to rare diseases for basic and clinical researchers, academic and practicing physicians, patients, and the lay public. Each RDCRC must include a consortium of clinical investigators, institutions, GCRCs, and relevant organizations, including patient support organizations, for the study of a subgroup of rare diseases. The DTCC, a collaboration between data base and computational/computer science innovators, will provide a scalable coordinated clinical data management system for collection, storage, and analysis of data of RDCRCs, a portal and tools for integration of developed and publicly available datasets for data mining at RDCRCs, web based recruitment and referral, and a user friendly resource site for the public, research scientists, and clinicians. This cooperative program should facilitate identification of biomarkers for disease risk, disease severity/activity, and clinical outcome and encourage development of new approaches to diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of rare diseases.

Participating Institutes and Centers (ICs) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) invite applications for Exploratory/Developmental Bioengineering Research Grants (EBRG) to support innovative, high risk/high impact bioengineering research in new areas that are lacking preliminary testing or development. This research can explore approaches and concepts new to a particular substantive area; research and development of new technologies, techniques or methods; or initial research and development of data upon which significant future research may be built. While this program announcement (PA) is intended to encourage innovation and high impact research, and while minimal preliminary data are expected to be described in the application, applications should clearly indicate the significance of the proposed work and that the proposed research and/or development is scientifically sound, that the qualifications of the investigators are appropriate, and that resources available to the investigators are adequate.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is continuing to make a special effort to stimulate research in educational institutions that provide baccalaureate or advanced training for a significant number of the Nation's research scientists but that have not been major recipients of NIH support. Since Fiscal Year (FY) 1985, Congressional appropriations for the NIH have included funds for this initiative, which NIH has implemented through the Academic Research Enhancement Award (AREA) program. Based on the expectation that funds will continue to be available each year, the NIH invites applications for AREA grants (R15) through a standing, an ongoing Program Announcement (PA). AREA funds are intended to support new ("type 1") and continuing ("renewal" or "competing continuation" or "type 2") health-related research projects proposed by faculty members of eligible schools and components of domestic institutions. The AREA will enable qualified scientists to receive support for small-scale research projects. These grants are intended to create a research opportunity for scientists and institutions otherwise unlikely to participate extensively in NIH programs to support the Nation's biomedical and behavioral research effort. It is anticipated that investigators supported under the AREA program will benefit from the opportunity to conduct independent research; that the grantee institution will benefit from a research environment strengthened through AREA grants and furthered by participation in the diverse extramural programs of the NIH; and that students will benefit from exposure to and participation in research and be encouraged to pursue graduate studies in the health sciences.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH), through the participating Institutes, Centers, and Offices listed above, invite applications for infrastructure grants in support of research on mind-body interactions and health. "Mind-body interactions and health" refers to the relationships among cognitions, emotions, personality, social relationships, and health. Applicant institutions may request funds to support infrastructure and research designed to (1) enhance the quality and quantity of mind-body and health research and (2) develop new research capabilities to advance mind-body and health research through innovative approaches. These activities must reflect a research theme that is driven by scientific questions within the context of "Mind-body interactions and health" research. A central goal of this program is to facilitate interdisciplinary collaboration and innovation in mind-body and health research while providing essential and cost-effective core services in support of the development, conduct, and translation into practice of mind-body and health research based in centers or comparable administrative units. This announcement invites applications for R21 EXPLORATORY/DEVELOPMENTAL AWARDS. Exploratory/Developmental Awards are intended to support the development and demonstrate the feasibility of programs at institutions that have high potential for advancing mind-body and health research, but have not yet fully achieved the necessary resources and mechanisms to qualify for a R24 Research Infrastructure Award. (See RFA-OB-03-004, Mind-Body Interactions and Health: Research Infrastructure Program.)

The International Clinical, Operational, and Health Services Research Training Award for AIDS and Tuberculosis (ICOHRTA-AIDS/TB) Program provides extended support for training to foster collaborative, multidisciplinary research in developing country sites where HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis (TB) or both are significant problems. As used in this Request for Applications (RFA), the term ICOHRTA-AIDS/TB is broadly defined to encompass building capacity for integrated clinical, operational, and health services research across the full range of conditions and issues that relate to care of adult and pediatric patients with HIV/AIDS or TB (e.g., opportunistic infections, HIV malignancies, neurological and mental health consequences, behavioral issues, cardiovascular disease, hematologic conditions, blood safety issues, pulmonary manifestations, ophthalmologic manifestations, gastrointestinal conditions, drug and alcohol usage, gender-related issues and oral health manifestations). This program is an integral and critical component of a comprehensive global strategy of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) to address the needs of the millions suffering from HIV/AIDS, TB, and related conditions in resource- limited nations. It will extend and intensify efforts to provide clinically appropriate and sustainable care to these individuals in a manner that supports continuing and expanding prevention activities. These efforts will have direct health, economic and security benefits for the United States (U.S.), as well as the global community. This program will increase research training across the span of clinical science and public health practice and involve a wide range of health professionals (e.g. nurses, midwives, physicians, dentists, health care administrators and public health workers). The first phase of the ICOHRTA-AIDS/TB program began in fiscal year 2002 (FY02), with one-year planning grants (PA-02-022) to foreign institutions to organize and execute an application for a Phase II Comprehensive ICOHRTA- AIDS/TB Cooperative Agreement. Only the recipients of the Phase I planning grants and their chosen U.S. (or pre-approved non-U.S) collaborating partner institutions (together referred to as Research Training Units) are eligible to apply for Phase II Comprehensive ICOHRTA-AIDS/TB awards, which will begin in fiscal year 2004 (FY04). The Phase II awards to the Research Training Units will provide support to both the foreign institution and its linked U.S. partner (or pre-approved non-U.S.) institution through five-year cooperative agreements to each partner institution. Each partner institution will be responsible for implementation of its portion of the integrated research-training program. Training will take place at the U.S. or foreign sites and mentored research will be carried out mainly at the foreign site. The program may also provide support at the foreign site for training to develop and extend core research support capabilities necessary for long-term sustainability of the research capacity of the foreign institution. In support of the overall ICOHRTA-AIDS/TB program, a separate RFA will be issued in fiscal year 2003 (FY03) to fund a single Coordination Center in FY04 which will help to monitor and evaluate the ICOHRTA-AIDS/TB program research training units and to develop programs to address common capacity building needs across the research training. The Fogarty International Center (FIC), together with the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID),the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), the Office of Research on Women's Health (ORWH), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), invites Phase I awardees to submit applications for Phase II cooperative agreements to develop comprehensive international clinical, operational, and health services research training programs. These applications should foster the development of integrated strategies to successfully implement evidence-based interventions pertinent to the global health crises created by HIV/AIDS and TB. Co-sponsoring institutions are U.S. Government (USG) agencies contributing financial resources to the ICOHRTA-AIDS/TB Program. Applicants are strongly encouraged to design programs that strengthen the capacity of the foreign institutions to collaborate with the NIH, USG, other governments, international agencies, non-governmental organizations, foundations, faith- based organizations and other groups in their efforts to respond to this global health crisis.

This PA replaces PAR-01-118 The NINDS seeks to fund high quality clinical trials to evaluate treatments for neurological disorders. The purpose of the NINDS Clinical Trial Planning Grant is to provide support for the organization of activities critical for the successful implementation of high-risk, complex, or large-scale clinical trials. The planning grant is intended to (a) allow for early peer review for the rationale and design of the proposed clinical trial; (b) provide support for the development of a detailed manual of operations and procedures; and (c) provide support to develop essential elements of a clinical trial, such as adequate plans for recruitment of patients, experimental design and protocols, data management, analytical techniques, facilities, administrative procedures, obtaining IND/IDE, and collaborative arrangements. The purpose of the NINDS planning grant is not to obtain preliminary data or to conduct pilot studies to support the rationale for the clinical trial.

The purpose of this RFA is to facilitate collaborative cross- disciplinary and multi-institutional approaches that will contribute new and vital information about the clinical and pathological course of normal aging and the neurodegenerative diseases associated with aging. This RFA requires the utilization of data and/or samples from at least three currently funded NIA Alzheimer's Disease Centers with the possibility of using additional relevant data outside of the Centers. The project should use the National Alzheimer's Coordinating Center (NACC) http://www.alz.washington.edu/ for expert advice on planning, study design, statistical analysis and data management of the research projects. Applicants can be from the Alzheimer's Disease Centers, the Morris K. Udall Centers, or the research community at large. There must be a plan to share data originating from these studies by archiving them at NACC so that other investigators will be able to conduct additional analyses when appropriate. There must also be a plan for sample utilization beyond that of the initial application. This is a research opportunity for scientists within and outside the Alzheimer's Disease Centers to gain access to unique resources related to Alzheimer's Disease, other neurodegenerative diseases, and normal aging and to support collection of new data and samples. Applicants can also propose to utilize Center data and samples to investigate other age-related neurodegenerative diseases, such as Vascular dementia, Parkinson's dementia, Lewy Body disease, Fronto-Temporal dementia, as well as study psychiatric symptoms associated with dementia, socio behavioral aspects of dementia, and management and care of dementia patients. The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) is interested in those specific applications which include the Morris K. Udall Centers of Excellence, or other Parkinson's research centers, in the pursuit of those research objectives focused on Parkinson's Disease (PD) or related parkinsonisms. The PD center need not be located with ADCs, but collaboration with those ADCs with existing samples and data sets focused on PD is required. Specific scientific projects of interest include the use of clinico-pathological correlations to study mechanisms of pathogenesis in PD or other parkinsonian conditions, characterization of the pathological features of these conditions, and the collection of patient data on their associated symptoms.

This Program Announcement (PA), issued as an initiative of the trans- NIH Bioengineering Consortium (BECON), is aimed at enhancing nanoscience and nanotechnology research approaches that have the potential to make valuable contributions to biology and medicine. Nanoscience and nanotechnology refer to research at the atomic, molecular or macromolecular levels, at the length scale of approximately 1 - 100 nanometers. The purpose of this initiative is to stimulate cross-cutting, integrative research in these fields of science and technology. In particular, this initiative invites research on: i) the creation and use of structures, devices and systems that have novel properties and functions because of their small size, that may be used to achieve a fundamental understanding of biological processes and /or contribute to disease detection, therapy, or prevention; ii) conception and fabrication of devices, that will effectively detect and analyze nanoscale entities of relevance to biomedicine; and iii) the study of biological systems at the nanoscale for the explicit purpose of using that information to develop nanotechnologies and nanostructured materials that will in turn benefit biology and medicine. It is anticipated that the research projects that will be most responsive to this PA will require interdisciplinary collaborations among investigators with expertise in a range of disciplines, including but not limited to engineering, physics, chemistry, cellular and molecular biology, materials and computer science. Applications submitted in response to this PA may propose hypothesis-driven, discovery-driven, developmental, or design-directed research.