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NHGRI Participation in the NIH Roadmap for Medical Research

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Roadmap for Medical Research [nihroadmap.nih.gov]is a series of far-reaching, trans-institute initiatives designed to transform the nation's medical research capabilities and speed the movement of research discoveries from the bench to the bedside.

The National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) is contributing to the development and implementation of numerous Roadmap initiatives, primarily in the area of New Pathways to Discovery. [nihroadmap.nih.gov] This theme of the NIH Roadmap addresses the need to advance our understanding of the daunting complexity of biological systems.

"There is no doubt that after the successful completion of the Human Genome Project our next frontier is to understand all of the myriad elements of cells and organs that are encoded by DNA," said NHGRI Director Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D. "Even more importantly, we need to determine how this enormously complex machinery functions in health and disease. The NIH Roadmap process has really helped all of us zero in on key initiatives that will empower biomedical researchers to understand and treat disease."

To fully capitalize on the recent completion of the human genome sequence and many recent discoveries in molecular and cell biology, the research community needs wide access to technologies, databases and other scientific resources that are more sensitive, more robust and more easily adaptable to researchers' individual needs. Among the resources to be established are:

• Libraries of chemical molecules that may provide probes of biological networks.
• Imaging probes for molecular and cellular events.
• Improved computational infrastructure for biomedical research.
• Nanotechnology devices capable of viewing and interacting with basic life processes.
• Potential targets for new therapies.

Additional information on these initiatives can be found using the following links or by contacting the indicated NHGRI staff.

Human Microbiome Project [nihroadmap.nih.gov]
Initiative Co-chair and Contact: Jane Peterson, Ph.D., Associate Director, NHGRI Division of Extramural Research

• Funding Opportunities [nihroadmap.nih.gov]:
  Contact: Jane Peterson, Ph.D., Associate Director, NHGRI Division of Extramural Research

Molecular Libraries and Imaging [nihroadmap.nih.gov]
Initiative Co-chair: Mark Guyer, Ph.D., Director, Division of Extramural Research
Contact: Carson Loomis, Ph.D., Program Director, Molecular Libraries

• National Institutes of Health Chemical Genomics Center
  Contact: Christopher P. Austin, M.D., Director
  
  
• Funding Opportunities [nihroadmap.nih.gov]:
  Contact: Carson Loomis, Ph.D., Program Director, Molecular Libraries

Bioinformatics and Computational Biology [nihroadmap.nih.gov]

• Funding Opportunities [nihroadmap.nih.gov]:
  Contact: Peter Good, Ph.D., Program Director, Genome Informatics

Structural Biology [nihroadmap.nih.gov]

• Funding Opportunities [nihroadmap.nih.gov]:
  Contact: Adam Felsenfeld, Ph.D., Program Director, Large-Scale Sequencing

Building Blocks, Biological Pathways and Networks [nihroadmap.nih.gov]
Initiative Co-chair: Francis Collins, M.D., Ph.D., Director, NHGRI

• Funding Opportunities [nihroadmap.nih.gov]:
  Contact: Adam Felsenfeld, Ph.D., Program Director, Large-Scale Sequencing

Nanomedicine [nihroadmap.nih.gov]
Co-chair and Contact: Jeffery Schloss, Ph.D., Program Director, Technology Development

• Funding Opportunities [nihroadmap.nih.gov]:
  Contact: Jeffery Schloss, Ph.D., Program Director, Technology Development
  
  
• Nanomedicine Development Centers (Limited Competition)
  Past Meetings: Nanomedicine Roadmap Initiative Project Launch Meeting May 4, 2004.

High-Risk Research [nihroadmap.nih.gov]

• Funding Opportunities [nihroadmap.nih.gov]:
  Contact: Bettie Graham, Ph.D., Associate Director, Division of Extramural Research
  
  
• NIH Director's Pioneer Award
  RFA-OD-07-005 [grants.nih.gov]: 2007 NIH Director's Pioneer Award Program (DP1)

Interdisciplinary Research [nihroadmap.nih.gov]
Innovations in Interdisciplinary Technology and Methods Group

• Funded Research [nihroadmap.nih.gov]:
  Contact: Bettie Graham, Ph.D., Associate Director, Division of Extramural Research
  
  

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Last Updated: August 14, 2008