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Funding News - Applications for Research on Gene Discovery for Complex Neurological and Neurobehavioral Disorders Sought

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The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), the National Institute on Aging (NIA), the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA), and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) encourage grant applications for research on gene discovery for complex neurological and neurobehavioral disorders.*

Genetic factors contribute to many neurological and neurobehavioral diseases. During the last decade, genes that cause many single-gene neurological disorders, such as Huntington's disease, neurofibromatosis, and Rett syndrome, have been identified. For these disorders, familial inheritance patterns follow the rules of Mendelian segregation. For many common disorders-including stroke, Parkinson's disease, epilepsy, Alzheimer's disease, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder-inheritance patterns are more complex, and progress in identifying genes that affect susceptibility and disease outcome has been slow. The goal of this program announcement (PA) is to promote the identification of susceptibility genes that contribute to genetically complex disorders affecting the nervous system, or to the phenotypes that underlie these disorders.

Potential areas of research interest include studies involving the initial collection of biomaterials and clinical information from a patient population or the subsequent application of genetic or molecular strategies for gene localization. Possible methodologies include, but are not limited to, traditional linkage analysis, sib-pair and affected-pedigree-member methods, case-control or family-based association studies, linkage disequilibrium mapping in genetically isolated populations, candidate gene analysis, cytogenetic studies to identify chromosomal abnormalities associated with a disorder, and positional cloning. For more information, potential applicants should contact Dr. Robert Finkelstein, Program Director, Neurogenetics Cluster, NINDS, Neuroscience Center, 6001 Executive Boulevard, Room 2142, Bethesda, MD 20892; telephone: 301-496-5745; fax: 301-401-1501; e-mail: rf45c@nih.gov.

*For a more detailed description of this program announcement, please visit the NIH web site at: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAS-03-092.html.

This content has been adapted from the original NINDS Notes publication. For the most up-to-date funding information, please visit the Funding Opportunities section of the NINDS web site.  For the most recent information on NINDS studies, please visit the NINDS Patient Recruitment web site.