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Funding News - Applications to Establish Parkinson's Disease Research Centers Encouraged

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The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) encourage grant applications to establish Morris K. Udall Parkinson's Disease Research Centers of Excellence.*

The purpose of the initiative is to encourage additional research opportunities and discoveries that will lead to improved diagnosis and treatment of individuals with Parkinson's disease (PD) and related neurodegenerative disorders, based on a better understanding of the fundamental cause(s) of the disease.

Potential topics of research interest include: clinical studies of PD, parkinsonism, and related disorders; the natural history of PD and related disorders including prospective clinical assessment, neuropathological analysis, and banking of brain tissue from individuals with PD who agree to participate in an autopsy program; studies to address the non-motor aspects of PD; development of therapeutic technology related to PD; epidemiological and genetic studies to identify risk and susceptibility factors; studies on gene-environment interactions as risk factors for PD; translational research; cellular and molecular mechanisms of cell injury and death in PD and related neurodegenerative disorders; studies of the structure, function, composition, role, and possible interrelationship of proteins and inclusion bodies implicated in the pathogenesis of PD and related disorders; development of animal models and their use for investigation of pathophysiology and efficacy of therapeutic intervention; development and function of the neural circuitry involved in PD and related disorders, including those functions affected by the disease process or treatment; molecular and cell biology of the dopaminergic systems and other relevant neurotransmitters and neuromodulators and their function in the brain; exploration of trophic factors and their receptors that promote the survival of dopamine neurons in the adult brain; neuronal reconstruction using engineered cell lines that are relevant to PD; and markers of PD onset, progression, and response to therapy.

For more information, potential applicants should contact Dr. Eugene J. Oliver, Program Director, Neurodegeneration Cluster, NINDS, Neuroscience Center, 6001 Executive Boulevard, Room 2203, Bethesda, MD 20892; telephone: 301-496-5680; fax: 301-480-1080; e-mail: eo11c@nih.gov.

*For a more detailed description of this program announcement, please visit the NIH web site at: http://grants1.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-03-004.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.