DIRECTOR'S MESSAGE:
Slowing the Spread of AIDS Through Translational Research

FEATURED STORY:
Exploring the Potential of HIV Microbicides
As the number of HIV-infected women escalates worldwide, vaginal microbicides may help slow the spread of AIDS.

QUICK TAKES:
New Imaging Technique, Sea Urchin Genome, and Stem Cells and Insulin

RESOURCE BRIEFS:
X-Ray Microscope Scans Cellular Machinery
Unique Partnerships Move Spectroscopy From Lab to Clinic

SCIENCE ADVANCES:
Triple Killer
Physicians create new cells to stave off common viruses that threaten transplant patients.

RESEARCH BRIEFS:
Virus Anatomists
Fertility Clues

NEWS FROM NCRR:
People, Awards, Grants, and New Developments

Web Exclusives:
CTSA Consortium Web Site, RCMI International Symposium on Health Disparities, Science Education Partnership Awards, Germplasm Cryopreservation Workshop, Funding Opportunities

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Because women are particularly vulnerable to HIV infection, finding effective methods to protect them from the virus is a critical health objective worldwide. Research conducted at several NCRR-supported research centers is paving the way for the development of affordable and easy-to-use methods to prevent sexual transmission of HIV and thus reduce the spread of AIDS among women. Read more.

Women comprise half of the world’s nearly 40 million HIV-infected individuals. Public health officials have long called for new HIV prevention methods for women that are inexpensive, easy-to-deliver, and under their control.
     NCRR-funded resource centers are helping scientists develop microbicide gels and creams that impede the ability of a virus to infect host cells and may provide women with effective, affordable agents to protect themselves from HIV. Read more.

Virtual Biopsies. A new imaging technique provides 3-D microscopic views of blood vessels in vivo. Read more.

Sea Urchin Genome. Scientists have, for the first time, sequenced and analyzed the 814 million DNA bases that make up the genome of the purple sea urchin. Read more.

Stem Cells Increase Insulin. Researchers have successfully used human adult stem cells to increase insulin production in a mouse model of diabetes. Read more.

At the National Center for X-ray Tomography, scientists have built a new kind of microscope that uses incredibly bright X-rays. This microscope will allow scientists to produce meticulous 3-D images of cells and their proteins. Read more.

By working with physicians, researchers at MIT’s Laser Biomedical Research Center are developing new instruments for visualizing biological tissues that can ultimately improve patient care. Read more.

New killer T cells show promise in combating Epstein-Barr virus, cytomegalovirus, and adenovirus—three diseases that can be deadly to bone marrow transplant patients.
     "We see viral infections in about 70 percent of our patients after transplant," says Catherine Bollard, a pediatric hematologist at the Texas Children's Cancer Center whose team developed the cells.
     Transplant patients have traditionally been treated with antiviral drugs to prevent infections, but these drugs are expensive, have many toxic side effects, and need to be administered intravenously every day for approximately four months. Read more.

Using a cryo-electron microscope, scientists are peering into the tiny machinery of a virus to understand how it works. They are trying to figure out how a virus packs its DNA, a key process for the replication of some viruses. Read more.

Researchers hope to shed some light on male infertility by identifying proteins associated with sperm production in the tiny worm Caenorhabditis elegans. Read more.

• Researchers Named Health Ambassadors
• Investigators Receive Greenwood Award
• Five Members Appointed to NCRR Advisory Council

CTSA Consortium Web Site. The Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSA) Consortium has developed a Web site to ensure access to CTSA resources, enhance communication, and encourage information sharing. For more information on the CTSA Program, see the related announcement in the fall 2006 NCRR Reporter.

International Symposium on Health Disparities. The goal of this December 2006 symposium was to enhance the research skills and facilitate collaborations among investigators and students from Research Centers in Minority Institutions through a series of scientific presentations and collaborative training workshops. Read more.

Science Education Partnership Awards. NCRR announced it will provide nearly $11.5 million to fund 11 Science Education Partnership Awards across the nation. Read more.

Germplasm Cryopreservation Workshop. This April 10-11 event will assess the status of germplasm cryopreservation for species such as mice, rats, domestic pigs, nonhuman primates and fishes. Brief presentations on state-of-the-art germplasm cryopreservation methods will be followed by expert-led discussions resulting in specific recommendations to NIH for potential funding opportunities. Read more.

Funding Opportunities:

• Shared Instrumentation Grant Program (S10). The NCRR Shared Instrumentation Grant (SIG) program solicits applications from groups of NIH-supported investigators to purchase or upgrade commercially available instruments that cost at least $100,000. Read more.
• NIH Pathway to Independence Award (K99/R00). The primary long-term goal of this program is to increase and maintain a strong cohort of new and talented NIH-supported independent investigators. Read more.
• Omnibus Solicitation of the NIH for Small Business Technology Transfer Grant Applications (R41/R42). This announcement invites eligible U.S. small business concerns to submit Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) grant applications. Read more.
• Omnibus Solicitation of the NIH, CDC, and FDA for Small Business Innovation Research Grant Applications (R43/R44). This announcement invites eligible U.S. small business concerns to submit Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant applications. Read more.
• Novel Approaches to Enhance Animal Stem Cell Research (R21). The purpose of this announcement is to encourage the submission of applications for research to enhance animal stem cells as model biological systems.
        By using the R21 grant mechanism for this funding opportunity, the NIH seeks to encourage new exploratory and developmental research projects. Another announcement of identical scientific scope (see below) solicits applications under the R01 grant mechanism. Read more.
• Novel Approaches to Enhance Animal Stem Cell Research (R01). The purpose of this announcement is to encourage the submission of applications for research to enhance animal stem cells as model biological systems.
        This funding opportunity, which uses the R01 grant mechanism, is offered in parallel with another of identical scientific scope (see above) using the R21 grant mechanism. Read more.