Dear Colleagues:
As part of the budget planning process for Fiscal Year 2009, the NIDCR is identifying topical themes for development into research initiatives. During this process, we welcome input from our scientific advisory boards, the extramural community, interested organizations, and the public at large.
What are Initiatives?
Initiatives are a vehicle used by the Institutes and Centers to showcase future research goals to NIH, the Department of Health and Human Services, and Congress. The NIDCR begins the initiative development process each year by identifying broad research topic areas, or themes. We then develop a specific initiative proposal for each theme, taking into consideration the input received. The themes we have identified for FY 2009 are listed below.
It is important to remember that initiatives are not a complete picture of the Institute’s planned portfolio of supported work for the year indicated, nor do they signal that themes highlighted the previous year have been abandoned. When identifying themes for consideration as funding initiatives, NIDCR considers many factors, including: scientific opportunity, alignment with the mission and goals of the Institute’s strategic plans, and robustness of the existing portfolio in a particular theme area both currently and in the year under consideration.
How can you provide input?
For each research theme proposed for FY 2009, NIDCR has assigned one or more staff members to oversee the development of initiatives for the theme. The themes and staff leaders are listed below. Please send your comments and suggestions for specific theme areas directly to them. If you want to suggest additional topic areas or comment on the process for developing research initiatives, contact Dr. Kathy Hayes Kathy.Hayes@nih.gov. Please submit all comments no later than Thursday, May 31, 2007. Thank you for your interest and input.
Proposed NIDCR FY 2009 Research Themes (alphabetical by title)
Behavioral and Social Sciences Research on Oral Health and Disease
The oral health of a society is strongly influenced by the social characteristics and behavioral lifestyles of its many subgroups and cultures. However, these factors --and their interactions with genetic, biological, and environmental influences-- are challenging to define and measure. This research theme aims to explore and define these social, psychological, and behavioral parameters and propose and develop interventions to improve oral health. It also would encourage research on childhood behavioral and psychosocial parameters that influence the adoption of favorable nutritional, preventive, and self-care habits and the development of health literacy. Special attention would be given to disparities resulting from race/ethnicity, cultural and community characteristics, socioeconomic status, and other factors leading to increased risk for suboptimal oral health.
Initiatives developed around this research theme would encourage innovative, multidisciplinary research that includes a broad array of social scientific expertise and range of behavioral research skills and methodologies.
Contact: Dr. John Kusiak John.Kusiak@nih.gov .
Craniofacial Construction: Functional Genomics of Development and Disease
Recent progress has given us powerful scientific tools for understanding the molecular basis of human craniofacial development and disease. Science has successfully characterized the genetic etiology of many craniofacial disorders that demonstrate straightforward Mendelian genetic traits. Much less is known about the genetics and genomics of complex disorders. It is increasingly evident that the cumulative effects of genetic variations can predispose one to diseases and infections. In addition, the effectiveness of a person’s response to a given treatment also depends on individual genetic variation. There is a scientific opportunity to use comprehensive approaches to identify the genetic and environmental factors that produce complex craniofacial diseases, and to use that knowledge to build a future in which predictive, preemptive and personalized health care is the norm.
This research theme would build a comprehensive knowledge base for achieving a systems level understanding of craniofacial construction. This understanding would, in turn, provide new opportunities for treatment and prevention of complex dental and craniofacial disorders. While some of the pathways underlying facial construction have been identified, many have yet to be discovered. We need to understand how pathways are integrated in building the face and the nature of disturbances that result in craniofacial disorders and diseases. Initiatives developed around this research theme would stimulate high-throughput, genome-wide research strategies, application of new technologies to identify key genes and molecules, and mapping of protein networks and pathways of interaction that regulate facial construction.
Contacts: Dr. Rochelle Small Rochelle.Small@nih.gov ; Dr. Lillian Shum Lillian.Shum@nih.gov .
Harnessing Inflammation for Reconstruction of Oral and Craniofacial Tissues
Inflammation is a complex physiological response that provides protection and promotes healing. Acute inflammation is a normal part of healing, but it can become chronic, leading to fibrosis and scarring. Many different oral and craniofacial conditions share underlying inflammatory mechanisms. Identifying the details of these mechanisms and developing methods to precisely control them could profoundly alter our approaches to the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of inflammatory disease. Using the tools of tissue bioengineering, careful control of the inflammatory response may allow the inflammation to resolve and tissues to be regenerated. The goal of this research theme is the regeneration and reconstruction of damaged oral and craniofacial tissues with minimal fibrosis and scarring.
Initiatives developed around this research theme would support the development of new approaches for controlling the microscopic environment of tissue inflammation. They would encourage research to identify molecular elements that define normal and chronic inflammation. Advances in cell and developmental biology, stem cell biology, immunology, and signal transduction would be integrated with the latest developments in materials science, drug delivery, nanotechnology, and tissue engineering.
Contacts: Dr. Nadya Lumelsky Nadya.Lumelsky@nih.gov ; Dr. Sangeeta Bhargava