Integrative Neural Immune Program (INIP) is an intramural NIH-wide interdisciplinary, multi-Institute research program in neuroscience and immunology designed to foster interdisciplinary research in the field of neural-immune interactions, the biological basis of the so-called �Mind-Body� connection.

The Program�s infrastructure facilitates inter-institute, inter-agency, university, and private sector partnering to further its interdisciplinary goals. Key components of the Program are:

• Steering Committee including representatives from each of the 8 participating Institutes: NIMH, NINDS, NIA, NIAID, NCI, NEI, NIDCR and NIDA.
• Scientific communications activities to foster interactions between participating researchers, through a lecture series and workshops designed to highlight cutting edge topics in this field. An active listserv and website to enhance information dissemination regarding the Program�s activities and facilitate communications between researchers.
• An Intramural Research Awards program to support collaborative research in neuroscience and immunology through jointly sponsored post-doctoral IRTA positions and associated research funds. Awards are shared between collaborating laboratories of partnering Institutes to link collaborative projects and provide formal training in integrative research neuroscience and immunology research.
• This overall structure, which exemplifies the NIH Roadmap Interdisciplinary Research Teams of the Future concept, allows researchers to more effectively address cutting edge multi- and interdisciplinary research questions, while consolidating investments in permanent staff, highly specialized methodologies, physical space and equipment.

Research areas include the study of molecular, cellular and neuroanatomical mechanisms of neural immune interactions and systems level analysis of communications between the central nervous, endocrine and immune systems. This research has relevance to the role of the immune system in neuronal cell death and repair, neuronal development and plasticity, and the role of the nervous and neuroendocrine systems in susceptibility and resistance to autoimmune/inflammatory, infectious and allergic diseases. Basic research in this area has important clinical implications for understanding the pathogenesis and treatment of diseases such as multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer�s disease, neuro-AIDS, stroke and nerve trauma. This research will enhance our understanding of the relationship between depression and immune diseases, and the effects of stress and belief on immune-mediated diseases, such as arthritis, allergic and infectious diseases. Knowledge of these interactions also has relevance to neural and neuroendocrine factors in shock and tissue damage and has therapeutic implications for biodefense.