Funding News - Applications Sought for Mentored Clinical Investigator Career Development Awards in Muscle Disease Research

The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), and the Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS) invite applications for mentored clinical investigator career development awards in muscle disease research.*

Muscle diseases have a high impact on daily lives, affecting tens of thousands of people in the United States alone. Despite advances in understanding the genetic and molecular defects that cause various types of muscle diseases, this knowledge has not yet resulted in improved treatments. There is a great need to learn more about the pathogenesis of the diseases and to improve early detection, diagnosis, treatment, screening, and prevention.

Areas of research interest include, but are not limited to, studies on: pathogenic mechanisms leading from gene defects to muscle disease phenotypes; the normal structure and function of proteins such as the ryanodine receptor or the dystrophin-glycoprotein complex that are associated with muscle diseases; properties of muscle and non-muscle cells derived from affected tissues; and the cognitive, behavioral, and/or psychosocial aspects of muscle diseases and their relationship to etiology and disease progression. Also encouraged are studies to: identify genetic and environmental factors that determine risk or modify disease onset, symptoms, progression, or outcome; generate, breed, and study animal models for muscle diseases, and utilize those models to develop and test potential therapies; develop, test, and improve strategies for gene delivery or gene repair; explore the therapeutic use of stem cells and/or tissue engineering; and develop, test, and optimize pharmacological treatments for muscle diseases.

For more information, potential applicants should contact Dr. John Porter, Program Director, Channels, Synapses, and Circuits Cluster, NINDS, Neuroscience Center, 6001 Executive Boulevard, Room 2142, Bethesda, MD 20892; telephone: 301-496-1917; fax: 301-402-1501; e-mail: jp477n@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/PA-05-051.html.