Funding News - Applications Sought for Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Awards for Postdoctoral Fellowships 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) encourage applications for Ruth L. Kirschstein national research service awards for postdoctoral fellowships 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: 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; identifying genetic and environmental factors that determine risk or modify disease onset, symptoms, progression, or outcome; generating, breeding, and studying animal models for the muscle diseases, and utilizing those models to develop and test potential therapies; properties of muscle and non-muscle cells derived from affected tissues; developing, testing, and improving strategies for gene delivery or gene repair; exploring the therapeutic use of stem cells and/or tissue engineering; developing, testing, and optimizing pharmacological treatments for muscle diseases; developing improved outcome measures and non-invasive methods such as enhanced imaging or analysis of muscle function to monitor changes due to treatment or disease progression; developing and testing new rehabilitative strategies to limit disease progression and prevent secondary complications; and the cognitive, behavioral, and/or psychosocial aspects of muscle diseases and their relationship to etiology and disease progression.

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-05-052.html.