N C C A M: The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine. Expanding horizons of health care

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NCCAM's Challenge Grants in Health and Science Research

RFA-OD-09-003: NIH Challenge Grants in Health and Science Research »

 

NIH has received new funds for Fiscal Years 2009 and 2010 as part of the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act), Pub. L. No. 111-5. The NIH has designated at least $200 million in FYs 2009–2010 for a new initiative called the NIH Challenge Grants in Health and Science Research.

This new program will support research on topic areas that address specific scientific and health research challenges in biomedical and behavioral research that would benefit from significant 2-year jumpstart funds.

The NIH has identified a range of Challenge Areas that focus on specific knowledge gaps, scientific opportunities, new technologies, data generation, or research methods that would benefit from an influx of funds to quickly advance the area in significant ways. Each NIH Institute, Center, and Office has selected specific Challenge Topics within the broad Challenge Areas related to its mission. The research in these Challenge Areas should have a high impact in biomedical or behavioral science and/or public health.

NIH anticipates funding 200 or more grants, each of up to $1 million in total costs, pending the number and quality of applications and availability of funds. Additional funds may be available to support additional grants, particularly in the Challenge Area of Comparative Effectiveness Research.

The application due date is April 27, 2009.


Broad Challenge Areas and Specific Challenge Topics

Note: Those marked with an asterisk (*) are the highest priority topics; however, applicants may apply to any of the topics.

For NCCAM, the Challenge Topics are:

(02) Bioethics

02-OD(OSP)-103*
Ethical Issues Associated with Electronic Sharing of Health Information. The development of an electronic health information infrastructure and the sharing of health information for patient care and research offer enormous promise to improve health care and promote scientific advances. However, the broad sharing of such data raises numerous ethical issues that may benefit from additional studies (e.g. those related to privacy and confidentiality). Examples include studies to assess risks associated with health information technology and the broad sharing of health information for research, and novel approaches for mitigating them. Examination could also include analysis of current oversight paradigms and suggestions for enhancements, as well as assessments of how privacy risks may change in the future. OD(OSP) Contact: Abigail Rives, 301-594-1976, rivesa@od.nih.gov; NCCAM Contact: Dr. Jack Killen, 301-594-7103, killenj@mail.nih.gov

(03) Biomarker Discovery and Validation

03-AT-101*
Psychoneuroimmunology biomarkers of stress. Identification of biomarkers to assess the impact of stress, both social and biological, on immune function. Contact: Dr. John Glowa, 301-496-0527, glowaj@mail.nih.gov
03-AT-102*
Antioxidant biomarkers. Development and validation of biomarkers of oxidative stress that could be used to assess the antioxidant effects of dietary supplements in vivo and to examine their mechanisms of action, efficacy, and effectiveness with respect to human health. Contact: Dr. Laura Moen, 301-402-5867, moenl@mail.nih.gov
03-AT-103
Omega-3 fatty acid biomarkers. Development of strategies to test the impact of fatty acids/omega-3 fatty acids on lipid composition and membrane function. Contact: Dr. Laura Moen, 301-402-5867, moenl@mail.nih.gov

(05) Comparative Effectiveness Research

05-AT-101*
Comparative Effectiveness Studies of Non-Pharmacological Treatments for Chronic Low Back Pain. Observational studies or secondary data analyses to compare the effectiveness of: non-pharmacological treatments or integrative health care approaches for chronic low back pain when used in addition to and/or as an alternative to standard conventional care. Contact: Dr. Partap Khalsa, 301-594-3462, khalsap@mail.nih.gov
05-AT-102*
Comparative Effectiveness Studies of Complementary and Alternative Medicine. Observational studies or secondary data analyses to compare the effectiveness or cost-effectiveness of: 1) CAM used in addition to standard conventional care; 2) CAM or integrative health care versus standard conventional care; OR 3) one CAM therapy to another. Contact: Dr. Richard Nahin, 301-496-7801, nahinr@mail.nih.gov

(06) Enabling Technologies

06-AT-101*
Imaging correlates of brain states. Exploration of brain imaging technologies to provide insight into higher-order states such as awareness of self, focused attention, stress, meditative states, calm and other emotional states; utilize brain imaging to develop objective measures and rigorous, quantitative evaluation of subjective states. Contact: Dr. Partap Khalsa, 301-594-3462, khalsap@mail.nih.gov

For general information on NCCAM's implementation of NIH Challenge Grants, contact:

Richard Nahin, Ph.D., MPH
Acting Director, Division of Extramural Research
National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine
National Institutes of Health
301-496-7801
nahinr@mail.nih.gov

For financial or grants management questions, contact:

George Tucker
Director, Office of Grants Management
National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine
National Institutes of Health
301-451-6330
tuckerg@mail.nih.gov

Additional Clinical and Translational Research Areas

In addition to the topics of biomarkers and imaging techniques described above, NCCAM is also interested in Challenge Grant applications for the development and validation of other translational tools to improve comparability and generalizability of studies and to facilitate rigorous research of CAM practices that are widely used by the public. Such tools could relate to a range of CAM modalities such as mind-body medicine interventions, manual therapies, acupuncture, herbal therapies, dietary supplements, and probiotics. For examples of other areas of interest, see grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-AT-09-002.html.

More About NCCAM Research Interests

NCCAM has a strong interest in building the scientific evidence base for CAM modalities through rigorous research. A general overview of NCCAM priority areas is posted at: nccam.nih.gov/grants/priorities/

The diversity of NCCAM's research interests is reflected in its currently active research solicitations, which are posted at: nccam.nih.gov/cgi-bin/grants/funding.pl

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