The purpose of this initiative is to provide additional support for collaborative and integrative activities to groups of currently funded investigators working on a common problem of fundamental interest to the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) or the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK). These activities should significantly enhance the investigators’ existing capabilities and introduce new approaches to the research aims of their funded projects. The new support, using the R24 consortium grant mechanism, should allow the participating investigators to attract and coordinate expertise in different disciplines and approaches, and facilitate access to specialized resources and equipment. This mechanism must introduce new collaborative activities that will further the shared research goals of the consortium members’ individual funded grants.

Funding: The total project period for an R24 award submitted in response to this PA may not exceed four years. A maximum of $300,000 in direct costs per year will be provided.
Letter of Intent: Unspecified
Date of Proposal Submission: February 01, 2004

Under this program announcement (PA), the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), National Institute on Aging (NIA), National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), National Cancer Institute (NCI), National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), and the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) invite research grant applications to expand basic and translational research on the processes and mechanisms involved in the experience and expression of emotion.

Funding: The small grant (R03) provides two years of funding with a maximum of $50,000 in direct costs for each year. The award amount for the R01 is unspecified. The total project period for an R01 application submitted in response to this PA may not exceed five years.
Letter of Intent: Unspecified
Date of Proposal Submission: February 01, 2004

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is committed to supporting research that will increase scientific understanding of the health status of various population groups and lead to more effective health interventions and services for individuals within those groups. High priority is placed on research with groups that appear to have distinctive health risk profiles, but thus far have received insufficient attention from investigators. This program announcement (PA) highlights a particular set of such groups: lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered (LGBT), and related populations.

The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) invite the submission of grant applications for behavioral, social, mental health, and substance abuse research with LGBT populations. The Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR) joins this PA as part of its effort to promote research on the behavioral and social aspects of health and illness, and the Office of Research on Women’s Health (ORWH) joins this PA as part of its effort to promote research that will lead to improved health for women. However, only NIMH, NIDA, and NICHD will provide direct grant support under this PA.

Studies relevant to the missions of the three sponsoring institutes may be proposed within the areas of basic, clinical, intervention, practice, and services research. Projects should make use of the most rigorous current methodologies and, where needed, engage in development and evaluation of new methodologies.

Funding: Unspecified
Letter of Intent: Unspecified
Date of Proposal Submission: February 01, 2004

The National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS) has primary responsibility for research on the numerous rheumatic diseases, disorders of the musculoskeletal system, and diseases of muscle, bone, and skin. The main branches composing NIAMS are Arthritis, Muscle Biology, and Skin Diseases. Some key areas of interest include rheumatic diseases; bone diseases (osteoporosis, Paget’s disease); skin diseases; autoimmune diseases (lupus); connective tissue diseases; musculoskeletal diseases and disorders; muscle diseases (muscular dystrophy); exercise physiology and musculoskeletal fitness; sports injuries; and occupational diseases.

The NIAMS invites applications for research to promote the design, development, and testing of hypothesis-driven innovative approaches to eliminating health disparities in rheumatic, musculoskeletal, and skin diseases. Attention is to be focused on potentially modifiable environmental, social, and behavioral factors, and on gene-environment interactions, that may underlie ethnic or racial disparities in disease prevalence and outcome. In addition, descriptive and analytic epidemiologic studies are needed to characterize further the health disparities in rheumatic, musculoskeletal, and skin diseases.

Funding: The award amount is unspecified. The total project period for an application submitted in response to this PA may not exceed five years.
Letter of Intent: Unspecified
Date of Proposal Submission: February 01, 2004