Translational Research

The mission of the NINDS Division of Translational Research (DTR) is to accelerate basic research findings towards patient use for neurological disorders and stroke by providing funding, expertise, and resources to the research community.

DTR provides funding and resources (approximately $100 million annually) through grants, cooperative agreements, and contracts to academic and industry researchers to advance early-stage neurological technologies, devices, and therapeutic programs to industry adoption (i.e., investor funding and corporate partnerships).

DTR offers a variety of programs that support the design, implementation, and management of research activities critical to translational challenges in the treatment of neurological disease.

Active Projects for Partnering Staff Publications about Programs Translational Success Stories
For investigators and potential investors interested in our active grant portfolio or in partnering. For investigators and potential investors interested in our active grant portfolio or in partnering. An overview of the public health impact the Grantees have had for research on brain and nervous system disorders.

 

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Are you new to Translational Research?

Check out our Decision Tree for Therapeutic Development to explore funding opportunity pathways.

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What are you developing?

Do you have a compound that shows promising activity in a disease model?

Are you developing peptides, proteins, oligonucleotides, gene therapies, and cell therapies?

Is the research fundamental basic or applied research that uses existing market approved devices for their labeled use?

Can you fill out our Compound Profile Table, with no liabilities?

Consider the IGNITE Program.

Are you a small business?

Do you have assays that can be used or optimized for structure activity relationship (SAR) studies?

Consider the Blueprint Neurotherapeutics Network SBIR U44 award (PAR-17-201), with entry at the Development stage.
Email Dr. Charles Cywin to confirm.

Consider the Blueprint Neurotherapeutics Network UG3/UH3 award (PAR-17-205), with entry at the Development stage.
Email Dr. Charles Cywin to confirm.

Are you a small business?

Consider the IGNITE Program for small throughput assay development.

Consider the Blueprint Neurotherapeutics Network SBIR U44 award (PAR-17-201), with entry at the Development stage.
Email Dr. Charles Cywin to confirm.

Consider the Blueprint Neurotherapeutics Network UG3/UH3 award (PAR-17-205), with entry at the Development stage.
Email Dr. Charles Cywin to confirm.

Do you meet the CREATE Bio Development criteria and align with the purpose of the NOFO? (comparison: Optimization and Development Tracks)

Email Chris Boshoff to determine if you fit the CREATE Bio program.
Do you want information on other options?

Consider the U01 CREATE Bio Development program (PAR-18-542).
Consider the SBIR CREATE Bio Development program if you are eligible for SBIR (PAR-18-543).
Email Chris Boshoff regarding pre-application process. Refer to the CREATE Bio pre-application process webpage"

Do you meet the CREATE Bio Optimization criteria align with the purpose of the NOFO? (comparison: Optimization and Development Tracks)

Email Chris Boshoff to determine if you fit the CREATE Bio program.
Do you want information on other options?

Are you an SBIR program small business?

Consider the U01 CREATE Bio Optimization program (PAR-17-456).
Consider the SBIR CREATE Bio Optimization program (PAR-17-457) if you are eligible for SBIR.
Email Chris Boshoff regarding pre-application process. Refer to the CREATE Bio pre-application process webpage."

Are you an SBIR program small business?

Email Chris Boshoff to determine if you fit the CREATE Bio program.
Do you want information on other options?

Are you an SBIR program small business?

Consider the SBIR program. You are also eligible for the IGNITE Program.

Consider the IGNITE Program.

Consider the SBIR program. You are also eligible for the IGNITE Program.

Consider the IGNITE Program.

Are you an SBIR program small business?

Consider the SBIR program. You are also eligible for the IGNITE Program.

Consider the IGNITE Program.

Consider the SBIR program. You are also eligible for the IGNITE Program.

Consider the IGNITE Program.

Are you proposing a clinical trial?

Are you proposing a clinical trial?

Consider:

Exploratory Clinical Trials (U01) (PAR-18-420

NeuroNEXT Clinical Trials (U01) (PAR-18-528

Consider:

Bioengineering Research Grants (R01) (PAR-18-206)

Bioengineering Research Partnerships (U01) (PAR-18-208)

SBIR/STTR Omnibus Solicitations

Are you proposing only clinical work?

Consider:

Bioengineering Research Grants (R01) (PAR-18-206)

Bioengineering Research Partnerships (U01) (PAR-18-208)

SBIR/STTR Omnibus Solicitations

Consider:

BRAIN Initiative: Clinical Studies to Advance Next-Generation Invasive Devices for Recording and Modulation in the Human Central Nervous System (UH3) (RFA-NS-18-023)  

Exploratory Clinical Trials (U01) (PAR-18-420

SBIR/STTR Exploratory Clinical Trials (R42)(PAR-18-617

NeuroNEXT Clinical Trials (U01) (PAR-18-528) or (U44) (PAR-18-628

StrokeNET Clinical Trials and Biomarker Studies (U01) (PAR-18-561) or (U44) (PAR-18-563

Bioengineering Research Grants (R01) (PAR-18-206)

Bioengineering Research Partnerships (U01) (PAR-18-208)

Consider:

Translational Neural Devices (UG3/UH3) (RFA-NS-18-011) or (U44) (RFA-NS-18-012

BRAIN Initiative:
Next-Generation Invasive Devices for Recording and Modulation in the Human Central Nervous System (UG3/UH3) (RFA-NS-18-021) or (U44) (RFA-NS-18-022

Bioengineering Research Grants (R01) (PAR-18-206)

Bioengineering Research Partnerships (U01) (PAR-18-208)

Biomarkers

Neuroscience Biomarker Program

Contact: Carol Taylor-Burds, Ph.D.

The NINDS Biomarker Program supports analytical and clinical validation of candidate biomarkers for neurological disease.

Initial Translational Efforts 

Innovation Grants to Nurture Initial Translational Efforts (IGNITE) Program

Contact: Rebecca Roof, Ph.D.

A suite of notices of funding opportunities to enable grantees to build on their innovative basic science findings and initiate preclinical drug discovery and development.

Preclinical Screening Platform for Pain

Preclinical Screening Platform for Pain (PSPP)

Contact: Smriti Iyengar, Ph.D.

The Preclinical Screening Platform for Pain (PSPP) program is an efficient, rigorous, one-stop resource designed to accelerate discovery of effective, non-addictive, non-opioid pain therapies including small molecules, biologics, natural products, and devices. PSPP accepts assets for evaluation from academic researchers, industry, and government institutions worldwide and provides the evaluation at no cost to the PSPP participants.

Epilepsy Therapy Screening Program

Epilepsy Therapy Screening Program (ETSP)

Contact: Brian Klein, Ph.D.

Resources for compound-screening service to identify candidate therapeutics to ameliorate the epilepsies. Current efforts emphasize unmet medical needs in epilepsy, including treatments for refractory epilepsies, epileptogenesis, and disease progression

Small Molecule Therapeutics

Blueprint Neurotherapeutics Network (BPN) Program

Contact: Charles Cywin, Ph.D.

Cooperative agreement and SBIR Fast-Track award programs support small molecule drug discovery and development.  These programs are designed to maintain the grantees’ intellectual property while providing non-dilutive funding. 

Pain Therapeutics Development Program (PTDP)

Contact: Mary Ann Pelleymounter, Ph.D.

The The HEAL Pain Therapeutics Development Program (PTDP) is part of the Helping to End Addiction Long-term® (HEAL) Initiative ®, or NIH HEAL Initiative ®, a trans-NIH research effort focused on improving prevention and treatment for opioid misuse and addiction and enhancing pain management. The PTDP supports preclinical optimization and development of safe, effective, and non-addictive small molecule and biologic therapeutics to treat pain. This is a milestone-driven phased cooperative agreement grant involving participation of NIH program staff and consultants in the development of the project plan and monitoring of research progress.

Biologics and Biotechnology Products

Blueprint Neurotherapeutics Network for Biologics (BPN-Biologics) Program

Contact: Chris Boshoff, Ph.D.

Cooperative Agreement and SBIR Fast-Track award programs support discovery and development of biotechnology product- and biologics-based therapies. These programs are designed to maintain the grantees’ intellectual property while providing non-dilutive funding.

Cooperative Research to Enable and Advance Translational Enterprises (CREATE Bio)

Contact: Chris Boshoff, Ph.D.

Cooperative agreement and SBIR Fast-Track award programs support the discovery and development of therapeutic Biotechnology Products and Biologics (e.g. peptides, proteins, oligonucleotides, gene therapies, and cell therapies) for disorders that fall under the NINDS mission.

Pain Therapeutics Development Program (PTDP)

Contact: Mary Ann Pelleymounter, Ph.D.

The HEAL Pain Therapeutics Development Program (PTDP) is part of the Helping to End Addiction Long-term® (HEAL) Initiative ®, or NIH HEAL Initiative ®, a trans-NIH research effort focused on improving prevention and treatment for opioid misuse and addiction and enhancing pain management. The PTDP supports preclinical optimization and development of safe, effective, and non-addictive small molecule and biologic therapeutics to treat pain. This is a milestone-driven phased cooperative agreement grant involving participation of NIH program staff and consultants in the development of the project plan and monitoring of research progress.

Therapeutic Devices

Translational Devices

Contact: Nick Langhals, Ph.D.

Funding to support development, validation and verification, and early clinical studies of therapeutic devices to treat neurological disorders. 

Gene Therapy

Ultra-rare Gene-based Therapy (URGenT) Network

Contact: Chris Boshoff, Ph.D.

The URGenT program will provide funding and resources to advance gene-based therapies for ultra-rare neurological disorder from late-stage pre-clinical development into clinical testing.

Small Business Program

Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR)

Contact: Emily Caporello, PhD

Funding program to allow small business concerns to conduct innovative neuroscience research at different stages of development, including applied bench research, translational research, and early-stage clinical trials.

Neural Exposome and Toxicology Programs

ONETOX

Contact: David Jett, Ph.D.

The Neural Exposome and Toxicology programs support research and provide resources for internal and external exposures that affect the brain and nervous system health, exposures to chemical threats and the development of countermeasures, Drug Safety Evaluations, and overall safety of NIH-funded research including biohazards, Select Agents, and Dual Use Research of Concern.

Therapeutics for Treating Chemical Injuries

NIH Countermeasures Against Chemical Threats (CounterACT)

Contact: David Jett, Ph.D.

The mission of the NIH CounterACT Program is to understand fundamental mechanisms of toxicity caused by chemical threat agents and the application of this knowledge to develop promising therapeutics for reducing mortality and morbidity caused by these agents. CounterACT is a trans-NIH effort lead by NINDS which funds small and large grants, supportive contract facilities, and interagency agreements with the Department of Defense.

Training

Neurotherapeutics Discovery and Development

Contact: Charles Cywin, Ph.D.

Short course to introduce academic researchers to the principles of neurotherapeutic drug discovery and development.  Participants who have attended the short course program will have ongoing access to senior faculty who will assist the trainee to achieve success in their individual drug development projects.

 

Contacts

Amir Tamiz, Ph.D. | Director, Division of Translational Research
amir.tamiz@nih.gov

Alexander Denker, Ph.D. | Chief of Staff, Division of Translational Research
alexander.denker@nih.gov

See full Translational Research staff listing

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