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The National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), the National Institute on Aging (NIA), the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) and the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) encourage investigator-initiated research grant applications to isolate, characterize and identify precursor cells required for normal growth and repair of injured, aged, or diseased muscle. Goals include determining factors responsible for migration, proliferation, and differentiation of precursor cells following muscle injury or increased exercise. This includes characterizing molecular controls responsible for the quiescence of muscle satellite cells and determining metabolic and motile properties of satellite cells while they are quiescent. Researchers are encouraged to develop strategies using muscle satellite and stem cells in therapies for human disease and enhanced repair of muscle injury and as cellular vectors of genes.

Pharmacological compounds have the potential to enhance functional recovery in rehabilitation, especially when used in conjunction with behavioral and physical therapy. This Request for Applications (RFA) supports studies relevant to the treatment of neurological conditions such as stroke, brain trauma, spinal cord injury, neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative disorders, infections, and neurosurgery. Applications in response to this RFA must focus on rehabilitative strategies rather than the reduction of acute pathology. They may include studies involving synaptic plasticity, neurotransmitter interactions, neurotrophic mechanisms, pain or fatigue, or any other neurological mechanisms that accelerate the recovery process, enhance function or reduce disability. Studies in validated animal models may be proposed, provided they include appropriate functional outcomes. Pilot clinical trials in humans may also be considered.

Data from a survey from the Association of Neuroscience Departments and Programs (2000) indicate that only 8% of tenure-track faculty are from racial/ethnic minority populations. The NIH "Program of Action to Address Health Disparities" recognizes that success in building an effective biomedical research infrastructure, and our ability to deliver research benefits to at-risk populations requires a commitment to training and supporting scientists from diverse racial/ethnic backgrounds.

With this Program Announcement, the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) invites research grant applications (R01) that address the development and treatment of dopamine-induced dyskinesias, a major complication of current pharmacotherapy of Parkinson"s disease. The purpose of this initiative is to 1) support the study of the pathophysiologic basis of dopamine-induced dyskinesias, and 2) support the study of non- dopaminergic pharmacologic agents for the treatment of dopamine-induced dyskinesias.

The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) and the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) are committed to expanding neuroscience research opportunities for faculty, students and fellows at minority institutions. Data taken from the National Academy of Sciences Report (2000) entitled "Addressing the Nation"s Changing Needs for Biomedical and Behavioral Scientists" demonstrates that the proportion of racial/ethnic minorities receiving scientific graduate degrees is not representative of the general population. Moreover, a survey from the Association of Neuroscience Departments and Programs (2000) demonstrated that only 8% of tenure-track faculty were minorities. To address this issue, the NINDS and NIDA Strategic Plans on Minority Health Disparities and the NIDCD aim to enhance research capacity building and training among minority institutions.

A particular area of research is often invigorated by novel perspectives. In an effort to advance research relevant to the mission of the National Institutes of Health (NIH, which includes basic biomedical, clinical biomedical, bioengineering, bioimaging, and behavioral research), the participating Institutes and Centers solicit applications for the Mentored Quantitative Research Career Development Award (K25). The K25 mechanism is meant to attract to NIH-relevant research those investigators whose quantitative science and engineering research has thus far not been focused primarily on questions of health and disease. Examples of quantitative scientific and technical backgrounds considered appropriate for this award include, but are not limited to: mathematics, statistics, economics, computer science, imaging science, informatics, physics, chemistry, and engineering.

The purpose of this initiative is to stimulate investigator-initiated research on the role of stigma in health, and on how to intervene to prevent or mitigate its negative effects on the health and welfare of individuals, groups and societies world-wide. Collaborative interdisciplinary applications are particularly encouraged. The following Institutes and Centers from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS): the Health Research Services Administration (HRSA), the NIH including: the Fogarty International Center (FIC), National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NCHMD), National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR), National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA), National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), Office of AIDS Research, Office of Behavioral and Social Science Research (OBSSR), Office of Research on Women"s Health (ORWH), and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), seek domestic and international applications which address stigma-related issues, across a variety of global public health problems, among individuals and in society.

The National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR), the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), and the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) seek research grant applications that will improve the quality of life for people living with mobility limiting disorders. Persons with limited mobility may also experience secondary conditions that further limit mobility. These secondary symptoms or sequelae include pain, fatigue, spasticity, weakness and depression. This Program Announcement will focus on improving the quality of life in persons with limited mobility by managing the physical symptoms and psychosocial consequences that occur as a result of the primary or secondary condition.

This announcement updates the 1998 Program Announcement PA-98-078, Genetic Architecture of Complex Phenotypes. The program announcement is to solicit applications for new studies on genetic variation and the architecture of complex phenotypes. It restates the interest of several components of the National Institutes of Health in studies of the underlying causes and architecture of complex phenotypes, including human diseases. It is motivated by the amount and complexity of biological data that are being generated and by the understanding that complex phenotypes involve many genetic components that evolve in a variety of environments.

The purpose of this PA is to encourage researchers to solve the structures of membrane proteins at atomic resolution and to develop the tools needed to solve these structures. Considerable research on the structure and function of membrane proteins is under way. Yet, relatively few investigators use x-ray crystallography, electron diffraction, or nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy to study the structures of these proteins directly. During the past decade, investigators have determined the structures of approximately 30 membrane proteins. The solution of each structure has been a major contribution to a particular area of science (see http://blanco.biomol.uci.edu/Membrane_Proteins_xtal.html). This progress clearly demonstrates that determining the structures of membrane proteins is feasible. However, the rate of solving soluble protein structures also has accelerated greatly during the past decade. Thus, a gap remains between understanding membrane proteins and understanding their soluble protein counterparts.