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The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) invites applications for Center Core Grants to support neuroscience research. The purpose of this program is to advance the NINDS mission to promote understanding and treatment of neurological disorders by providing core research facilities that are not otherwise available. Each Center Core Grant will support shared resources and facilities used by investigators with research projects funded by NINDS. This support, by providing more accessible resources, is expected to assure a greater productivity than would be possible from the separate projects. An institution is eligible for a maximum of one NINDS Center Core Grant. These awards will support basic, translational, and clinical research, but will not be used to support clinical trials or to provide patient services.

The purpose of this program announcement (PA) is to encourage basic research on the structures of membrane proteins at atomic resolution. It replaces and updates previous program announcements (PA-99-004 and PA-95-035), which were issued under the same title. Considerable research is ongoing in the area of membrane protein structure and function, yet relatively few investigators have applied the techniques of x-ray crystallography, electron diffraction, or nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy to study directly the structures of their proteins. During the past decade, approximately 30 membrane protein structures have been solved and each structure has been a major contribution in its area of science (see: http://blanco.biomol.uci.edu/Membrane_Proteins_xtal.html). This progress clearly demonstrates that obtaining membrane protein structures is feasible. However, during this same decade the rate of soluble protein structure solution has accelerated greatly and there remains a gap between the understanding of membrane proteins and their soluble protein counterparts.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) invites applications for grants to develop, conduct, evaluate, and disseminate short-term courses on laboratory research techniques for human embryonic stem cell lines. The courses should include hands-on experience to improve the knowledge and skills of biomedical researchers to maintain, characterize, and utilize human embryonic stem cells in basic research studies and be made available to investigators in research areas of interest to all of the institutes and centers of the NIH.

This RFA is intended to promote productive re-entry of NIH-trained foreign investigators into their home countries as part of a broader program to enhance the scientific research infrastructure in developing countries, to stimulate research on a wide variety of high priority health-related issues in these countries, and to advance NIH efforts to address health issues of global import.

The purpose of this RFA is to encourage the use of high throughput drug screening and chemical genetics in Neurodegeneration research by funding the development of assays that may be adapted for high throughput approaches.

The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), National Institute on Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), and National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS) request research grant applications to study neuroimmune molecules and mechanisms involved in regulating normal and pathological central nervous system (CNS) function. Areas of research interest include those raised in discussions at the recent workshop "Strategies for Identifying Functional Links Between the Immune System, Brain Function, and Behavior" http://www.nimh.nih.gov/research/linkssummary.cfm. This program announcement (PA) also incorporates topics explored at the "Research Roundtable on Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcus (PANDAS)" http://www.nimh.nih.gov/research/pandassummary.cfm.

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is increasingly important for understanding human brain function. As with other imaging modalities, informatics tools are used at all stages of fMRI studies. As fMRI has evolved in neuroscience laboratories, investigators have created informatics tools to allow them to address particular research questions. This has resulted in a relatively small number of informatics tools that are both useful and widely used.

The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), National Institute on Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), National Institute on Aging (NIA), and National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) invite grant applications for Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) projects on research and development of probes useful in imaging the structure and function of the brain and other parts of the nervous system, with award duration and amounts greater than those routinely allowed under the SBIR program. Encouraged are applications from teams of investigators from commercial, academic and other sectors of the research community. Non- commercial partners, including those at colleges and universities, may play important roles in SBIR-supported research, and may receive substantial support for their efforts.

The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), the National Institute on Aging (NIA), the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) invite applications for studies on the plasticity and behavior of human stem cells, and regulation of their replication, differentiation and function in the nervous system. Because of their ability to generate neurons and glia, stem cells are promising candidates for the development of cellular and genetic therapies for neurological disorders, including congenital, neurodevelopmental, neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative diseases, as well as neuroregulatory problems in heart, lung, and blood diseases, and sleep disorders. Animal studies demonstrate that stem or progenitor cells can be derived from a variety of tissues and from hosts of different ages, however, the requirements and potential for differentiation of each cell type appears to be unique. In a recently-issued Program Announcement (PA-01-078)), NINDS and other institutes at NIH invited studies to investigate the influence of extrinsic signals in the nervous system on the biology of non-human stem cells. Development of treatments for human conditions ultimately will require understanding the biology of human stem cells. To achieve this goal, NINDS, NIA, NIMH and NHLBI encourage applications to study the fundamental properties of all classes of human stem cells, and to confirm, extend, and compare the behavior of human stem cells that are derived from different sources and ages or exposed to different regimes in vitro and in vivo. Of high priority are studies to develop methods for identifying, isolating and characterizing specific human precursor populations at intermediate stages of differentiation into neurons and glia. Because our current understanding of stem cell biology comes mainly from studies conducted on murine stem cells, a comparison between human and non-human cells will be crucial for translating the results of animal studies to clinical trials. This Program Announcement (PA) invites applications for support of research that characterizes cellular, molecular and genetic mechanisms that allow human stem and precursor cells to express plasticity and lineage choices. Projects that address comparisons between different classes of human stem cells, and between human and non-human stem cells would also be directly relevant to this PA.

The International Clinical, Operational, and Health Services Research Training Award for AIDS and Tuberculosis (ICOHRTA-AIDS/TB) Program provides extended support for training to foster collaborative, multidisciplinary research in developing country sites where AIDS, TB or both are significant problems. As used in this Program Announcement (PA), the term ICOHRTA-AIDS/TB should be interpreted as building capacity for integrated clinical, operational, and health services research encompassing the full range of conditions and issues (e.g., opportunistic infections, HIV malignancies, neurological and mental health consequences, behavioral issues, hematologic conditions, blood safety issues, pulmonary manifestations, ophthalmologic manifestations, gastrointestinal conditions, drug and alcohol usage, gender-related issues and oral health manifestations) that relate to care of adult and pediatric patients with HIV/AIDS or TB. This program is an integral and critical component of a comprehensive global strategy of the NIH and Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) to address the needs of the millions suffering from HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and related conditions in resource- limited nations by extending and intensifying efforts to provide clinically appropriate and sustainable care to these individuals in a manner that supports continuing and expanding prevention activities. These efforts will have direct health, economic and security benefits for the United States as well as the global community. This program will increase research training across the span of clinical science and public health practice and involve a wide range of health professionals (e.g. nurses, midwives, physicians, dentists, health care administrators and public health workers).