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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 specific goal of this initiative is to provide funding opportunities for the increasing pool of foreign biomedical and behavioral scientists, clinical investigators, nurses, and other health professionals with state-of-the-art knowledge of research methods to advance critical issues in global health upon their return to their home countries. After their term of research training, developing country participants supported by this RFA are expected to continue independent and productive scientific careers, including expert training and consultation and/or research of biomedical issues within their home institutions.

The National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) seek developmental planning grant applications for the establishment of an infrastructure for eventual Muscular Dystrophy Cooperative Research Centers (MDCRCs). This initiative supports the planning of new or expansion of existing resources for future competitive MDCRCs. These planning grants will enable applicants to effectively organize and integrate multidisciplinary research capacities and core resources to enhance collaborations of basic, clinical, and behavioral science in muscular dystrophy research and to promote cross-disciplinary research training. Participation in this RFA will not itself be a factor in the review of any Center application. Investigators may respond to current (e.g., RFA AR03- 001) or future solicitations for center grant applications without first having participated in this developmental planning initiative. Investigators interested in applying for support of muscular dystrophy research using mechanisms other than centers or this developmental planning initiative should see NIH PAS01-041, "Therapeutic and Pathogenic Approaches for the Muscular Dystrophies" (http://www.niams.nih.gov/rtac/funding/grants/pa/pas_01_041.pdf).

This PA solicits applications to develop new genetic-based methods and technologies for the purpose of mapping functional neuronal circuits and synaptic changes in the mammalian nervous system. Emerging genetic and transgenic technologies can be used to single out functionally related cells or neuronal populations for analysis or intervention. This PA would support the development of genetic-based tools to map neuronal interconnectivity, to monitor functional changes, or to drive functional changes within neuronal circuits as the first step in an effort by the NIH to create integrated genomic and functional connectivity maps of the mammalian nervous system. Other corollary efforts needed to generate integrated connectivity maps such as improved neuroinformatics and the development of a large consortia of investigators, however, are outside the scope of this program announcement. Wide distribution to the scientific community of the methods and resulting resources developed under this program is essential for the eventual goal of creating large-scale functional connectivity maps of the mammalian nervous system. The unrestricted distribution of methods and resources developed under this program will also facilitate the rapid transfer of technology for the development of diagnostic tools and treatment interventions for brain disease.

In response to continuing research progress and opportunity, and in recognition of continuing Congressional interest to intensify and to expand basic and clinical research in Parkinson's disease, The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) invite qualified investigators to submit grant applications for the establishment of Morris K. Udall Parkinson's Disease Research Centers of Excellence. The purpose of this Program Announcement (PA) is to encourage additional research opportunities and discoveries that will lead to improved diagnosis and treatment of patients with Parkinson's Disease and related neurodegenerative disorders, based on a better understanding of the fundamental cause(s) of the disease. It is expected that these Centers will form a consortium of investigators that will foster an environment that will enhance research effectiveness in a multi-disciplinary setting, utilizing specialized methods relevant to the study of these disorders. There were two previous requests (http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-NS-98-001.html and http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-NS-99-004.html.

The purpose of this Request for Applications (RFA) is to establish Muscular Dystrophy Cooperative Research Centers (MDCRCs), in order to increase basic and clinical research on all forms of muscular dystrophy. The National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) invite applications for MDCRCs that promote side-by-side basic, translational, and clinical research, provide resources that can be used by the national muscle biology and neuromuscular research communities, and provide training and advice about muscle diseases for researchers and physicians who provide initial diagnosis and treatment, including rehabilitation, care for cognitive and behavioral concerns, and therapy for other system complications. Taken together, the centers will constitute a cohesive program, the MDCRC Program, operating under guidelines for NIH cooperative agreements.

The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), the National Eye Institute (NEI), the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR), and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) seek research to understand racial/ethnic disparities in the development of the microvascular (nephropathy, retinopathy, and neuropathy), and macrovascular (cardiovascular disease and stroke) complications of diabetes.

Dystonia is defined clinically as involuntary, often sustained, co- contraction of agonist and antagonist muscles causing abnormal and often painful postures or movements. It is generally believed to be centrally mediated. Dystonia occurs due to many different etiologies. Although the prevalence and disease burden of this group of disorders is not well known, it is estimated by some sources that this debilitating movement disorder affects over 500,000 individuals in the USA. Some forms of dystonia are associated with specific genetic and/or environmental risk factors, but the underlying pathophysiological pathways remain elusive. The purpose of this program announcement is to solicit applications for new studies on the underlying causes of human dystonia, secondary consequences of these movement disorders, and potential therapeutic strategies for treating these conditions.

The purpose of this program announcement (PA) is to encourage the submission of applications for research to enhance animal stem cells as model biological systems. Research to isolate, characterize and identify totipotent and multipotent stem cells from nonhuman biomedical research animal models, as well as to generate reagents and techniques to characterize and separate those stem cells from other cell types is encouraged. Innovative approaches to the problems of making multipotent stem cells available from a variety of nonhuman sources, and to creating reagents that will identify those stem cells across species and allow for separation of multipotent stem cells from differentiated cell types, will be stressed. Studies involving human subjects are not allowed under this PA. This PA supersedes PA-01-076 issued earlier by the NCRR.

This Program Announcement (PA) is to encourage investigator-initiated applications for research designed to exploit the power of mutagenesis screening in zebrafish in order to detect and characterize genes, pathways, and phenotypes of interest in development and aging, organ formation, behavior, and disease processes. Applications that propose to advance the technologies associated with such phenotyping also are welcome. A secondary goal of this PA is to ensure that tools developed under this initiative are widely available to the research community. This PA is a continuation of the program initiated by RFA HD-00-004, "Mutagenesis Screens/Phenotyping Tools for Zebrafish" (http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-HD-00-004.html), and incorporates an earlier PA, "Development of Zebrafish Mutagenesis and Screening Tools" (http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-01-070.html). This effort stems from an NIH initiative with participation of the Institutes and Centers listed above, working though the Trans-NIH Zebrafish Coordinating Committee (TZCC; http://www.nih.gov/science/models/zebrafish/) under the co-chairmanship of NICHD and NIDDK. Since its formation in 1997, the committee has played an active role as an advocate for the zebrafish as an important model for development and disease research.

Recent discoveries across a broad range of research areas in the neurosciences offer promising opportunities for improved therapies for neurological disorders. As part of its mission to reduce the burden of neurological disease, NINDS is committed to encouraging the "translation" of these basic discoveries into new treatments. The goal of this PA is to announce a career development opportunity for new investigators to build a program of translational research in neurological disorders under the guidance of an experienced mentor.