August 2003 | VOL. 9 | www.McGowan.pitt.edu

The following are selected regional and national press coverage of recent McGowan Institute events:

• Saving Lives with Living Machines
  MIT Technology Review; July/August 2003

This issue highlights the bioartificial liver created by the University of Pittsburgh’s Dr. Jörg Gerlach, that employs three types of hollow fibers woven through human liver cells harvested from transplant rejects. One set of fibers delivers oxygen to the living cells, keeping them in metabolic overdrive, while the other two pump plasma respectively to and from the cells, a setup that resembles the natural architecture of the liver. “Our cells spontaneously reassemble into tissue structures. Under these circumstances, the human cells survive for more than two months,” says Gerlach, who anticipates that human tests of the device in the United States could begin within a year. More

• Marrying electronics and biology could transform millions of lives
  Business Week; August 25, 2003

Addresses the issues and opportunities in regenerative medicine and highlights the range of options from the use of artificial organs and organ assist devices, to organ repair and regeneration. More

• 
  Local bioengineers want to build patch, blood vessels for heart
  Pittsburgh Post Gazette; Tuesday, August 05, 2003

The National Institutes of Health has awarded $4.9 million to Dr. William Wagner and his colleagues for a tissue engineering project that could one day allow doctors to repair a damaged heart with a bioengineered blood vessel or a patch of cardiac muscle. The lab-made blood vessels could be used to bypass clogged heart arteries or damaged lower leg vessels. More

• Regeneration is the focus at Pitt's McGowan Institute
  July 24, 2003

Highlights McGowan Institute initiatives and accomplishments on the occasion of the second anniversary of the Institute. More

 

BioBlast is a quarterly, free networking event for everyone in Pittsburgh's biotech community. Students, scientists, physicians, entrepreneurs and investors come together to trade news, make deals and meet each other. Refreshments are provided, and this is a great forum to search out new binding sites and pathways.

The next BioBlast will be held on September 17th, 6 PM to 9 PM at the McGowan Laboratory Building, 3025 East Carson Street. All are welcome, but please RSVP to Diana Spencer by email.

BioBlast is co-hosted by LaunchCyte, the Limbach Entrepreneurial Center at UPCI, the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine, the Pittsburgh Life Sciences Greenhouse, and the Pittsburgh Technology Council. The event is sponsored by Kirkpatrick & Lockhart, LLP.

 

The recent Gordon Research Conference on Biomaterials: Biocompatibility and Tissue Engineering held at the Holderness School in Plymouth, NH was a great success. Dr. Wagner, Chairperson and Conference organizer noted, “The conference brought together a diverse mix of scientists, engineers and physicians to listen to peers at the forefront of the biomaterials field and to engage in lively, but informal interactions”. The conference covered topics on protein adsorption, scaffold architecture, biohybrid materials, and the cellular and molecular aspects of tissue biomechanics. Sessions also explored strategies and challenges in cardiovascular, neural and orthopedic engineering. Several faculty from the McGowan Institute participated in the conference, including William Wagner, Steve Badylak, Alan Russell, Michael Sacks, and Kacey Marra.

The Gordon Research Conferences provide an international forum for the presentation and discussion of pioneering research in the biological, chemical, and physical sciences, and their related technologies. Each conference has a recurring thematic topic and strives to be the overall best meeting in its field.

The next Gordon Conference of interest to McGowan Faculty is the Conference on Assisted Circulation to be held September 14-19, 2003. The chairs for this conference are Harvey Borovetz and D. Glenn Pennington. For additional details please click here.

Two side-by-side International Conferences--The Second International Interdisciplinary Conference on Cardiovascular Medicine and Science, and the First International Conference on Medical Implants were held in Bethesda, MD. McGowan Institute faculty organized and chaired Scientific Sessions at these conferences as follows:

• "Drag-Reducing Polymers in Blood Circulation" (Session Co-Chairs: Marina V. Kameneva and James F. Antaki)
• "Response of Blood to Mechanical Circulatory Support I" (Session Co-Chairs: James F. Antaki and Marina V. Kameneva)
• "Response of Blood to Mechanical Circulatory Support II” (Session Co-Chairs: James F. Antaki and Marina V. Kameneva).
• "Cardio-Pulmonary Mechanics" (Co-chair of the session: William Federspiel)
• "Atherosclerosis: Mechanism of Initiation and Development" (Co-chair of the session: David Vorp)

1. Induction of MMP Expression in Porcine Carotid Arteries by Longitudinal Cyclic Stretching: Implications for Vascular Pathology. (D.W. Hamilton, M. S. El Kurdi, L. Du, E. Pekarcik, R. Toth, D. A. Vorp)

2. Drag-Reducing Polymers in Blood Circulation. (Keynote Speech) (Marina V. Kameneva)

3. Effect of Drag Reducing Polymers on Micro Scale Flow Behavior of Red Blood Cells. (ZJ Wu, R Zhao, T. Bachman, A Fu, P Marascalco, JF Antaki, MV Kameneva)

4. Study of the Interaction of Drag-Reducing Polymers (DRP) and Red Blood Cells (RBC). (JN Marhefka, PJ Marascalco, DK Arnold, MV Kameneva)

5. High Molecular Weight Polyethylene Glycol Effect on Filterability of Normal and Pathological Red Blood Cells (RBCs). (PJ Marascalco, JN Marhefka, N Narayana, TM Cotroneo, MV Kameneva)

6. Influence of Morphometric Measurement Technique on Mathematical Descriptions of Middle Ear Gas Exchange. (SC Kanick, SN Ghadiali, JD Swarts, WJ Doyle, WJ Federspiel)

7. Microfabrication of Biohybrid Artificial Alveolar Capillary Modules. (KA Henchir, WR Wagner, WJ Federspiel)

8. Enhanced Gas Exchanged in an Emergency Respiratory Support Lung. (RG Svitek, BJ Frankowski, WJ Federspiel)

9. Implementation of a Biaxial Constitutive Model in A Finite Element Model of Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Tissue (J. P. Vandegeest, E. S. Di Martino, W. Sun, M. S. Sacks, D. A. Vorp)

10. Blood Cell Tracking Velocimetry for Studying Flow-Induced Blood Damage Dynamics. (ZJ Wu, R Zhao, MV Kameneva, JF Antaki)

11. Leukocyte Activation Following Bovine VAD Implantation. (Trevor Snyder, Kenneth Litwak, Shin’Ichiro Kihara, William Wagner)

12. Red Blood Cell Survival in Assisted Circulation. (Marina V. Kameneva)

The joint meeting of the American Society for Artificial Internal Organs (ASAIO) and the International Society for Artificial Organs (ISAO) was the forum for Dr. Joerg Gerlach to report on the progress being made on the bio-artificial liver. He reported that growing functioning liver tissue in a fist-sized device that works in a way similar to kidney dialysis has kept patients experiencing liver failure alive until donor organs have become available.

"We have treated eight patients in acute liver failure -- some of whom were in a coma -- who were able to be bridged to transplant," said Professor Gerlach.

Gerlach and his colleagues have been able to grow functioning liver tissue from human liver stem cells derived from organs that had been deemed unsuitable for transplant because of damage or underlying disease. Such cells have been shown to proliferate and form liver-like tissues in bioreactors, and persist in culture for many weeks.

About 25 million Americans (one in 10) have liver disease, according to the American Liver Foundation. More than 43,000 people die of liver disease yearly. Annual hospitalization costs exceed $8 billion.

Also at the joint meeting of ASAIO and ISAO research on tissue-engineered materials continues to show promise as a treatment for heart defects, as reported by Dr. William Wagner, associate professor of surgery and bioengineering at Pitt's School of Medicine and a deputy director of the McGowan Institute.

Researchers in Wagner's laboratory have developed a novel, flexible and biodegradable material based on a specialized polymer that is porous to encourage the infiltration and growth of cells. This "cardiac patch" was tested in the repair of defects in adult rats.

After four weeks, the patches and nearby tissue were studied for evidence of inflammation, scarring and proper cell growth. Results show encouraging levels of repair and cell regeneration with minimal signs of inflammation.

"Future application of this material as a cellular scaffold in cardiovascular tissue engineering appears promising," Wagner said.

A new clinical protocol has been identified that has the potential to redefine the standard of care for lung transplant patients. Bucking conventional thought that successful lung transplantation can only be achieved with a three-punch assault on the immune system, the new protocol is a departure from the triple-drug therapy in place at nearly every other transplant center.

Results of the first 20 patients treated using the new approach were presented at the American Transplant Congress, the joint scientific meeting of the American Society of Transplant Surgeons and the American Society of Transplantation. According to Kenneth R. McCurry, M.D., director of lung and heart-lung transplantation at UPMC, 18 of 20 patients are doing well taking lower-than-normal doses of one mainstay anti-rejection drug, tacrolimus, as opposed to the usual three-drug combination that is given twice a day. Two patients died, one of a common complication associated with nonfunction of the organ, and the other from causes that have yet to be determined.

The clinical protocol, developed by Thomas E. Starzl, M.D., Ph.D., and the Pittsburgh team, is based on two principles: pre-treatment of the recipient and the administration of as little immunosuppression as possible after transplantation. Just before transplantation, each patient receives a one-time dose of a drug that depletes T cells - key immune system cells that are known to target the donor organ - and following their transplants, patients are treated with just one anti-rejection drug that is administered at radically reduced levels and given progressively more sparingly over time. In the case of lung recipients, low doses of prednisone are given as well.

Since July 2001, more than 550 transplant patients receiving kidney, liver, pancreas, small intestine or lung transplants at UPMC have been treated under the new protocol. The totals include more than 35 lung transplant recipients.

 

The National Institutes of Health has awarded $4.9 million to researchers Dr. William Wagner and colleagues to make the engineered blood vessels and heart patches created from a biodegradable polymer "scaffold" that is flexible and porous. The scaffold is then studded with adult stem cells, which are precursor cells that can develop into more specialized cells, such as muscle. The co-investigators are: Eric Beckman, Johnny Huard, Robert Kormos, Alan Russell, Michael Sacks, Tetsuro Sakai, Flordeliza Villanueva, David Vorp and, Simon Watkins.

Grant Opportunities…for Individuals Affiliated with McGowan Institute

Questions: Contact Lindsay Rodzwicz, Pre-Award Grants Administrator of the McGowan Institute, at rodzwiczlj@msx.upmc.edu or 412-235-5157.

National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)

Title: Pilot and Feasibility Program in Human Islet Biology

Release Date: July 14, 2003

RFA: DK-03-021

CFDA #: 93.847

URL: http://grants1.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-DK-03-021.html

Letter of Intent Receipt Dates: October 20, 2003 and June 20, 2004

Application Receipt Dates: November 20, 2003 and July 20, 2004

Purpose of this RFA: Much of our understanding of the basic biology and function of the beta cell and the pancreatic islet comes from studies of immortalized cell lines and mouse tissue. However, differences in the general structure and organization of mouse and human islets have been identified, and it remains uncertain if these structural differences reflect functional differences as well. With the variable success in islet transplantation and the inability to use in vitro data to reliably predict islet engraftment and function, it is important to learn all that we can about the structure, organization, and signaling properties of human islets, and to compare and contrast these findings with those reported with rodent models of islet function used to date. The information gained from these studies should increase our ability to develop new reagents for use in in vivo imaging studies of the human islet, to develop fingerprinting assays for use in predicting human islet transplant success, and to further develop cellular therapies for potential use in the treatment of type 1 diabetes.

Research Objectives:

Background

Over the last 5 years the NIDDK has supported a number of initiatives designed to increase our basic knowledge of the development, structure, and function of the pancreatic beta cell, with the ultimate goal of improving treatment of diabetes and its complications.

In 2002, the NIDDK sponsored a workshop "Beta Cell Biology in the 21st Century: Engineering a Pathway to Greater Understanding". An important goal of the workshop was to identify areas of research opportunity in the adult pancreatic beta cell. In 2003, an NIH advisory meeting focused on pancreatic islet transplantation was also convened. Two research priorities that emerged from these meetings were the need to obtain basic information about the general architecture and organization of human islets, and to develop a better functional definition of the characteristics of normal isolated human beta cells and human beta cells in their natural milieu in the islet. To date, much of the information generated has come from cell lines derived from insulin-producing tumors (e.g., mouse and rat insulinomas, in modified neuroendocrine cells (e.g., mouse AtT20 cells, with mouse and rat islets/beta cells, and to a lesser degree from monkey islets. However, much of this important basic information is lacking for human beta cells and human pancreatic islets.

In an effort to increase our understanding of the pancreatic beta cell, NIDDK has supported efforts to gather expression data from both mouse and human beta cells, and to generate cell type-specific cDNA tools for the research community. The Endocrine Pancreas Consortium Database (http://www.cbil.upenn.edu/EPConDB) now contains information on the genes expressed in cells of the pancreas identified by dbEST libraries from pancreatic tissues including 12 mouse and 7 human libraries generated by the Consortium. Microarray chips based on the collection of 13,910 human pancreatic genes are presently being developed, and will be distributed in 2004. The information in this database, along with the cDNA reagents generated, should aid researchers in pursuing novel lines of investigation in the human beta cell.

Other recent initiatives of the NIDDK, the National Center for Research Resources (NCRR), and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International resulted in the establishment of multiple centers throughout the country that isolate and distribute human islets for islet transplantation, clinical studies aimed at improving cell viability and engraftment, and for basic research purposes. To learn more about obtaining islets for basic research purposes the coordinating center for the Islet Cell Resources may be contacted (see http://www.infosci.coh.org/icr/).

NIH/National Center for Research Resources (NCRR)/NHGRI/NIBIB/NIEHS

Title: TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT FOR BIOMEDICAL APPLICATIONS

Release Date: February 27, 2003

PA Number: PAR-03-075

CFDA #s: 93.389 (NCRR), 93.172 (NHGRI), 93.113 (NIEHS), 93.114 (NIEHS), 93.115
(NIEHS), 93.286 (NIBIB) and 93.287 (NIBIB)

URL: http://grants2.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-03-075.html

Expiration Date: November 1, 2003

Application Receipt Dates: June 1, 2003 and October 1, 2003

Purpose of this PA:

This PA replaces PAR-02-091.

The purpose of this program announcement (PA) is to invite innovative applications for (1) the development of new and improved instruments or devices, (2) the development of new methodologies using existing instruments, or (3) the development of software related to instrumentation. Any of these projects should propose tools, methodologies, or software that can be used by a wide range of biomedical or clinical researchers; projects that focus on specific organs or diseases are not responsive to this announcement. Awards made for applications received in response to this announcement will employ the R21 and the R21/R33 mechanisms that are designed to support high-risk applications for which few if any preliminary findings are available. Investigators with substantial preliminary data should seek an R01 grant by submitting an unsolicited application at the standard receipt date or by responding to a particular program announcement.

Questions about the suitability of proposals should be addressed to program staff listed in the "Where to Send Inquiries" section well before submission. Proposals that are focused on a specific organ or disease will be returned without review; however, proposals may use a specific organ or disease as a model system. Investigators may also want to look at the NIBIB (http://www.nibib1.nih.gov/research/investigators.htm)and BECON (http://www.becon.nih.gov/becon_funding.htm)web pages for funding opportunities in bioengineering research or biomedical imaging research.

The proposed research may involve conceptualization, design, fabrication, and/or testing of new instruments or devices. Applications to develop new experimental techniques and protocols using existing instrumentation are also welcome. Applications to develop new software related to instrumentation are encouraged, with the exception of proposals with a primary focus in the area of medical informatics. The overall objective of applications for new instruments, techniques, or software should be the development of more powerful and more precise technology with broad applicability to biomedical research.

 

Office of Research Integrity (ORI)/NINDS/NINR/NIDA/AHRQ

Title: Research on Research Integrity

Release Date: May 30, 2003

RFA: NS-04-001

CFDA #s: 93.279 (NIDA), 93.361 (NINR), 93.853 (NINDS), 93.226 (AHRQ)

URL: http://grants2.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-NS-04-001.html

Letter of Intent Receipt Date: October 14, 2003

Application Receipt Date: November 14, 2003

Purpose of this RFA: The Office of Research Integrity (ORI, DHHS), the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS, NIH), the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR, NIH), the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA, NIH), and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ, DHHS) invite applications to support research on research integrity.

The purpose of the proposed grant program is to foster empirical research on societal, organizational, group, and individual factors that affect, both positively and negatively, integrity in research. Proposals must have clear relevance to biomedical, behavioral and health services research. Applicants are strongly encouraged to take into consideration problems or issues that are relevant to the missions of DHHS, NIH, or specific NIH institutes and programs.

For the purposes of this RFA, "research" is interpreted broadly to include societal, organizational, group, and individual aspects of the enterprise. "Integrity" is understood as "the use of honest and verifiable methods in proposing, performing, and evaluating research in reporting research results with particular attention to adherence to rules, regulations, guidelines, and commonly accepted professional codes or norms."

 

NIH/NCI/NCRR/NEI/NHLBI/NHGRI/NIA/NIAAA/NIAMS/NIBIB/NIDA/NIDCD/ NIDCR/NIEHS/NIGMS/NIMH/NINDS

Title: Exploratory/Developmental (R21) Bioengineering Research Grants (EBRG)

Release Date: January 16, 2003

PA Number: PA-03-058 (See NOT-HL-03-007 for update.) (Note: per NOT-HL-03-007, NHLBI will accept applications for this PA for the June 1, 2003 deadline only. Thereafter, NHLBI will not participate in this PA. This is the only information included in the update.)
CFDA #s: 93.286, 93.287, 93.394, 93.395, 93.396, 93.306, 93.867, 93.172, 93.837, 93.838, 93.839, 93.866, 93.273, 93.855, 93.856, 93.846, 93.864, 93.865, 93.929, 93.279, 93.173, 93.121, 93.847, 93.848, 93.849, 93.113, 93.821, 93.859, 93.862, 93.242, 93.853, 93.361, and 93.879

URL: http://grants2.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-03-058.html

Application Receipt Dates: February 1, June 1 and October 1

Expiration Date: January 01, 2006, unless reissued.

Purpose of this PA: Participating Institutes and Centers (ICs) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) invite applications for Exploratory/Developmental Bioengineering Research Grants (EBRG) to support innovative, high risk/high impact bioengineering research in new areas that are lacking preliminary testing or development. This research can explore approaches and concepts new to a particular substantive area; research and development of new technologies, techniques or methods; or initial research and development of data upon which significant future research may be built.

While this program announcement (PA) is intended to encourage innovation and high impact research, and while minimal preliminary data are expected to be described in the application, applications should clearly indicate the significance of the proposed work and that the proposed research and/or development is scientifically sound, that the qualifications of the investigators are appropriate, and that resources available to the investigators are adequate.

RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

The objective of this PA is to invite applications in exploratory or developmental bioengineering research (EBRG). The EBRG can support: 1) innovative, high-risk research, for which preliminary results have not yet been obtained; 2) exploration of new approaches or concepts to a particular substantive area; 3) research and development of new technologies, techniques or methods; or 4) initial research and development of data upon which significant future research may be built.

The EBRG will support exploratory or developmental bioengineering research that is not appropriate for the R01 grant mechanism. While the core review criteria of 'significance', 'approach', 'innovation', 'investigator', and 'facilities' are retained, the balance between risk, benefit, and the cost of the research is shifted toward accepting a significant risk of failure for a potential great benefit. The EBRG is appropriate for early stages of research or for investigating new ideas where risk is high but potential significance is also high and where the research needed to make a decision about proceeding to a larger scale R01 effort is moderate in terms of time and money. A simple scenario would be a situation in which an investigator studying gene delivery conceives of a completely new, but unproven way to deliver genes. If the justification for the idea is solid, the feasibility of the idea can be effectively evaluated (with the EBRG), and if the potential significance is high then the feasibility could be supported in the absence of extensive preliminary results.

Areas of Bioengineering Research for an EBRG: Bioengineering is defined as follows: Bioengineering integrates physical, chemical, or mathematical sciences and engineering principles for the study of biology, medicine, behavior, or health. It advances fundamental concepts, creates knowledge from the molecular to the organ systems level, and develops innovative biologics, materials, processes, implants, devices, and informatics approaches for the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, for patient rehabilitation, and for improving health. A few examples of bioengineering areas of relevance to the mission of Institutes and Centers (ICs) are identified below. This list is illustrative only; it is not intended to be exclusive.

Examples of Bioengineering Research:

• Development of molecular probes for imaging of structure or function
• Development of new imaging modalities
• Development of organ culture systems
• Development of biomaterials or engineered tissues
• Development or evaluation of prostheses
• Development of medical implants, biomembranes, or sensors
• Development of tools for robotic or non-invasive surgery
• Development of microarrays or other tools for genomics
• Development of combinatorial or other techniques for high-throughput screening
• Development of techniques for bioprocessing
• Research on the biomechanics of tissue injury or repair, and standing or walking
• Research on the interactions between biomaterials and living systems
• Research on drug, gene, or cellular therapeutic delivery systems
• Research on the interaction of magnetic or other fields with biological systems

 

National Cancer Institute (NCI)

Title: Rapid Access to Intervention Development (RAID)

Release Date: June 19, 2003

Notice: NOT-CA-03-032

URL: (http://www.nci.nih.gov/)

The National Cancer Institute is accepting proposals for the following initiative: Rapid Access to Intervention Development (RAID). RAID will make available to academic investigators, on a competitive basis, the preclinical development contract resources of NCI's Developmental Therapeutics Program. RAID is not a grant program. The goal of RAID is the rapid movement of novel molecules and concepts from the laboratory to the clinic for proof-of principle clinical trials, using NCI's contract research mechanisms. RAID will assist investigators who submit successful proposals by providing any (or all) of the preclinical development steps that may be obstacles to clinical translation. These may include, for example, production, bulk supply, GMP manufacturing, formulation and toxicology. Suitable agents for RAID will include small molecules, biologics or vaccines.

There are two receipt dates for requests for RAID support per year, February 1 and August 1. Current requests must be received by August 1, 2003, with all materials submitted directly to the office listed below; do not submit materials to the Center for Scientific Review.

For information on process and procedure of requests for RAID resources, visit the DTP web site http://dtp.nci.nih.gov/. Inquiries are encouraged, the opportunity to clarify issues or questions is welcome. Academic investigators may have collaborations with small-business partners and still qualify for RAID funding. Non-profit organizations other than universities may also submit RAID applications. Please note that a maximum of two distinct requests for support per investigator can be submitted for each receipt date.

Inquiries:

Inquiries regarding this initiative maybe directed to:

RAID
Office of Associate Director
Developmental Therapeutics Program
National Cancer Institute
Executive Plaza North Building, Suite 8022
6130 Executive Blvd.
Rockville, MD 20852
Tel: 301-496-8720; Fax: 301-402-0831
raid@dtpax2.ncifcrf.gov

 

NCI/NCRR/NEI/NHLBI/NHGRI/NIA/NIAID/NIAMSD/NIBIB/NICHHD/NIDA/ NIDCD/NIDCR/NIDDKD/NIEHS/NIGMS/NIMH/NINDS/NINR/NLM

Title: Bioengineering Research Grants

Release Date: October 11, 2001

PA Number: PA-02-011

CFDA #s: 93.394, 93.395, 93.396, 93.306, 93.867, 93.172, 93.837, 93.838, 93.839, 93.866, 93.273, 93.855, 93.856, 93.846, 93.864, 93.865, 93.929, 93.279, 93.173, 93.121, 93.847, 93.848, 93.849, 93.113, 93.821, 93.859, 93.862, 93.242, 93.853, 93.361, and 93.879.

URL: http://grants2.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-02-011.html

Expiration Date: October 1, 2004, unless reissued.

Purpose: Participating Institutes and Centers (ICs) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) invite applications for R01 awards to support Bioengineering Research Grants (BRGs) for basic and applied multi-disciplinary research that addresses important biological or medical research problems. The BRGs support multi-disciplinary research performed in a single laboratory or by a small number of investigators that applies an integrative, systems approach to develop knowledge and/or methods to prevent, detect, diagnose, or treat disease or to understand health and behavior. A BRG application may propose hypothesis-driven, discovery-driven, developmental, or design-directed research at universities, national laboratories, medical schools, large or small businesses, or other public and private entities.

On October 1, 200l, NIH issued a related program announcement (PA) PAR-02-010 for Bioengineering Research Partnerships (BRPs). The BRPs differ from the BRGs in that the BRP research will be performed by multi-disciplinary research teams from several laboratories or organizations and by several investigators.

 

National Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB)

Title: Independent Scientist Development Award (K02): Addendum

Release Date: April 28, 2003

Notice: NOT-EB-03-006

URL: (http://www.nibib.nih.gov/)

This addendum is to add the National Institute for Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) as a participating institute on program announcement PA-00-020, which was released in the NIH guide for grants and contracts on December 2, 1999 at http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-00-020.html.

The mission of the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) is to improve health by supporting and conducting interdisciplinary research and training in biomedical imaging and bioengineering. This is achieved through supporting the development and translation of emerging technologies that enable fundamental biomedical discoveries and facilitate early disease detection and management. More specifically, the NIBIB plans, conducts and supports an integrated and coordinated program of research and research training that can be applied to an individual or to a broad spectrum of biological processes, disorders, and diseases and across organ systems. The research promoted and supported by NIBIB is strongly synergistic with the other NIH Institutes and Centers as well as across government agencies, and has the potential for direct positive medical application. Ultimately, NIBIB seeks to translate research findings from the laboratory into practical solutions that will benefit the public health.

For more information about the different NIBIB programs, see our website at (http://www.nibib.nih.gov)

Salary limits on career awards (such as the K02) are not uniform throughout the NIH and are determined independently by each component of the NIH. Currently, the NIBIB allows a maximum requested salary of $90,000.

In addition, the K02 requires that the candidate must have independent, peer-reviewed research support at the time the K02 award is made.

The following are NIBIB contacts:

Direct inquiries regarding scientific and programmatic issues to:

Meredith D. Temple-O'Connor, Ph.D.
National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering
National Institutes of Health/DHHS
6707 Democracy Blvd., Suite 200, MSC 5477
Bethesda, MD 20892
Telephone: 301-451-4792
Fax: 301-480-4973
Email: templem@mail.nih.gov

Direct inquiries regarding fiscal matters to:

Florence Turska
Grants Management Specialist
Grants Management Branch
National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering
National Institutes of Health/DHHS
6707 Democracy Blvd., Suite 900, MSC 5469
Bethesda, MD 20892
Telephone: (301) 496-9314
FAX: (301) 480-4974
Email: ft7p@nih.gov

 

NIBIB/NHLBI/NIEHS/NCRR/NIDDK/NINDS

Title: SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR SMALL ANIMAL IMAGING (SBIR/STTR)

Release Date: November 18, 2002

PA Number: PA-03-031

CFDA #s: 93.286 & 93.287 (NIBIB), 93.849 (NIDDK), 93.113 (NIEHS), 93.837, 93.838, & 93.839 (NHLBI), 93.853 (NINDS), and 93.371 (NCRR)

URL: http://grants2.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-03-031.html

Expiration Date: November 1, 2005, unless reissued.

Purpose of this PA: The National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB), the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), the National Center for Research Resources (NCRR), the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), and the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) invite grant applications for Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) awards to support research and development of small animal imaging devices and methods that can be applied broadly to research on diverse biological or disease processes. A similar Request for Applications (RFA) for small animal imaging research and development to be supported by individual Research Project Grant (R01) awards can be found at (http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-EB-03-002.html).

The primary focus of this Program Announcement (PA) is research and development related to devices, methods, and imaging agents for the investigation of biological and disease processes in small animals. The integration of systems and methods with complementary imaging and/or spectroscopy modalities is also included as appropriate to provide anatomic, physiologic, metabolic, and molecular-level information in small animal models of disease.

The motivation for this PA is that recent discoveries in genomics and molecular and cell biology have led to the development and wide use of small animal models of human disease. One of the limitations with the use of these models is the need to sacrifice large numbers of animals for ex vivo tissue and molecular analysis. Imaging instrumentation and methods that permit imaging on the scale of small animals offer an opportunity to address this problem by enabling noninvasive investigations of biological processes in vivo. This capability provides the potential for longitudinal studies in the same animal. The coupling of animal models of human disease with advances in imaging technology presents an extraordinary opportunity for biomedical imaging to play an important role in the early detection, diagnosis, and treatment of disease. Several dedicated small animal imaging systems have been developed and a few commercialized, although technological hurdles still exist that limit the realization of the full potential of small animal imaging for biomedical research and drug development. Progress is needed to improve throughput, sensitivity, and spatial and temporal resolution of small animal imaging devices, to provide quantitative information through improved reconstruction methods that incorporate models of physical effects, and to provide improved methods for system validation. System optimization incorporating the design of molecular probes that serve as links to particular biological processes in vivo is also a focus. Further improvements in system design, image processing and analysis software, and data sharing technology, coupled with improvements and innovations in animal handling techniques during imaging, are needed to make small animal imaging technology more accessible to molecular biologists and pharmaceutical scientists desiring to use animal models as tools for biomedical research and drug discovery and development.

 

National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB)

Title: Telehealth Technologies Development (SBIR/STTR)

Release Date: November 18, 2002

PA Number: PA-03-030

CFDA #s: 93.286 and 93.287

URL: http://grants2.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-03-030.html

Expiration Date: January 1, 2004 unless reissued.

Purpose of this PA: The National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) invites grant applications for Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) awards to support design and development of novel telehealth instrumentation or technologies that can be applied to a broad spectrum of disorders and diseases. There is also a parallel Request for Applications (RFA) announcement on this topic RFA-EB-03-005 (http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-EB-03-005.html).

Telehealth is defined by the Federal Communications Commission and by the DHHS Office of Health Promotion and Disease Prevention as "the use of communications technologies to provide and support health care at a distance. Examples include the use of communications to provide patient treatment, often via still images or video, and the exchange and distribution of public health information." Issues amenable to technical solution arise in the diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up with a patient at a distance. The technical feasibility of telehealth applications has been well demonstrated for several specific applications in the past. The current need is to generalize remote access technology to be adaptable to a broad range of telehealth applications, to develop mechanisms in which the technology can be integrated seamlessly into the routine of the provider and the patient, and to develop technology for standardizing and incorporating state-of-the-art security protocols for verifying user identities and preserving patient confidentiality.

This Program Announcement (PA) is intended to support an integrated approach on the part of biomedical engineers or imaging scientists with medical care professionals.

 

National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)

Title: Advances in Polycystic Kidney Disease

Release Date: February 24, 2003

PA Number: PA-03-073

CFDA #: 93.849

URL: http://grants2.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-03-073.html

Expiration Date: November 1, 2006, unless reissued.

Purpose of this PA: The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) through its Division of Kidney, Urologic and Hematologic Diseases (DKUHD) invites experienced and new investigators to submit research grant applications to pursue basic and applied investigations in order to better understand the etiology and pathogenesis of Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD), in both its autosomal dominant and autosomal recessive forms. Such applications may examine the genetic determinants, and cellular and molecular mechanisms, which disrupt normal kidney function; mechanisms of cyst formation and growth; development of experimental model systems; development of markers of disease progression; and the identification of innovative therapeutic interventions and gene targeted strategies to prevent progressive renal insufficiency due to this disorder. The intent of this Program Announcement (PA) is to intensify investigator-initiated research, to attract new investigators to the field, and to increase interdisciplinary research. The ultimate aim is to facilitate PKD-related research studies, which will provide the basis for new therapeutic approaches.

 

National Cancer Institute (NCI)

Title: Flexible System to Advance Innovative Research for Cancer Drug Discovery by Small Businesses (FLAIR) – SBIR/STTR Initiative

Release Date: February 25, 2003

PA Number: PAR-03-074

CFDA #: 93.395

URL: http://grants2.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-03-074.html

Letter of Intent Receipt Dates: June 16, 2003 and October 17, 2003

Application Receipt Dates: July 14, 2003 and November 14, 2003

Expiration Date: November 17, 2003, unless reissued.

This Program Announcement (PAR) replaces PA-01-091, which was published in the NIH Guide on May 7, 2001.

Purpose of this PAR: Discovery and development of new drugs and biologicals for cancer treatment, including gene therapy and drug delivery approaches, normally involve lengthy and costly projects. The multiple components of the overall process including discovery, efficacy testing, development of lead agents, toxicology and pharmacology, Investigational New Drug Application (IND) filing to the Federal Drug Administration (FDA), and clinical evaluation, may require years and several million dollars.

The small business community is an active participant in the cancer therapy discovery effort. Thus it is important that their innovative ideas be supported. The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs were developed to support innovative research with a commercial intent by small businesses. This PAR provides a flexible system within the SBIR and STTR programs to accommodate the special needs of the complex discovery and development process, at least partially, from basic discovery through proof of principle demonstration in clinical trials. It is hoped that this initiative will stimulate drug discovery research efforts in the small business community. It will provide opportunity to small businesses to develop new treatments for rare cancers that are often overlooked because of small market considerations.

 

National Institutes of Health (NIH)

Title: Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Awards for Individual Postdoctoral Fellows (F32)

Release Date: February 6, 2003

PA Number: PA-03-067

CFDA #s: 93.121, 93.172, 93.173, 93.272, 93.278, 93.282, 93.306, 93.361, 93.398, 93.821, 93.837-93.839, 93.846-93.849, 93.853-93.856, 93.859, 93.862-93.867, 93.880, 93.894, and 93.929

URL: http://grants2.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-03-067.html

Expiration Date: February 2006, unless reissued.
This program announcement supersedes PA-00-104, which appeared in the NIH Guide on June 1, 2000.

Purpose: The Congress of the United States enacted the National Research Service Act (NRSA) Program in 1974 to help ensure that a diverse pool of highly trained scientists will be available in adequate numbers and in appropriate research areas to carry out the Nation's biomedical and behavioral research agenda. In 2002, the National Research Service Award Program was renamed the Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award Program as a tribute to Dr. Kirschstein's years of exceptional service to the Nation. Additional details related to this legislative change are available at http://grants.nih.gov/training/news.htm. Under this congressional authority, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) awards individual postdoctoral fellowships (F32) to promising applicants with the potential to become productive, independent investigators in fields related to the mission of the NIH constituent institutes and centers.

 

FIC/NCI/NEI/NHLBI/NIA/NIBIB/NICHD/NIDA/NIEHS/NIGMS/NIMH/NINDS/OBSSR/ODS/ORWH

Title: Global Health Research Initiative Program for New Foreign Investigators

Release Date: May 16, 2003

PA Number: PAR-03-118

CFDA #s: 93.989, 93.279, 93.286, 93.287, 93.853, 93.867

URL: http://grants2.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-03-118.html

Letter of Intent Receipt Dates: July 25, 2003; July 25, 2004; July 25, 2005

Application Receipt Dates: August 25, 2003; August 25, 2004; August 25, 2005

Expiration Date: April 16, 2006, unless reissued.

Purpose of this PA: This Program Announcement (PA) is intended to promote productive re-entry of NIH trained foreign investigators from low-income countries 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 PA are expected to continue independent and productive scientific careers, including expert training and consultation and/or research of biomedical issues within their home institutions.

 

National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS)

Title: NIGMS Exploratory Studies for High Impact/High Risk Research

Release Date: April 8, 2003

PA Number: PA-03-100

CFDA #s: 93.309, 93.821, 93.859, 93.862

URL: http://grants2.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-03-100.html

Expiration Date: July 30, 2006

Purpose of this PA: The purpose of this PA is to re-announce the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) program to support exploratory, high impact/high risk research last issued as PA-97-049 in March of 1997. This program attempts to broaden the base of inquiry in fundamental biomedical research by encouraging applications for research projects that involve an especially high degree of innovation and novelty, such that their potential for highly significant outcomes may be difficult to judge by the standard criteria used in evaluating R01 proposals. Research projects proposed under this program may lack preliminary data establishing feasibility, but should present the opportunity for conceptual or technological breakthroughs.

Research Objectives:

The National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) seeks to encourage fundamental research projects that fall into the following classes: projects to test novel and significant hypotheses for which there is scant precedent or preliminary data and which, if confirmed, would have a substantial impact on current thinking; projects to explore a new experimental organism or system in order to address particularly difficult basic biomedical questions for which the new system would be particularly advantageous; projects to develop innovative techniques or methodologies with wide applicability to the study of basic biomedical problems.

The projects must support the NIGMS mission as detailed in the publication, "Divisions and Grant Award Mechanisms," available from the NIGMS Public Information Office (301/496-7301); additional information can be found on the NIGMS World Wide Web home page at www.nigms.nih.gov. In brief, NIGMS supports research in (a) cell biology and molecular biophysics, including basic studies of the structure and function of cells, cellular components, and the biological macromolecules that make up these components; (b) fundamental mechanisms of inheritance and development that typically utilize non-human model systems; (c) basic studies in pharmacology, physiology, biochemistry, bio-related chemistry and anesthesiology; (d) research in bioinformatics and computational biology, basic studies in biotechnology and metabolic engineering; (e) development and refinement of bioanalytical methods and instrumentation; and (f) trauma and burn injury.

 

National Institute on Aging (NIA) and National, Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI)

Title: The Biological Basis of Hutchinson-Gilford Syndrome (HGS): Relationship to Mutations in the Lamin A/C Gene (LMNA) and to Other Known Laminopathies

Release Date: February 10, 2003

PA Number: PA-03-069

CFDA #s: 93.866 and 93.837

URL: http://grants2.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-03-069.html

Expiration Date: March 1, 2006

Purpose of this PA: This Program Announcement (PA) is a new initiative to support research to understand how mutations in the gene for lamin A/C affect nuclear structure, thus leading to both dysfunction of the nuclear envelope, and depending on the mutation, Hutchinson-Gilford syndrome in humans (Eriksson et al., manuscript in preparation). Lamins A and C are coded by a single developmentally regulated gene designated LMNA; lamin C is a splice variant and lacks the carboxyl terminus present in lamin A. At least 6 other rare human disorders due to lamin A/C mutations (known collectively as laminopathies) besides HGS have been described so far: Emery–Dreifuss muscular dystrophy (Bonne et al., 1999), dilated cardiomyopathy (Fatkin et al., 1999), familial partial lipodystrophy (Shackleton et al., 2000), limb girdle muscular dystrophy (Muchir et al., 2000), Charcot-Marie-Tooth disorder type 2 (De Sandre-Giovanni et al., 2002), and mandibuloacral dysplasia (Novelli et al., 2002). These disorders and their relationship to LMNA mutations have been reviewed recently {Burke and Stewart (2002)}, and Hutchinson (2002) has reviewed the function of lamins in the nuclear envelope.

 

NIDDK/NIAID/NEI/NHLBI/NINDS/NINR/ODS

Title: INNOVATIVE PARTNERSHIPS IN TYPE 1 DIABETES RESEARCH
Release Date: June 26, 2003

RFA: DK-03-015

CFDA #s: 93.847, 93.855, 93.867, 93.837, 93.853 and 93.361.

URL: http://grants2.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-DK-03-015.html

Letter of Intent Receipt Date: October 16, 2003

Application Receipt Date: November 13, 2003
Purpose of this RFA: The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), National Eye Institute (NEI), National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR), and the Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS) invite applications to support collaborations between investigators who focus their research efforts on type 1 diabetes or its complications and researchers from other research areas with expertise relevant to type 1 diabetes research. The purpose of this Request for Applications (RFA) is to attract new research talent to type 1 diabetes research, strengthen the ongoing efforts of type 1 diabetes researchers by providing access to specialized expertise or technologies relevant to their research, and facilitate the formation of interdisciplinary research partnerships to investigate significant biological and medical problems associated with type 1 diabetes. Applications should propose collaborative research partnerships between independent principal investigators, at least one currently pursuing research relevant to type 1 diabetes and one (or more) with expertise relevant to some aspect of type 1 diabetes that is not currently being applied by the investigator to research on this disease. This RFA encourages type 1 diabetes researchers to act as "talent scouts" by identifying and recruiting leading scientists with relevant scientific expertise to the field of type 1 diabetes research. A similar RFA (DK-02-023) was issued in 2002. We anticipate that a future solicitation will provide an opportunity for expanded support for successful collaborations funded through the current RFA.

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