Internal Funding Sources

Psychology (pg.2)

• NEI Small Research Grants for Data Analysis (R03) - NEI
• NEI--Support of Scientific Meetings
• Neurobiological and Behavioral Research on Nicotine and Tobacco Components - NIDA
• New Directions in Pain Research: I - NIDA
• New Scientist Awards
• NIA--Methodology & Measurement in the Behavioral & Social Sciences
• NIA--Social Cognition and Aging
• NIAAA--NIAAA Exploratory/Developmental Grant (R21) Program
• NIAAA--NIAAA Small Grant Program
• NIH National Research Service Award Institutional Research Training Grants - NEI
• NIMH--Career Development Awards: Child Abuse and Neglect Research
• NIMH--Interdisciplinary Behavioral Science Centers for Mental Health Disorders
• NIMH--Rapid Assessment Post-Impact of Disaster (RAPID) Awards
• NIMH--Building Translational Research in Integrative Behavioral Science

Go back to Page 1

Go to Page 3

Sponsor:Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS); National Institutes of Health (NIH); National Eye Institute (NEI)
Deadline: February 16, June 16 and October 16, annually

Objectives:
The purpose of the National Eye Institute (NEI) Small Research Grants for Data Analysis (R03) program is to provide limited support for meritorious research projects that involve secondary data analyses using existing database resources. The NEI supports an extensive portfolio of clinical trials and large-scale epidemiologic research projects wherein numerous data collection activities are required to meet each project's specific aims. The resultant wealth of data generated by these studies often provides unique, cost-effective opportunities to investigate additional research questions or develop new analytical approaches secondary to a project's originally intended purpose. The Small Research Grants for Data Analysis (R03) program is designed to provide investigators with the support necessary to conduct such secondary data analyses utilizing existing database resources.

Applications may be related to, but must be distinct from, the specific aims of the original data collection. This mechanism may be used to develop new statistical methodologies or to test new hypotheses using existing data. Hypothesis-generating research will be considered only if carefully described and justified. Secondary analyses of data derived from NEI-supported studies are of highest programmatic interest, although the grants can be used to support analyses of data derived from other sources.

Eligibility:
Applications may be submitted by domestic and foreign, for-profit and nonprofit organizations, public and private, such as universities, colleges, hospitals, laboratories, units of state and local governments, and eligible agencies of the federal government. The citizenship of the PI is unrestricted.

Sponsor:Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS); National Institutes of Health (NIH); National Eye Institute (NEI)
Deadline: April 12, August 12 and December 1, annually

Objectives:
The mission of the National Eye Institute (NEI) is to conduct and support research, research training, health information dissemination, and other programs with respect to blinding eye diseases, visual disorders, the mechanisms of visual function, the preservation of sight, and the special health problems and needs of individuals who are partially-sighted or blind. Specific areas of interest for NEI include retinal diseases; corneal diseases; lenses and cataracts; glaucoma; strabismus; amblyopia; and visual processing; as well as low vision and its rehabilitation.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) recognizes the value of supporting scientific meetings, conferences, and workshops that are relevant to its scientific mission and to public health. Support of these meetings is contingent on the interests and priorities of the individual institutes and centers (I/C) as well as the investment that each I/C determines is appropriate. Each I/C has the flexibility to support conferences according to its specific needs. The NEI supports investigator-initiated scientific meetings using the conference cooperative agreement mechanism (U13), in most instances, rather than the traditional conference grant mechanism.

Eligibility:
The NEI will consider applications submitted by U.S. institutions, including scientific or professional societies, eligible to receive grants from Public Health Service agencies. In the case of an international conference, the U.S. representative organization of an established international scientific or professional society is the eligible applicant. The NEI will not accept applications from foreign institutions.

Sponsor:Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS); National Institutes of Health (NIH); National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
Deadline: February 1, June 1 and October 1, annually

Objectives:
Nicotine is one of thousands of chemicals in tobacco products, but it is considered the primary compound that affects brain function. Reports from the U.S. Surgeon General, the American Psychiatric Association, and the World Health Organization, among others, have supported four major conclusions:

1. Cigarettes and other forms of tobacco are addictive.
2. Half of the people who continue to use cigarettes will die from diseases related to smoking.
3. Nicotine is the drug in tobacco that causes addiction.
4. Physiological and behavioral processes that determine tobacco addiction are similar to those that determine addiction to heroin and cocaine.

A critical goal of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) is to increase our knowledge of the behavioral and neural mechanisms involved in addictive processes. The purpose of this program announcement (PA) is to expand the basic science knowledge base on the neurobiological and behavioral effects of nicotine and associated tobacco chemicals, as part of continuing efforts to explain and prevent their use and to develop effective treatments for nicotine addiction. This PA encourages research on any aspect of the effects of nicotine and other tobacco components, using neurobiological, behavioral, or other methods in humans, animals, or in vitro systems, that seeks to explain nicotine use, addiction, or other effects in humans.

This PA solicits research in two general categories: neurobiology, and behavioral sciences. Neurobiological, cognitive, behavioral, and social processes, methods, and models are all relevant to this announcement. For both neurobiological and behavioral studies, approaches are encouraged that consider differences in gender, race, ethnicity, and age or developmental stage.

Examples of neurobiological research related to tobacco use or nicotine dependence are studies designed to:

• investigate the role of the cholinergic system in abstinence symptoms
• determine if smoking or nicotine use is associated with or reduces the neurobiological markers associated with stress
• determine the neurobiological mechanism underlying nicotine's stimulant effects, or investigate whether there is a relationship between the stimulant and putative stress-reducing effects of nicotine
• examine the relative roles of the autonomic nervous system versus the central nervous system in tobacco dependence or in cigarette craving
• determine whether the environmental cues that contribute to the desire for a cigarette are mediated by the same central circuits that are activated by other drugs of abuse
• investigate mechanisms, such as allelic differences in nicotine receptors or brain metabolic enzymes, that could account for individual differences in vulnerability or resistance to developing dependence to nicotine
• develop better ligands to monitor nicotine receptors in the central nervous system for imaging studies in humans and animals.

Additional research topics on the cognitive and behavioral aspects of smoking and nicotine dependence are studies that seek to:

• develop new animal models that correlate well with the human pattern of tobacco use, and use such models to investigate the acquisition of nicotine self-administration, its escalation, and relapse following abstinence
• determine the role of stimuli paired with smoking (including sensory stimuli from the act of smoking) in the rewarding effects of cigarettes, the control of smoking behavior, and in the relapse to tobacco use
• examine whether non-nicotine constituents in tobacco or tobacco smoke contribute to addiction
• develop and examine new pharmacotherapies or environmental manipulations that may prove useful in reducing or preventing smoking behavior or other modes of nicotine self-administration
• determine the factors that produce vulnerability to initiate smoking and tobacco use or to become addicted to nicotine, and also the factors that protect an individual against tobacco use or addiction, particularly as a function of age or developmental stage
• determine the role of exposure to other stimulants (e.g., methylphenidate, caffeine) in the propensity to use nicotine
• determine nicotine's effect on responses to other abused drugs, including the propensity to self-administer
• determine the role of mental or other neurological disorders, such as depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, Parkinson's, or Alzheimer's disease, in the acquisition of nicotine addiction, maintenance, withdrawal, and relapse to tobacco use
• determine the effects of prenatal exposure to nicotine, alone and in combination with other abused drugs; including, for example, assessment of later vulnerability to nicotine and other drug abuse, stress, or psychiatric disorders
• examine the effects of nicotine exposure in infancy or childhood through second-hand smoke
• conduct basic sciences studies aimed at understanding why women exhibit poorer responses to nicotine replacement therapies and have higher relapse rates than men.
  

Inquiries regarding programmatic issues on cognitive or behavioral studies should be directed to Jaylan Turkkan, Ph.D., Division of Neuroscience and Behavioral Research.

Eligibility:
Applications may be submitted by domestic and foreign, for-profit and nonprofit organizations, public and private, such as universities, colleges, hospitals, laboratories, units of state and local governments, and eligible agencies of the federal government. The citizenship of the PI is unrestricted.

Sponsor:Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS); National Institutes of Health (NIH); National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
Deadline: February 1, June 1, and October 1, annually

OBjectives:
The research programs of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) are devoted to increasing the understanding of the causes and consequences of drug abuse in order to reduce or eliminate drug use, abuse, and sequelae. Research focuses on the fundamental biological mechanisms of the actions of abused drugs; behavioral or pharmacological treatment and health services delivery strategies; community-based epidemiologic studies; epidemiology and prevention of HIV among drug abusers; and biochemical strategies for identifying successful drug abuse treatment agents.

Priority areas include the neuroscience and behavioral science of addiction; medications development; behavioral and psychosocial treatment; HIV infection and AIDS prevention; health services research; women, children, and drug abuse; and minority populations.

The NIDA encourages investigator-initiated research project grant applications to study mechanisms underlying analgesic response and pain to advance the development of novel pain interventions, treatments, and management strategies. The purpose of this New Directions in Pain Research: I program announcement (PA) is to inform the scientific community of broad, shared interests in pain research encompassing the various components of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and to stimulate and foster a wide range of basic, translational, and patient-oriented clinical studies on pain.

Applications are particularly encouraged to study pain throughout the lifespan from the perspectives of molecular genetics, transcriptional controls, signal transduction, including cellular/molecular mechanisms, innovative imaging technologies, plasticity, and from hormonal or gender influences. The pain experience needs to be examined at all levels of analysis from the gene, molecule, cell, tissue, and organ, to the individual, family, and community, with the ultimate goal of developing new insights into pain intervention, treatment, and management.

The following examples are provided as topics falling within the scope of this PA. These examples are presented illustratively, are not exclusive, and are not presented in any particular priority order:

• investigation of the genetic contribution of differences in pain response, perception, and modulation, using tools such as quantitative trait locus analysis for identifying genes that contribute to complex traits and diseases, such as pain
• development of new model systems of the molecular genetics of pain transmission, modulation, and perception, that would include individual and multiple gene mapping, transgenic animal models, and studies of individual and multiple gene expression
• exploration of the neuromolecular basis of pain, by investigating targets in signal transduction pathways, e.g., calcium, potassium, or sodium ion channels, that may be the most effective points for drug development and intervention
• exploration of the role of second messenger systems, including G protein-coupled receptors and protein kinases, in pain transmission and modulation; expansion of research on neuroimaging of pain, including analytical techniques for the study of structural and functional correlates of pain perception, particularly for diagnostic purposes
• research on neuroplastic processes as these relate to the development and persistence of chronic pain conditions
• mechanisms underlying differences in pain and analgesic response due to hormonal or gender-related factors.

Eligibility:
Applications may be submitted by foreign and domestic, for-profit and nonprofit organizations, public and private, such as universities, colleges, hospitals, laboratories, units of state and local governments, and eligible agencies of the federal government. The citizenship of the PI is unrestricted.

Sponsor:Alcoholic Beverage Medical Research Foundation (ABMRF)
Deadline:February 1, and September 1 annually

Objectives:
The Alcoholic Beverage Medical Research Foundation supports innovative research on the use, and prevention of misuse, of alcoholic beverages. Funding is provided for interdisciplinary research in the biological, medical, epidemiological, behavioral, and social sciences in this field. The mission of the foundation is to support innovative research on the use of alcohol by awarding grants to acquire new knowledge in order to prevent alcohol-related problems for the benefit of society. New Scientist Awards provide support for the career development of highly promising new scientists just entering the field of alcohol research. Each grant provides funds to support an original research project conducted by the awardee during the transition between completion of training and achievement of independent research status.

Eligibility:
Eligible applicants are researchers at academic and scientific institutions in the United States and Canada. The investigator should have completed formal training, and not yet have achieved independent research status. Applications may be submitted by public or private nonprofit organizations such as universities, colleges, hospitals, research institutes and organizations, governmental research agencies, and laboratories. The proposed principal investigator of the research project must be a faculty or staff member of the applicant institution. This person must be qualified to direct the research and is responsible for its conduct. Persons on training status, such as undergraduate, graduate and medical students, postdoctoral fellows, interns, and residents, are not eligible to serve as principal investigators, unless they will be in independent faculty positions, or the equivalent, at the start of the grant period.

Sponsor:National Institute on Aging
Deadline(s): February 5, June 5 and October 5, annually

Objectives:
The sponsor (NIA), with the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), the National Cancer Institute (NCI), the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), the National Institute of Dental Research (NIDR), the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR), the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), the Office of Behavioral and Social Science Research (OBSSR), and the Office of Alternative Medicine (OAM) invite qualified researchers to submit research grant applications on methodology and measurement in the behavioral and social sciences. Methodology and measurement issues in the behavioral and social sciences include the processes that underlie self reports, research design, data collection techniques, measurement, data analysis techniques, and ethical issues in the above topics.

The goal of this program announcement is to encourage research that will improve the quality and scientific power of data collected in the behavioral and social sciences, relevant to the missions of the NIH Institutes and Centers. Research that addresses methodology and measurement issues in diverse populations, issues in studying sensitive behaviors, and issues in developing multidisciplinary and multimethod approaches to behavioral and social science research is particularly encouraged.

This program announcement invites research to improve the quality and scientific power of behavioral and social science data relevant to the missions of the sponsoring institutes. These missions encompass a broad range of scientific questions related to the health and well-being of the nation's people. The NIA supports behavioral and social research on the aging processes and on the diseases and other special problems and needs of older people. The NIAAA supports basic and applied research on the effects of alcohol on biobehavioral processes; research on the processes leading to pathological drinking; and research to develop improved diagnosis, prevention and treatment.

• The NCI supports social and behavioral research related to the distribution, etiology, natural history, and prevention of human cancer.
• The NICHD supports behavioral and social research related to reproduction and population change, perinatal and infant health, nutrition, child development and behavior, mental retardation and developmental disabilities, Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS), and medical rehabilitation.
• The NIDR supports behavioral and social research related to oral health promotion and the prevention, etiology, diagnosis, and treatment of oral diseases or systematic diseases influence by oral health.
• The NIDA supports research related to the epidemiology, etiology, assessment, treatment, and prevention of drug abuse, as well as the role of drug abuse in AIDS.
• The NIMH supports research on mental illness and mental health, including studies of the brain, behavior, and mental health services.
• The NINR supports clinical and basic research to establish a scientific basis for the care of individuals across the life span, from management of patients during illness and recovery to the reduction of risks for disease and disability and the promotion of healthy lifestyles.
• The NHLBI supports behavioral and social research relating to the causes, prevention, diagnosis and treatment of heart, blood vessel, lung, and blood diseases and blood resources.
• The OBSSR provides leadership and direction in increasing the scope and support of research on the role of human behavior and social processes in the promotion of health and prevention of disease.
• The OAM supports behavioral and social science research on topics (e.g., mind-body medicine) that fall outside of mainstream medicine. This program announcement encourages applications in six general areas of methodology and measurement research.

These areas, discussed in detail below, include the processes that underlie self reports, research design, data collection techniques, measurement, data analysis techniques, and related ethical issues. Within the broad spectrum of research defined by these areas, applicants are particularly encouraged (but are not required) to consider studies that address one or more of the following key issues: methodology and measurement issues in research relating to diverse populations, for example, populations that are distinctive by virtue of age, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, culture, literacy, or disability; issues in studying sensitive behaviors, such as drug use, sexual behavior, abortion, abuse and violence, and other covert or illegal behaviors; development of multidisciplinary and multimethod approaches to behavioral and social science research.

Even where explicitly multidisciplinary and multimethod approaches are not considered, potential applicants are encouraged to explore the ideas and methods developed in social science and behavioral fields other than their own. Consulting relevant literature and collaborating with colleagues from other disciplines may provide important opportunities for cross-fertilization in developing improved methodology and measurement. Areas of interest are:

PROCESSES UNDERLYING SELF-REPORTS--self-reports are a primary source of information in a wide range of clinical and research settings. Topics for new research on the processes underlying self reports include, but are not limited to:

• basic issues in cognition, including perception, attention, memory, reasoning, decision-making, and communication, with particular focus on those processes that contribute significantly to self-report behavior (e.g., temporal perception and memory
• comprehension, and decision processes that underlie survey responses)
• basic issues in the sensory, motor, social, cultural, and other psychological processes that underlie self report
• development of the processes that underlie self-reports across the lifespan
• influences of arousal and affective states upon self-reports
• gender- and culture-related differences upon self-reports
• effects of physical and social context on self-report validity and reliability
• effects of sensory, motor, cognitive, and psychiatric limitations or disorders upon the processes that underlie self-reports, including effects of alcohol and drugs
• construction of survey and interview instruments, including issues of format, medium, and wording of instructions and items.

RESEARCH DESIGN--examples of questions on research design are, but are not limited to the following:

• methodological research to improve the design of survey research
• conceptual design issues in studying culture and self-identification of race-ethnicity
• designs to improve causal inference from non-experimental research; research to improve the design of research studies, including multi-wave longitudinal designs
• methods for improving the design of community-based intervention trials (e.g., health promotion/disease prevention programs)
• conceptual and methodological issues in designing studies that use different sources of information; for example, studies comparing self and proxy reports (from surrogates, family or friends -- and professional providers of care), validation studies using biological markers and record sources, studies comparing report data with data obtained by observing behavior, for example, patient ratings of pain versus family ratings of patient pain; client report of symptoms versus findings from clinical examination.

MEASUREMENT ISSUES--developing and validating research instruments and questions are vitally important for collecting accurate information, and have an obvious impact on data validity and reliability. Continued improvement and innovation in validating data collection instruments is important for all types of research settings, ranging from the clinical interview to the observational study and the survey interview. Examples of measurement issues include, but are not limited to the following: development and refinement of measures used in behavioral and social science research (topics include, but are not limited to:

• preferences for outcomes (health states), outcomes worse than death, perceptions of risks and benefits of treatments, perceptions of risks of diseases, desired role in medical decision-making, impact of disease on families (caregiver burden) and on patients, self-efficacy/fatalism about health outcomes (self care and care-seeking behaviors are related to this belief structure, dental pain and anxiety about dental treatment), social support, socioeconomic status, and stress, and techniques for measuring social context or environment)
• research to develop self ratings of quality of life for clinical trials, to include the determination of the cognitive and other factors that underlie self reports of subjective well-being and quality of life
• measurement issues in communication between health practitioners and patients/clients to include diagnostic interviews, to include the impact of time per patient on communicative strategies and effectiveness, and techniques that may improve the conduct of diagnostic interviews
• age, gender, and cultural differences in instrument design, and instrument design issues in studying age, gender and culture, including methods of studying culture and self identification of race/ethnicity
• calibration of instruments and methods with different population subgroups
• psychometric studies of data collection instruments
• assessment techniques of individuals and organizations, including methods such as q-sorts
• measurement issues in collecting data on organizational processes
• studies of what levels of precision are required in behavioral and social research
• measurement issues in using technology such as computer assisted data collection.

DATA COLLECTION TECHNIQUES--continued improvement and innovation in data collection methodologies is important for all types of research settings, ranging from the clinical interview to the observational study and the survey interview. In addition, more research is needed to understand how methodologies work in diverse populations, and how they can be modified to address the specific needs of populations. Potential topics for research include, but are not limited to:

• methodologies to improve data collection in surveys, ethnographic and other qualitative studies, and multi-method studies (this may include new approaches to instrument design and manipulation of mode, length, setting, and interpersonal factors in data collection exchanges), new methodologies for qualitative research, and techniques that facilitate integration of qualitative and quantitative measurement
• methodologies to reduce nonresponse bias in research studies, including techniques to improve the coverage of relevant populations in household surveys, to increase the voluntary participation of eligible subjects, and to reduce attrition in longitudinal studies and clinical trials
• techniques for collecting contextual data (e.g,. neighborhood composition, peer group characteristics) and for operationalizing the boundaries of particular social contexts
• innovative technologies for data collection and their impact on response quality in a variety of populations and substantive areas
• data collection techniques that address the needs of special populations (e.g., physically or mentally disabled, nonliterate populations, the homeless and incarcerated, children and the elderly) and that study the impact of methodologies on data quality and completeness across diverse populations.

ANALYTIC METHODS--the goal of new and improved analytic methods is to help make estimation, hypothesis testing, and causal modeling based on scientific data as sound as possible. Challenges include developing techniques that distinguish underlying regularities from the noise created by variability and imprecise measurement; developing causal inferences from observational data; improving both the internal validity and external validity (generalizability) of studies; and developing appropriate analytic techniques for use with new kinds of data and new approaches to behavioral and social science research.

Examples of areas of interest include, but are not limited to:

• research to improve the analysis of longitudinal studies (in particular, the analysis of correlated data and modeling of different sources of error and of missing data)
• methods for improving the analysis of community-based intervention trials (e.g., health promotion/disease prevention programs)
• methodological research to improve the analysis of complex survey data, including the statistical modeling of nonresponse and other survey errors
• analytic issues in and innovative techniques for improving causal inference from non-experimental research
• multidimensional scaling approaches
• analytic methods for integrating evidence from qualitative and quantitative research, including research to examine and account for the complex relationships among multiple sources of information on a single construct, such as self and proxy reports, clinical examinations and testing, laboratory tests, and other record sources, for example, patient ratings of pain versus family ratings of patient pain, and client report of symptoms versus findings from clinical examination
• analytic methods that model social structures and social processes, such as social networks, social influence, diffusion, and contextual effects
• methods to model and adjust for biases in choice-based samples (e.g., clinic patients, program participants) in drawing inferences about larger populations
• methods for handling missing data.

RESEARCH ETHICS IN METHODOLOGY AND MEASUREMENT--laboratory and community-based researchers face an array of ethical dilemmas when asking volunteers to report about their behavior or experiences, especially when the behaviors are illegal or stigmatized. Applications may explore the perspective not only of researchers, but also the perspective of research volunteers, survey respondents, and their families. Potential legal issues such as mandatory reporting to criminal justice authorities when behaviors such as child abuse are disclosed may also be a legitimate area of investigation.

Examples of areas of interest include, but are not limited to: ethical issues in self report such as how to respond when suicidal ideation is or the respondent becomes upset during an interview; ethical issues in the use of record sources as data or data validation; methodological techniques for protecting confidentiality of data shared for secondary analysis; and issues concerning how to obtain and maintain genuinely informed consent from research participants throughout the course of a study.

Eligibility:
Eligible applicants are foreign and domestic for-profit and non-profit organizations, public and private, such as universities, colleges, hospitals, laboratories, units of state and local governments, and eligible agencies of the federal government. The mechanism of support will be the investigator-initiated research project grant. Applications are to be submitted on the grant application form PHS 398 (rev. 4/98). Application kits are available at most institutional offices of sponsored research and from the Division of Extramural Outreach and Information Resources, National Institutes of Health, 6701 Rockledge Drive, MSC 7910, Bethesda, MD 20892-7910, telephone (301) 435-0714, Email: GrantsInfo@nih.gov. Applications are also available on the World Wide Web at: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/forms.htm. Direct inquiries regarding programmatic issues to the above contact.

Sponsor:National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism
Deadline(s): February 1, June 1, and October 1, annually
Objectives:

The sponsor provides support for Exploratory/Developmental Grants (R21) that fall within its research interests. This includes basic and applied research on biochemical, physiological, genetic, and behavioral mechanisms leading to pathological drinking behavior; mechanisms of alcohol-induced organ damage, including fetal injury; and clinical, behavioral, and epidemiological approaches to more effective diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of alcoholism, alcohol abuse and alcohol-related problems. Examples of studies suitable for the exploratory/developmental mechanism include, but are not limited to:

• Studies on the etiology of alcoholism
• Validation of alcohol-related behavioral phenotypes suitable for genetic analysis
• Development of new models to study alcohol preferences, reinforcement, tolerance and craving at different life stages
• Development of improved methods, either biological or behavioral, for identifying individuals at risk for alcohol abuse/alcoholism or its medical consequences
• Development of prototypic therapeutic agents to reduce alcohol consumption, reverse craving, reduce acute intoxication, and prevent withdrawal-related brain damage
• Development of prototypic therapeutic agents to prevent or treat the medical consequences of alcohol abuse, including effects on the developing fetus
• Pilot clinical trials to evaluate the potential efficacy of new pharmacological or behavioral approaches to treatment or prevention of alcohol-related problems
• Studies to test putative markers of alcohol consumption or markers of fetal alcohol exposure
• Evaluation of new approaches to study mechanisms of organ and tissue injury, such as liver, pancreas, heart, brain, and fetus
• Development, modification, or enhancement of instruments, techniques, or analytic strategies to assist in alcoholism treatment or epidemiologic or prevention studies
• Planning grants or pilot testing for clinical trials, prevention programs, genetic studies, or epidemiological studies
• Secondary analyses of large data sets to test new hypotheses
  

The objective of the exploratory/developmental mechanism (R21) is to encourage applications from individuals who are interested in testing innovative or conceptually creative ideas that are scientifically sound and may advance understanding of alcohol abuse and alcoholism. Another objective is to encourage necessary initial development to provide a basis for important future research.

Sponsor:National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism
Deadline(s): February 1, June 1 and October 1, annually

Objectives:
The sponsor provides support for applications relating to research on alcohol-related problems. These awards are intended to provide support for pilot/feasibility projects, testing of new techniques, secondary analysis of existing data, or development of innovative or high-risk projects that could provide a basis for submission of a regular research project grant application. An NIAAA Small Grant may also be used as a pilot or planning grant for the design and coordination of full-scale clinical trials. The program is also intended to stimulate and facilitate the entry of less experienced investigators and established investigators in other fields into alcohol-related research and shorten the time for the application award process. Examples of studies suitable for the small grant mechanism include, but are not limited to:

• Studies on the etiology of alcoholism
• Validation of alcohol-related behavioral phenotypes suitable for genetic analysis
• Development of new models to study alcohol preferences, reinforcement, tolerance and craving at different life stages
• Development of improved methods, either biological or behavioral, for identifying individuals at risk for alcohol abuse/alcoholism or its medical consequences
• Development of prototypic therapeutic agents to reduce alcohol consumption, reverse craving, reduce acute intoxication, and prevent withdrawal-related brain damage
• Development of prototypic therapeutic agents to prevent or treat the medical consequences of alcohol abuse, including effects on the developing fetus
• Pilot clinical trials to evaluate the potential efficacy of new pharmacological or behavioral approaches to treatment or prevention of alcohol-related problems
• Studies to test putative markers of alcohol consumption or markers of fetal alcohol exposure
• Evaluation of new approaches to study mechanisms of organ and tissue injury, such as liver, pancreas, heart, brain, and fetus
• Development, modification, or enhancement of instruments, techniques, or analytic strategies to assist in alcoholism treatment or prevention studies
• Planning grants or pilot testing for planned large, complex clinical trials, prevention programs, genetic studies, or epidemiological studies
• Secondary analyses of large data sets to test new hypotheses

Sponsor:National Institute on Drug Abuse
Deadline(s): February 1, June 1 and October 1, annually

Objectives:
The sponsor provides support for research on behavioral and social adverse consequences of drug use and/or abuse. This announcement encourages local, national, and international research on community/contextual and individual level risk and protective factors and processes that influence drug use and/or abuse and their consequences. The major goal is to enhance the understanding of the relationships between drug use and/or abuse and their associated adverse behavioral and social consequences. Behavioral consequences of interest include, but are not limited to, educational and occupational problems (illiteracy, school dropout, unemployment, job absenteeism and turnover), individual criminal activities (violence, vandalism, homicides, sexual abuse, delinquency), and other comorbid conditions (mental illness, injuries/accidents, overdoses).

Social consequences of drug use include poverty, dysfunctional neighborhoods, homelessness, gang activities, drug trafficking and distribution systems, and family disruption and dislocation (family violence, divorce). Because substance use and abuse among adolescents adversely affects the developmental course of large numbers of society's youth, studies of adolescents are of special interest. The Nation's ethnic and racial minority populations and out-of-treatment subgroups in both rural and urban communities disproportionately suffer adverse consequences of drug use and abuse, so this announcement encourages research focusing on these groups. In addition, inasmuch as research is beginning to show that the social and behavioral consequences of drug abuse are often different for males and females, investigators are urged to take a gender perspective in their research design.

This program is intended to stimulate research from many diverse disciplines (including, but not limited to, epidemiology, prevention, anthropology, sociology, psychology, public health). Moreover, multi- disciplinary and interdisciplinary research approaches to advance the scientific knowledge base of drug use and abuse and its co-occurring behavioral and social consequences are encouraged.

This research initiative also encourages exploring the role of individual level characteristics along with community factors (i.e., macro level) in predisposing or protecting individuals from adverse drug-related consequences. Social contexts of interest include family relationships, intimate partner and marital relationships, social networks, peers, schools, workplace settings, and other social institutions. Research is needed to link structural and environmental characteristics with individual level characteristics and specific behavioral outcomes to better understand both risk and resiliency.

Additionally, studies that strengthen the link between epidemiology and prevention of drug-related consequences are strongly encouraged. Researchers are thus invited to test new methods or new combinations of methods that address the need for a better understanding of the epidemiology of these problems and how epidemiology may guide prevention. Applications are encouraged that focus on improving means for efficient monitoring of the epidemiology of drug-related consequences and the formulation and evaluation of efficient prevention interventions. Epidemiologic studies of diverse populations are needed to determine the underlying factors and stability of the connections between drug use and drug abuse and their related behavioral and social consequences.

For example, although various forms of epidemiologic research on consequences of drug use have been undertaken in the past, typical efforts rarely attempted to integrate quantitative and qualitative approaches to maximize both their unique contributions and their complementary/combined or synergistic potential. This program encourages collaborative efforts among these two different research orientations along with other research specialties to help guide a multidisciplinary approach to drug-related consequences prevention planning (i.e., development, implementation, and evaluation).

The sponsor will support the following kinds of studies:

• national, and local-level community epidemiology studies to document and monitor trends in the nature, extent, and patterns of co-occurring drug use and/or abuse (including polydrug use) and drug-related behavioral and social consequences in general and in special populations
• studies of the common and unique risk/protective antecedents (at individual and contextual level) and correlates of co-occurring and sequential behavioral and social consequences
• studies that attempt to specify and test causal pathways of drug use and/or abuse and drug-related consequences, as well as their temporal stability and generalizability across subpopulation groups and life stage (developmental stage/transitions)
• evaluation studies of theoretically-based prevention interventions to reduce/prevent adverse drug-related consequences
• studies that perform secondary analysis of current data sets pertaining to drug use and/or abuse, crime, drug trafficking/distribution systems, and other drug related consequences (including cost-of-illness studies)
• methodological studies to improve the measurement, data collection, and analysis of drug use and drug abuse and their complex array of co- occurring behavioral and social consequences
• research on drug-related consequences among ethnic/racial minority groups and other underserved populations (underserved populations include, but are not limited to, school dropouts, gang members, children of drug users, the homeless, migrant groups, recent immigrant groups, the unemployed or working poor, the elderly, veterans, incarcerated adults and juveniles, the mentally ill, or other vulnerable groups).

Examples of research topics include:

• examining the strength and consistency of the relationships, the dynamic sequencing of life events, and the persistence of connections between drug use and/or abuse and dysfunctional behavior, e.g., deviance, (such efforts might explore whether certain phenomena have only episodic or transitory connections to drug use and/or abuse)
• exploring the connections among such factors as unemployment and poverty, and the development of drug abuse careers within families and communities
• gang membership, juvenile drug use and abuse, and the escalation of juvenile criminal activities
• effects of incarceration of large numbers of community members (for drug-related offenses) on the social structure of the community
• interrelationship between drug use and/or abuse and deviant-prone lifestyle, particularly in adolescents and young adults
• relationship between specific patterns of drug use and/or abuse and associated consequences
• effects of changes in trafficking patterns and drug distribution networks on individual drug use and/or abuse within communities
• adapt/integrate theoretically sound drug abuse prevention approaches with interventions directed at drug-related consequences (e.g., criminal activities, educational and occupational achievement)
• identification of situational/contextual factors that contribute to varying patterns of local drug use and/or abuse
• identification of potential adverse behavioral consequences associated with abuse of prescription and over-the-counter medications and dietary supplements
• role of drug use and/or abuse in aggressive and violent behavior including sexual assault, victimization, elder abuse, school and workplace violence
• influence of laws and law enforcement and the criminal justice system on decision-making and behavior change
• socioenvironmental influences that explore the complex inter-relationships among economic, cultural, social, and environmental influences on drug use and/or abuse and their consequences
• interventions that utilize community resources and organizations (e.g., workplace, churches, etc.).

The sponsor is also interested in expanding its research portfolio on all aspects related to the use, abuse, short- and long-term effects of "club drugs." The term, "club drugs" refers to substances being used by young adults at all-night dance parties such as "raves" or "trances," at dance clubs and bars. Although not a participant in the program announcement, the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) is interested in research on risk for, and prevention of mental disorders co-morbid with other disorders, as well as research on the functional consequences of co-occurring disorders.

Eligibility:
Eligible applicants are domestic and/or foreign for-profit and nonprofit organizations, public and private, such as universities, colleges, hospitals, and laboratories, units of state and local governments, and eligible agencies of the federal government. The mechanisms of support include: project grants, Small Grants, and Exploratory Grants. Because the nature and scope of the research proposed may vary, it is anticipated that the size of an award will vary also. Modular Grant applications will request direct costs in $25,000 modules, up to a total direct cost request of $250,000 per year.

Applications are to be submitted on the grant application form PHS 398. Application kits are available at most institutional offices of sponsored research and may be obtained from the Division of Extramural Outreach and Information Resources, National Institutes of Health, 6701 Rockledge Drive, MSC 7910, Bethesda MD 20892-7910, telephone: 301-435-0714, E-mail: GrantsInfo@nih.gov; and from the program official. Specific application instructions have been modified to reflect "MODULAR GRANT" and "JUST-IN-TIME" streamlining efforts being examined by the NIH. Complete and detailed instructions and information on Modular Grant applications can be found at http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/modular/modular.htm. (Applications that request more than $250,000 direct costs in any year must follow the traditional PHS 398 application instructions). Direct inquires regarding programmatic issues to the above contact.

Sponsors:Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS); National Institutes of Health (NIH); National Eye Institute (NEI)
Deadline: January 10, May 10, and September 10 annually

Objectives:
The purpose of the NRSA research training program is to help ensure that a diverse and highly trained workforce is available to assume leadership roles related to the Nation’s biomedical and behavioral research agenda.  The NRSA program has been the primary means of supporting predoctoral and postdoctoral research training programs since enactment of the NRSA legislation in 1974.  More information about NRSA programs may be found at http://grants.nih.gov/training/nrsa.htm.

Training activities can be in basic biomedical or clinical sciences, in behavioral or social sciences, in health services research, or in any other discipline relevant to the NIH mission.  Applicants should refer to Section VII for IC-specific program areas of research training interest and contact information.

Research training programs are designed to allow the Training Program Director/Principal Investigator (PD/PI) to select the trainees and develop a curriculum of study and research experiences necessary to provide high quality research training.  The grant offsets the cost of stipends, tuition and fees, and training related expenses including health insurance for the appointed trainees in accordance with the approved NIH support levels (see Section II, “Allowable Costs”).

Special Program Objectives and Considerations: Within the framework of the NRSA program’s longstanding commitment to excellence and projected need for investigators in particular areas of research, attention must be given to recruiting trainees from racial or ethnic groups underrepresented in the biomedical, behavioral and clinical sciences, individuals with disabilities, and individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds.  (See Section IV)

Another consideration relates to the duration of training and the transition of trainees to individual support mechanisms.  The Training PD/PI should limit appointments to individuals who are committed to a career in research and who plan to remain on the training grant or in a non-NRSA research experience for a cumulative minimum of 2 years (however, note that some ICs have different program guidelines).  The PD/PI should also encourage and provide training in the skills necessary for trainees to apply for subsequent support through individual fellowship, mentored career development award (“K”) programs, or independent research project grants.

Past studies have shown that health professional trainees, who train in combined programs with postdoctoral researchers with an intensive research background, are more likely to apply for and receive research grant support.  Programs located in clinical departments that focus on research training for individuals with the M.D. or other health-professional degrees should consider developing ties to basic science departments or modifying their program to include individuals with research doctorates when this approach is consistent with the goals of the program.  Applications should describe the basic science department’s contribution to the research training experience and also indicate whether both health professional trainees and trainees with research doctorates will be included in the program.

Eligibility:
Only domestic, private or public, nonprofit institutions may apply for grants to support research training programs. The applicant institution must have a strong research program in the areas proposed for research training and must have the requisite staff and facilities to carry out the proposed program. The research training program director at the institution will be responsible for the selection and appointment of trainees to receive NRSA support and for the overall direction of the program.

Positions on NRSA institutional grants may not be used for study leading to the M.D., D.D.S., or other clinical, health-professional degrees except when those studies are a part of a formal combined research degree program, such as the M.D./Ph.D. Similarly, trainees may not accept NRSA support for studies that are part of residency training leading to certification in a medical or dental specialty or subspecialty, except when the residency program credits a period of full-time, postdoctoral research training toward board certification and the trainee intends to pursue a research career. To be appointed to a training position supported by an NRSA research training grant, an individual must be a citizen or noncitizen national of the United States or must have been lawfully admitted for permanent residence (i.e., in possession of a currently valid Alien Registration Receipt Card I-551, or must be in possession of other legal verification of such status). Individuals on temporary or student visas are not eligible.

Predoctoral trainees must have received a baccalaureate degree by the beginning date of their NRSA appointment, and must be training at the postbaccalaureate level and enrolled in a program leading to a Ph.D. in science or in an equivalent research doctoral degree program. Health-professional students who wish to interrupt their studies for a year or more to engage in full-time research training before completing their professional degrees are also eligible. Postdoctoral trainees must have received, as of the beginning date of the NRSA appointment, a Ph.D., M.D., or comparable doctoral degree from an accredited domestic or foreign institution. Eligible doctoral degrees include, but are not limited to, the following: D.D.S., D.M.D., D.O., D.V.M., O.D., D.P.M., Sc.D., Eng.D., Dr. P.H., D.N.Sc., D. Pharm., D.S.W., and Psy.D.

To be eligible for short-term predoctoral research training positions, health-professional students must have completed at least one quarter in a program leading to a clinical doctorate prior to participating in the program. Individuals matriculated in a formal research degree program, or those holding a research doctorate or masters degree or a combined health-professional/research doctorate are not eligible for short-term training positions. Within schools of pharmacy, only individuals who are candidates for the Pharm.D. degree are eligible for short-term positions.

Sponsor:Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS); National Institutes of Health (NIH); National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Deadline:February 1, June 1, and October 1 annually

Objectives:
The general research areas of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) include:

• molecular and behavioral neuroscience
• psychopharmacology
• drug development
• cognitive, personality, emotional, and psychosocial processes
• factors influencing behavioral development and modification
• biological, psychological, and psychosocial aspects of stress and other psychological states
• behavioral medicine
• psychoneuroimmunology
• Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS).

The NIMH offices, divisions, and branches are:

• the Office on AIDS
• the Office of Rural Mental Health Research
• the Division of Neuroscience and Behavioral Science
• the Behavioral, Cognitive, and Social Sciences Research Branch
• the Behavioral and Integrative Neuroscience Research Branch
• the Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience Research Branch
• the Scientific Technology and Resources Program
• the Epidemiology and Services Research
• Violence and Traumatic Stress
• the Division of Clinical and Treatment Research
• the Child and Adolescent Disorders Research Branch
• Clinical Treatment Research
• Mental Disorders of the Aging
• Mood, Anxiety, and Personality Disorders Research
• Schizophrenia Research.

The five sponsoring institutes invite applications in response to this program announcement (PA) for the career development for investigators who have made a commitment to focus their research endeavors on child abuse and neglect through research career enhancement in order to conduct high quality, multidisciplinary, clinically-relevant research on basic biological, behavioral, and social aspects of child and adolescent abuse and neglect. While the focus of the career development program is on child abuse and neglect in human populations, the award may include complementary, appropriate laboratory and animal research related to the child abuse and neglect research proposed in the application.

This PA is designed to encourage qualified applicants who are beginning their research careers and who have an interest in child abuse and neglect research, or are already involved in research on child and adolescent abuse and neglect and who wish to increase the sophistication of their research through research career development, or conduct research in related disciplines, such as adult and child psychiatry, developmental neurology, neurobiology, developmental psychology, social work, and nursing, and who wish to broaden their foci in order to be able to conduct research on child abuse and neglect.

The career development objectives of the Career Development Awards for Child Abuse and Neglect Research program are to encourage scientists to develop independent research skills and gain experience in advanced methods and experimental approaches that will allow them to conduct scientifically sophisticated child abuse and neglect-oriented research. All awards must include a substantial level of either mentoring or collaboration with experienced child abuse and neglect researchers. At the completion of the award, candidates should have both the knowledge and the skills necessary to compete for independent National Institutes of Health (NIH) research support for studies of child abuse and neglect through the regular research grant mechanism (R01).

Applications submitted in response to this PA must address research and research training on any of the different types of child abuse and neglect. Examples of research areas responsive to this announcement include, but are not limited to, the following: basic and applied research on the causes of, risk factors for, and mechanisms that account for child abuse and neglect; research on the neurobiology of abuse and neglect; developmental, physical, mental health, and substance abuse consequences and course of outcomes of child abuse and neglect; research on the relationships among substance abuse and child abuse and neglect; research on intervention models to prevent child maltreatment and treat the effects of child maltreatment; research on the effects of services administered to maltreated children and their families by service agencies; and assessment and research methodology applied to abused and neglected populations. This initiative will be supported through the following NIH career award mechanisms: K01, K02, K08, K23, and K24.

Eligibility:
Candidates must have a research or a health-professional doctorate or its equivalent, and, for career awards that focus on clinical or patient-oriented research training, a clinical doctoral degree. The candidate must have demonstrated the capacity or potential for highly productive research in the period after the doctorate, commensurate with the candidate's level of experience. Applications may be submitted, on behalf of candidates, by domestic, non-federal organizations, public or private, such as medical, dental, or nursing schools or other institutions of higher education. At time of award, candidates must be citizens or noncitizen nationals of the United States, or have been lawfully admitted to the United States for permanent residence (i.e., in possession of a currently valid Alien Registration Receipt Card I-551, or other legal verification of such status). Noncitizen nationals are generally persons born in outlying possessions of the United States (i.e., American Samoa and Swains Island). Individuals on temporary or student visas are not eligible.

Sponsor:National Institute of Mental Health
Deadline(s): February 5, June 5, and October 5, annually

Objectives:
The sponsor provides support for research on early identification and treatment of mental disorders in children and adolescents. In particular, this announcement intends to encourage research on disorders such as schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, bipolar disorder, major depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and anorexia nervosa, alone or comorbid with other common mental or substance abuse disorders. These disorders are considered to be in special need of investigation because of their chronicity, high morbidity, and relative dearth of data in children and adolescents.

This initiative calls for more research on the validation of early diagnosis of mental disorders in youths, and especially in young children; development of new interventions to treat mental disorders and prevent the exacerbation of, and functional impairments associated with, these disorders; testing of the efficacy and safety of treatments, both new and already in use among young patients with mental illness; study of access or barriers to services and effectiveness of services for these patients; testing of the long-term effectiveness and safety of treatment interventions for young patients with chronic or recurrent disorders; assessment of the long term impact of early intervention, especially on disease progression and prognosis; identification of early signs of anorexia nervosa that could serve as targets for interventions; and identification and evaluation of predictors of treatment response for new and existing interventions for children and adolescents with mental illness. Intervention strategies to be studied can include pharmacological, psychosocial, and rehabilitative interventions, separately or in combination.

Some illustrative examples of research topics that may be addressed under this program announcement are:

• improving the validity of the diagnosis of mental disorders in children and adolescents
• understanding the diagnostic predictive value of early manifestations of mood and behavioral dysfunction as presented by children and adolescents, and especially young children
• improving the ability to differentiate among possible alternative diagnoses, especially for those clinical situations where alternative diagnoses can lead to substantially different treatment approaches (e.g., bipolar disorder vs. attention deficit hyperactivity disorder or conduct disorder)
• determining the potential impact of early treatment on the course of illness
• testing the efficacy and safety of antipsychotic medications in youths with psychosis
• testing the efficacy and safety of mood stabilizing medications in youths with bipolar disorder
• testing the efficacy and safety of psychosocial treatment interventions for youths with disorders such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression, and anorexia nervosa
• studying the long-term efficacy and safety of pharmacological and psychosocial treatments for youths with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression and other mental disorders
• studying the possible impact on child development of exposure to medications commonly used in the treatment of mental disorders, particularly when treatment is long term and starts in early childhood
• testing the efficacy and safety of psychosocial and pharmacological interventions for youths with mental disorders such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression, and anorexia nervosa, when these disorders are comorbid with other common psychopathology, such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and substance abuse
• examining access or barriers to services or models of service delivery that optimize treatment access, adherence, or satisfaction with services.

Other examples of topics are:

• investigating the impact of school, health services or models of coordination of delivery systems on outcomes for youth with chronic and impairing mental disorders
• developing and testing treatment approaches for youths with chronic and impairing psychopathology that can be adequately described and quantified, even if it does not meet full diagnostic criteria for a "disorder" as defined in the current nosology
• developing new treatment approaches for youths with severe forms of obsessive-compulsive disorder that have proven unresponsive to usual treatments; elucidating and addressing the ethical implications of early treatment vs. non-treatment in situations of diagnostic uncertainty
• comparing the effects of alternative, promising treatment strategies
• determining the risk/benefit ratio of treating children and adolescents with early manifestations of psychosis, bipolar disorder, and recurrent depression and other chronic and impairing mental disorders
• identifying and characterizing individual, family, and/or cultural factors that facilitate or impede early identification, detection, and treatment of chronic and impairing mental illness in youth
• identifying and characterizing current practice patterns for youths with chronic and impairing mental illness, studying variables that affect quality of care, and developing and testing interventions designed to improve quality of care for youths with these psychiatric disorders.

Restrictions:
Eligible applicants are domestic and foreign, for-profit and non-profit organizations, public and private, such as universities, colleges, hospitals, laboratories, units of state and local governments, and eligible agencies of the federal government. This program will use the National Institutes of Health (NIH) R01, collaborative R01, and R21 grant award mechanisms. The total project period may not exceed five years (three years for the R21). Modular Grant applications will request direct costs in $25,000 modules, up to a total direct cost request of $250,000 per year ($125,000 for R21). Applicants planning to submit an investigator-initiated new (type 1), competing continuation (type 2), competing supplement, or any amended/revised version of the preceding grant application types requesting $500,000 or more in direct costs must contact program staff.

Applications are to be submitted on the grant application form PHS 398 (rev. 4/98). Application kits are available at most institutional offices of sponsored research and from the Division of Extramural Outreach and Information Resources, National Institutes of Health, 6701 Rockledge Drive, MSC 7910, Bethesda, MD 20892-7910, telephone (301) 435-0714, Email: GrantsInfo@nih.gov. Applications are also available on the World Wide Web at: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/forms.htm. For all competing R01 applications requesting up to $250,000 per year in direct costs and all R21 applications, specific applications instructions have been modified to reflect "MODULAR GRANT" and "JUST-IN-TIME" streamlining efforts being undertaken at NIH.

More detailed information about modular grant applications, including a sample budget narrative justification pages and a sample biographical sketch, is available via the Internet at: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/modular/modular.htm. Applications that request more than $250,000 in any year must use the standard PHS 398 (rev. 4/98) application instructions. Direct inquiries regarding programmatic issues about diagnosis and detection of mental disorders to the above contact. Direct inquiries regarding programmatic issues about testing effects of treatment interventions to: Benedetto Vitiello, M.D., Division of Services and Intervention Research, National Institute of Mental Health, 6001 Executive Boulevard, Room 7147, MSC 9633, Bethesda, MD 20892-9633, Telephone: (301) 443-4283, FAX: (301) 443-4045.

Sponsor:National Institute of Mental Health
Deadline(s):Open

Objectives:
Rapid Assessment Post-Impact of Disaster (RAPID) grants provide a mechanism to support research requiring rapid funding to permit access to a disaster area in the immediate aftermath of an event. Many kinds of mental health disaster studies may require prompt assessment, including those which focus on service seeking, on efficacy of outreach or prevention efforts, and on identifying high-risk victims on the basis of early response. These awards are designed to provide a limited sum of money for early assessment and will be primarily reserved for investigators who intend to follow up with a full research application, using the preliminary data from this initial effort as a basis for their larger application.

The sponsor is concerned with studies with a substantive emphasis in any one of the following areas:

• the mental and physical health impact of traumatic stress on victims, families, relief workers, and community members
• the mental health consequences of the subjective appraisal of traumatic events, including such aspects as extreme fear, perceived responsibility, perception of lasting consequences, and expectation of the reoccurrence of such an event
• the mental health consequences of treatment of victims by non-mental health community and Federal agencies
• crisis intervention, mental health treatment, and service delivery for victims of all ages and/or their significant others
• social support systems and coping mechanisms as mediators of psychological response to emergency events
• differential risk of negative effects among different population subgroups
• and families as interactive systems in their response to emergency situations.

Eligibility:
Applications should be submitted within approximately six weeks of the identified disaster event. Eligible applicants are foreign and domestic, for-profit and nonprofit organizations, public and private, such as universities, colleges, hospitals, laboratories, units of state and local governments, and agencies of the Federal government. More than one investigator may be supported on one grant award. Awards will use the small grant mechanism (R03). Awards may not exceed $50,000 in direct costs and are up to two years in duration, although one year is appropriate in most cases. Awards are nonrenewable. Continued support may be requested only through submission of a complete regular research application. Indirect costs of the institution are also allowed.

Applications are to be submitted on the grant application form PHS 398 (rev. 5/95). Application forms and guidelines are available from the Division of Extramural Outreach and Information Resources, National Institutes of Health, 6701 Rockledge Drive, MSC 7910, Bethesda, MD 20892-7910, Telephone: 301-435-0714, Email: grantsinfo@nih.gov. Potential applicants are encouraged to contact the Program Officer listed above.

Sponsor:National Institute of Mental Health
Deadline(s):March 16, July 16, and November 16

Objectives:
This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is intended to encourage the development of translational research partnerships between scientists who study basic behavioral processes and those who study the etiology, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of mental and behavioral disorders (including alcohol and drug use disorders) and the delivery of services to those suffering from those disorders.  NIMH, NIDA, and NIAAA are issuing this FOA as part of a major, long-term commitment to (a) encourage the systematic translation of basic behavioral theory, methods, and findings into research designed to reduce the burden of mental illness and behavioral disorders, and (b) encourage basic behavioral scientists to seek a further understanding of behavioral processes through an exploration of how those processes are altered by mental and behavioral alcohol and drug use disorders. 

Eligibility:
Projects constituting a given Center may be based at a variety of institutions, representing both basic and clinical or services research.

Back to Page 1

Go to Page 3

Back to Granting Opportunities By Discipline