NIAMS Update - April 21, 2011

Introduction

The NIAMS Update is a monthly digest published for those interested in the latest scientific news and resources on diseases of the bones, joints, muscles, and skin. We encourage further dissemination of this resource.

In This Issue

Spotlight
NIAMS ARRA Chronicles
News
Meetings
Publications
Funding Announcements

Contact Information

Office of Communications and Public Liaison
niamsinfo@mail.nih.gov

Janet S. Austin, Ph.D.
Director

Melanie M. Martinez, M.P.A.
Public Liaison Officer

Trish Reynolds, R.N., M.S.
Media Liaison

Spotlight

NIAMS 25th Anniversary Symposium: Improving Lives Through Discovery
On Monday, June 13, 2011, the NIAMS will host its 25th Anniversary Scientific Symposium: Improving Lives Through Discovery. The Symposium will feature scientific advances made possible with NIAMS support, highlight how these advances have improved patients' lives, and address the future directions for NIAMS research.

The day will feature a broad array of speakers from the many disciplines that NIAMS supports. Outstanding senior and early-stage investigators from will present their work, and patients will share their experiences with diseases of the bones, joints, muscles, and skin and how research has changed their lives. In addition to these distinguished speakers, we will be joined by the NIH Director, Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D., who will be providing the Welcoming Address. The Symposium is free and open to the public.

We encourage you to register today or get more information by visiting the NIAMS website. Please be sure to check the website often for updates on the symposium and other planned activities in commemoration of the Anniversary.

It is also our pleasure to invite you to a dinner hosted by the Foundation for the NIH that will feature our special guest and National Public Radio talk show host Diane Rehm. Spots will fill up fast, so be sure to RSVP today by visiting the following website.

We look forward to having a diverse audience of researchers, health care providers, patients, and professional and volunteer representatives from across the United States as we commemorate the 25th Anniversary of the NIAMS. We strongly encourage all who are interested in the progress and promise of NIAMS research to attend.

When: June 13, 2011, 8:30 a.m. to 4:45 p.m.
Where: Lipsett Auditorium, Warren Grant Magnuson Clinical Center
NIH Campus, Bethesda, Maryland

A reception and poster session will immediately follow the event.

Mary Goldring, Ph.D., at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City

Osteoarthritis Onset, Progression Mechanisms Explored with ARRA Funding
Mary Goldring, Ph.D., and her colleagues around the country are taking bold steps to define the molecular mechanisms behind the onset and progression of osteoarthritis (OA), a disease in which the cartilage that cushions bones in joints wears away. According to Dr. Goldring, their work—funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) through the NIAMS—may lead to the identification of critical targets for therapy to block OA cartilage damage and promote its repair.

News

Finding of Long-sought Drug Target Structure May Expedite Drug Discovery: NIH Researchers and Collaborators Explore Receptor at the Atomic Level
Researchers have solved the three-dimensional structure of a key biological receptor. The finding has the potential to speed drug discovery in many areas, from arthritis to respiratory disorders to wound healing, because it enables chemists to better examine and design molecules for use in experimental drugs.

NIH Investigators Find Link Between DNA Damage and Immune Response
Researchers offer the first evidence that DNA damage can lead to the regulation of inflammatory responses, the body's reaction to injury. The proteins involved in the regulation help protect the body from infection.

Submit Your Visionary Ideas About Environmental Health Research: Strategic Planning Process Begins at NIEHS
The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) is seeking input from the public as well as researchers for its new strategic plan. To get involved, submit an idea for research or nominate a workshop participant.

Other Federal News

New AHRQ Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA): Research Centers for Excellence in Clinical Preventive Services, (RFA) Number: RFA-HS-11-005
AHRQ has released a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) titled, “Research Centers for Excellence in Clinical Preventive Service (P01)” to foster innovative, synergistic and targeted research on clinical preventive services. The FOA solicits applications from eligible organizations to become a Research Center for Excellence in Clinical Preventive Services with a focus on one of three programmatic areas: 1) patient safety, 2) health equity, or 3) health care system implementation. See program announcement for more information.

Meetings

Rare Disease Day Recognizes Patients, Researchers, Advocates
As one patient advocate at Rare Disease Day at NIH on February 28 put it, alone they are rare, but together they share a common bond: hope. Advocates, researchers and those affected by some of the 7,000 rare diseases identified in the United States gathered at the Clinical Center to celebrate and recognize accomplishments and research highlights.

Save the Date: NIAMS Advisory Council Meeting
The next NIAMS Advisory Council Meeting will be held June 14, 2011, in Building 31, 6th floor, C Wing, Conference Room 6, NIH Campus.

NIH Wednesday Afternoon Lecture Series
NIH’s Wednesday Afternoon Lecture Series (WALS) offers weekly lectures every Wednesday at 3 p.m. in Masur Auditorium, Clinical Center (Building 10), NIH Campus. Renowned scientists from around the globe present research on a variety of topics. The lectures are Continuing Medical Education-certified lectures, open to the public and available live via Webcast.

Upcoming lectures:

May 11, 2011
Dr. Lisa Cooper
"Solving the Health Disparities Conundrum: Race Relationships and Quality of Health Care"

Publications

NIH Research Matters
NIH Research Matters is a review of NIH research from the Office of Communications and Public Liaison, Office of the Director, NIH.

NIH Public Bulletin
Read about the latest public events, activities, and health information resources from NIH in the latest issue of the NIH Public Bulletin.

NIH News in Health
Read practical health information in NIH News in Health, which is reviewed by NIH’s medical experts and is based on research conducted either by NIH’s own scientists or by our grantees at universities and medical schools around the country.

Funding Announcements

NIH Common Fund Initiative Announcements

Request for Information (RFI) for the NIH Directors Early Independence Award Program
(NOT-RM-11-009)

Notice of Technical Assistance Teleconference and Webinar for Applications to RFA-RM-11-003: NIH HMO Collaboratory Coordinating Center Limited Competition (U54)
(NOT-RM-11-010)

Notice of Response Date Extension for Request for Information on the NIH Directors Early Independence Award Program
(NOT-RM-11-011)

Clarification, Institutional Clinical and Translational Science Award (U54), RFA-RM-10-020
(NOT-RM-11-012)

Cancellation of the Remaining Receipt Dates for PAR-09-027
(NOT-RM-11-013)

NIAMS Announcements

Multidisciplinary Clinical Research Centers (P60)
(RFA-AR-12-001)
Letters of Intent Receipt Date: May 24, 2011
Application Receipt Date: June 24, 2011

NIAMS Clinical Trial Implementation Cooperative Agreement (UM1)
(PAR-11-168)
Letters of Intent Receipt Dates: Multiple dates, see announcement
Application Receipt Dates: Multiple dates, see announcement

NIAMS Clinical Trial Planning Cooperative Agreement (U34)
(PAR-11-169)
Letters of Intent Receipt Dates: Multiple dates, see announcement
Application Receipt Dates: Multiple dates, see announcement

Notice of New NIAMS Policy for Investigator-Initiated Clinical Trials
(NOT-AR-11-014)

Support of NIAMS Program Project Grants (P01)
(PAR-11-188)
Letters of Intent Receipt Dates: Not applicable
Application Receipt Dates: Multiple receipt dates, see announcement
Standard dates apply

Notice of Changes in Key Dates for RFA-AR-11-002, Centers of Research Translation (P50)
(NOT-AR-11-015)

NIAMS Announces Participation in the NIH Parent Program Announcement PA-11-113, Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Awards (NRSA) for Individual Postdoctoral Fellows (Parent F32)
(NOT-AR-11-016)

NIAMS Announces Participation in the NIH Parent Program Announcement PA-11-114, Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Awards (NRSA) for Individual Senior Fellows (Parent F33)
(NOT-AR-11-017)

Other Research Announcements

Development and Translation of Medical Technologies to Reduce Health Disparities (R43/R44)
(RFA-EB-11-001)
Letters of Intent Receipt Dates: April 20, 2011, August 22, 2011
Application Receipt Dates: May 20, 2011, September 22, 2011; AIDS Application Receipt Dates: September 7, 2011, January 7, 2012

Nanoscience and Nanotechnology in Biology and Medicine (R01)
(PA-11-148)
Letters of Intent Receipt Dates: Not Applicable
Application Receipt Dates: Multiple dates, see announcement
Standard dates apply

Nanoscience and Nanotechnology in Biology and Medicine (R21)
(PA-11-149)
Letters of Intent Receipt Dates: Not Applicable
Application Receipt Dates: Multiple dates, see announcement
Standard dates apply

Countermeasures Against Chemical Threats (CounterACT) Cooperative Research Projects (U01)
(PAR-11-155)
Letters of Intent Receipt Dates: August 14, 2011; August 14, 2012
Application Receipt Dates: September 14, 2011; September 14, 2012

Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) Institutional Research Training Grants (Parent T32)
(PA-11-184)
Letters of Intent Receipt Date: Not applicable
Application Receipt Dates: Multiple dates, see announcement
Standard dates apply

Re-Issuance of Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) Institutional Research Training Grants (Parent T32) and Short-Term Institutional Research Training Grants (Parent T35)
(NOT-OD-11-060)

Notice of Budget Update for PA-11-063, Translating Basic Behavioral and Social Science Discoveries into Interventions to Improve Health-Related Behaviors (R01)
(NOT-OD-11-049)

Notice: Modification of the Fellowship Biographical Sketch in NIH Grant Application Form SF424 (R&R) to Permit a Description of Factors that may have Resulted in a Break in Training or Reduced Productivity
(NOT-OD-11-050)

Registration Now Open for the 13th Annual NIH SBIR/STTR Conference, June 22 and 23, 2011 on the NIH Campus
(NOT-OD-11-052)

Guidance to Reduce Regulatory Burden for IACUC Administration Regarding Alternate Members and Approval Dates
(NOT-OD-11-053)

Guidance on the NIH Plan to Transition from the use of USDA Class B Dogs to Other Legal Sources
(NOT-OD-11-055)

Change in Timetable for Opportunity to Shorten the Review Cycle for New Investigator R01 Applications Reviewed in Study Sections Convened by the Center for Scientific Review (CSR) and National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
(NOT-OD-11-057)

IACUC 101 and 201 PLUS Workshops: May 18-19, 2011 in King of Prussia, PA
(NOT-OD-11-058)

Notice of Change in Policy on the Submission of Plans for Instruction in the Responsible Conduct of Research for Individual and Institutional Career Development Award (K) Applications
(NOT-OD-11-059)

Registration Now Open for Upcoming NIH Grants Seminars in Scottsdale, AZ and Ft. Lauderdale, FL
(NOT-OD-11-061)

Notice of Update for PAR-10-141, Transforming Biomedicine at the Interface of the Life and Physical Sciences (R01), and PAR-10-142, New Biomedical Frontiers at the Interface of the Life and Physical Sciences (R01)
(NOT-EB-11-004)

Request for Information (RFI): To Solicit Input for Investigational Human Nutrigenetic Studies for Personalizing Cancer Prevention Strategies
(NOT-CA-11-009)

If you would like to review information about funding opportunities more frequently than our monthly updates allow, see the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts, the primary source for information about NIH funding opportunities. You can also request a weekly Table of Contentsfrom the NIH Guide.