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5. Institute-Initiated Programs Starting in FY
2006
More than two-thirds of the research supported by the
NHLBI is initiated by individual investigators; the remainder is initiated by
the Institute. Institute-initiated programs are developed in response to
evolving national needs, Congressional mandates, and advances in scientific
knowledge. Each initiative represents the outcome of extensive discussions and
thorough reviews by representatives of the scientific community, Institute
advisory committees, the Board of Extramural Advisors (BEA), and the National
Heart, Lung, and Blood Advisory Council (NHLBAC). The advisory committees and
the BEA, together with professional societies and NHLBI staff, continually
review the progress of research within the NHLBI program areas, assess newly
acquired knowledge, and identify research topics that offer the best
opportunities or constitute the greatest needs. This planning process
contributes to policy development at the national level by setting priorities
among programs and establishing budgets for individual programs and projects.
Initiatives generally emanate as Requests for
Applications (RFAs) for grants, including cooperative agreements, or Requests
for Proposals (RFPs) for contracts. A smaller number of initiatives take the
form of Program Announcements (PAs). Applications and proposals submitted in
response to RFAs and RFPs compete among themselves for specific "set-aside"
funds. Applications submitted in response to PAs generally compete with other
investigator-initiated applications for funding.
RFA, RFP, and PA concepts prepared by the Institute
are presented to the BEA, which reviews and prioritizes them. The concepts,
along with the comments from the BEA, are then sent to the NHLBAC for review,
comment, and concurrence. Initiatives that receive the concurrence of the
NHLBAC are considered further by the NHLBI Director in the context of the
Institute's budget, program priorities, review workload, and proposed
mechanisms. These considerations guide the Director's subsequent decisions to
approve initiatives for release.RFAs, RFPs, and PAs are announced in the
NIH Guide to Grants and Contracts.
Applications and proposals submitted in response to
RFAs and RFPs are reviewed by the NHLBI. Applications submitted in response to
PAs are reviewed by the NIH Center for Scientific Review.
Descriptions of the Institute-initiated programs that
began or were renewed (i.e., were funded) in FY 2006 are presented below
according to NHLBI scientific programs. Also described are trans-NIH and
interagency initiatives in which the NHLBI participates.
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Heart and Vascular Diseases
Program
Initiative Being Renewed
Pediatric Heart Network
The purpose of this renewal is to evaluate new
treatments and management strategies that may benefit children with structural
congenital heart disease, inflammatory heart disease, heart muscle disease, or
arrhythmias.
New Initiatives
Heart Failure Clinical Research Network
The purpose of this RFA is to establish a clinical
research network to accelerate research in the diagnosis and management of
heart failure for improving outcomes through optimal application of existing
therapies and evaluation of new therapies.
Innovative Technologies for Engineering Small
Blood Vessels
The purpose of this RFA is to develop small (internal
diameter less than 5 mm), functional vessel substitutes with improved
biocompatibility and durability for later clinical evaluation as vessel
replacement therapy in humans.
Research Career Development Programs in Vascular
Medicine
The purpose of this RFA is to prepare physicians for
academic leadership roles in vascular medicine through comprehensive training
programs in research methodology, risk assessment, diagnosis, treatment, and
prevention of vascular disease.
Specialized Centers of Clinically Oriented
Research in Vascular Injury, Repair, and Remodeling
The purpose of this SCCOR is to foster interdependent
clinical and multidisciplinary basic research on molecular and cellular
mechanisms of vascular injury, repair, and remodeling; promote patient-oriented
research to improve prevention, detection, characterization, management, and
treatment of vascular diseases; and enable the development of skills and
research capabilities of new clinical investigators.
Weight Loss in Obese Adults With Cardiovascular
Risk Factors: Clinical Interventions
The purpose of this RFA is to test the effectiveness
of interventions delivered in routine clinical practice to achieve weight loss
in obese patients who have other risk factors for CVD.
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Lung Diseases Program
Initiative Being Renewed
Severe Asthma Research Program
The purpose of this renewal is to continue support for
clinical research studies on the mechanistic basis of severe asthma and to
determine how it differs from mild-to-moderate asthma.
New Initiative
Infectious Agents in the Origins of Chronic Lung
Disease
The purpose of this RFA is to investigate the
contribution of infectious agents or bioproducts derived from infectious agents
to the early origin of chronic lung diseases.
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Blood Diseases and Resources
Program
New Initiatives
Clinical Hematology Research Career Development
Program (K12)
The purpose of this RFA is to develop
multidisciplinary career development programs in nonmalignant clinical
hematology research in order to equip new academic investigators with the
knowledge and skill necessary to address complex problems in blood diseases,
transfusion medicine, and cellular therapies.
Critical Issues in Post-Phlebitic
Syndrome
The purpose of this RFA is to support fundamental
research on the biology of venous wall and venous valve function and their
changes with time following deep vein thrombosis in order to accelerate
preclinical studies and develop better management of post-phlebitic syndrome.
Proteomic Studies of Platelet Function
The purpose of this RFA is to support research on the
application of proteomic tools to identify platelet disorders. The goal
is to generate results that will lead to proteomic approaches and new markers
of platelet function.
Sickle Cell Disease Clinical Research
Network
The purpose of this RFA is to establish a clinical
research network to test the efficacy of new therapies to treat and prevent SCD
complications; create data sets that can be used to improve characterization of
patients and their clinical course; apply genomic and proteomic techniques for
improved diagnostic and therapeutic approaches; and expand the clinical
application of multimodal therapies in SCD.
Specialized Centers of Clinically Oriented
Research in Hemostatic and Thrombotic Diseases
The purpose of this SCCOR is to foster interdependent
clinical and multidisciplinary basic research projects on hemostatic and
thrombotic diseases.
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Trans-NHLBI
Initiative Being Renewed
NHLBI Minority Undergraduate Biomedical Education
Program
The purpose of this renewal is to facilitate the
recruitment and retention of minority undergraduate students into biomedical
science and increase the number of minority individuals involved in biomedical
and behavioral research.
New Initiatives
Candidate Gene Association Resource
The purpose of this RFP is to provide a genotyping and
bioinformatics center that will perform high-throughput genotyping for
candidate gene association studies and a genome-wide association study. These
data will be combined with available phenotype data to form a
genotype-phenotype resource for public use.
Cultural Competence and Health Disparity Academic
Award
The purpose of this RFA is to develop core curricula
and other educational materials at U.S. medical institutions that will increase
the overall knowledge and skills of medical students, house staff, and other
health professionals on the ethnic, cultural, religious, socioeconomic, and
linguistic factors that contribute to health disparities and on culturally
competent approaches to mitigate them.
Hispanic Community Health Study
The purpose of this RFP is to identify risk factors
for cardiovascular and lung diseases in Hispanic populations and determine the
role of acculturation in their prevalence and development.
Mechanisms Linking Short Sleep Duration and Risk
of Obesity or Overweight
The purpose of this RFA is to determine the
relationship between chronic sleep deficit and obesity and overweight. Research
will be supported to elucidate the mechanisms associated with short sleep
duration and weight gain due to altered metabolism, appetite, or inflammation.
Mentored Career Award for Faculty at Minority
Institutions (K01)
The purpose of this RFA is to strengthen the
scientific infrastructure of minority institutions by developing the research
career and teaching skills of suitable faculty members in cardiovascular, lung,
and blood diseases and sleep disorders.
Mentored Career Development Award To Promote
Faculty Diversity in Biomedical Research (K01)
The purpose of this RFA is to support underrepresented
faculty members from racial and ethnic minority groups and individuals with
disabilities at academic institutions in health-related research. The goal is
to establish a cadre of biomedical and behavioral researchers from diverse
backgrounds who will significantly contribute to reducing and ultimately
eliminating health disparities.
NHLBI Exploratory Program in Systems
Biology
The purpose of this RFA is to apply "systems biology"
approaches to innovative, high-risk, high-impact research on heart, lung,
blood, and sleep physiology and pathophysiology by multidisciplinary teams of
investigators. The systems biology approach will combine mathematical modeling
and simulation to complement the traditional empirical and experimental
approach of biomedical research.
NHLBI Innovative Research Grant Program
The purpose of this PA is to support studies that
address promising, yet underdeveloped research topics and therapeutic
approaches to heart, lung, and blood diseases and sleep disorders. The program
is intended to encourage investigation of exciting new ideas by relaxing the
need for preliminary data and demonstration of concept feasibility generally
required by standard NIH research project (R01) reviews.
SBIR/STTR Technologies for Monitoring and
Performing Resuscitation
The purpose of this PA is to encourage small
businesses to participate in research and development of new approaches, tools,
and biomaterials to provide bioengineering-based methodologies for monitoring
and performing resuscitation.
Short Courses on Application of Genomics and
Proteomics to Complex Heart, Lung, and Blood Diseases and Sleep
Disorders
The purpose of this RFA is to develop, conduct,
evaluate, and disseminate short-term courses on application of genomics and
proteomics to heart, lung, and blood diseases and sleep disorders.
Short-Term Training Program To Increase Diversity
in Health-Related Research
The purpose of this RFA is to promote diversity in
undergraduate and health professional students by providing opportunities for
them to participate in activities leading to research careers in
cardiovascular, lung, and blood diseases and sleep disorders.
SNP Health Association Resource (SHARE)
The purpose of this RFP is to identify genetic
variants associated with heart, lung, and blood diseases and sleep disorders
through the application of large scale single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)
genotyping for genome-wide association analyses. In collaboration with the
National Center for Biotechnology Information, the Institute is developing a
public-use data resource that will integrate genome-wide genotypic information
with phenotypic information from multiple NHLBI studies.
SNP Typing for Association With Multiple
Phenotypes From Existing Epidemiology Data (STAMPEED)
The purpose of this RFA is to identify genetic
components related to heart, lung, and blood diseases and their risk factors
using existing population, family, and other clinical studies. Investigators
will seek to identify associations of genes with the presence of one particular
disorder and examine interactions between genetic and environmental factors;
susceptibility for multiple conditions; or associations of genes with disease
risk factors, disease incidence, or therapeutic responsiveness.
Summer Institute Program To Increase Diversity in
Health-Related Research
The purpose of this RFA is to develop the research
skills of faculty and scientists from under-represented racial and ethnic
groups and faculty and scientists with disabilities so that they may
successfully compete for funding for biomedical and behavioral research
relevant to heart, lung, and blood diseases and sleep disorders.
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Trans-NIH
Initiatives Being Renewed
Bioengineering Research Grants (BRGs)
The purpose of this renewal is to encourage
multidisciplinary, integrative research that applies systems approaches to
prevent, detect, diagnose, treat, or understand health and behavior. The BRGs
differ from the BRPs in that the research will be performed in a single
laboratory, by a single investigator, or by a small group of investigators.
Bioengineering Research Partnerships
(BRPs)
The purpose of this renewal is to encourage
multidisciplinary, integrative research that applies systems approaches to
prevent, detect, diagnose, treat, or understand health and behavior.
Blood and Marrow Transplant Clinical Trials
Network
The purpose of this renewal is to conduct Phase II
trials on transplantation methodologies to improve long-term outcome following
transplantation and devise procedures for protocol development, protocol
implementation, and data management that will enable collaboration with other
NIH-funded cooperative research programs and increase the efficiency of
conducting trials in blood and marrow transplantation.
Short-Term Courses in Human Embryonic Stem Cell
Culture Techniques
The purpose of this RFA is to develop, conduct,
evaluate, and disseminate short-term courses on laboratory research techniques
for working with human embryonic stem cell lines.
New Initiatives
Academic Research Enhancement Award
The purpose of this PA is to stimulate research at
educational institutions that provide baccalaureate or advanced training for
research scientists, but that have not been major recipients of NIH support.
Animal Models of Diabetic Complications
Consortium
The purpose of this RFA is to establish Pathobiology
Sites that will support the Animal Models of Diabetic Complications Consortium.
The Sites will propose new mouse models that will faithfully replicate one or
more diabetic complications, and will discover and characterize the basic
pathophysiologic mechanisms underlying disease in these and other models of
complications.
Biology of RNA Interference (RNAi): Stability,
Delivery, and Processing by Tissues
The purpose of this RFA is to stimulate research
toward (1) understanding uptake and processing of RNAi by target tissues; (2)
assessing stability, half-life, and off-target effects in target tissues; and
(3) determining optimal delivery methods for uptake by the target tissues.
Design and Analysis of Genome-Wide Association
Studies
The purpose of this RFA is to develop and test
innovative study designs and analytical strategies to perform genome-wide
association studies on diseases affecting heart, lung, blood, or sleep.
Directed Stem Cell Differentiation for Cell-Based
Therapies for Heart, Lung, Blood, and Aging Diseases
The purpose of this PA is to support research to
define factors controlling differentiation of stem cells in vitro or in vivo.
The goal is to develop methods to direct differentiation of stem cells to yield
replacement cells for clinical use or to develop methods to stimulate
differentiation of resident stem cells in vivo for regeneration or repair of
heart, blood vessels, lungs, and blood.
Exploratory and Development Research Grants for
Investigation in Rare Diseases
The purpose of this PA is to support investigators
with innovative approaches to understanding, treating, and preventing rare
diseases associated with heart, lung, and blood diseases and sleep disorders.
Availability of R21 awards for such individuals is expected to allow them to
obtain research support without the need for the large amounts of preliminary
data that often present a barrier to entry into the NIH grants system.
Exploratory/Developmental Bioengineering Research
Grants
The purpose of this PA is to encourage innovative,
high-risk, high-impact bioengineering research for which preliminary results
have not yet been obtained. The research may explore approaches and concepts
new to a particular subject 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.
Innovations in Biomedical Computational Science
and Technology
The purpose of this PA is to promote research and
development in computational science and technology that will support rapid
progress in biomedical research.
Ischemic Stroke: Novel Targets and Therapy
Development
The purpose of this RFA is to identify new molecular
targets, explore promising agents, and develop innovative treatments for
cerebral ischemia. The initiative seeks to enhance our understanding of brain
hemostasis (stoppage of bleeding), including endothelial properties, expression
and regulation of coagulant activity, and clot composition.
Mentored Patient-Oriented Research Career
Development Award (K23)
The purpose of this PA is to support the career
development of investigators who have made a commitment to focus their efforts
on patient-oriented research.
Muscular Dystrophy: Pathogenesis and
Therapies
The purpose of this PA is to support basic,
translational, and patient-oriented studies of Duchenne-Becker muscular
dystrophy, facioscapulohumeral dystrophy, and other forms of muscular
dystrophy.
Nutrition and Diet in the Causation, Prevention,
and Management of Heart Failure
The purpose of this PA is to encourage research on the
role of nutrition and diet in the causation, prevention, and treatment of
cardiomyopathies and heart failure. The goal is to develop a satisfactory
science base for preventive approaches in high-risk individuals and for
rational nutritional management of patients in various stages of heart
failure.
Obese and Diabetic Intrauterine Environment:
Long-Term Metabolic or Cardiovascular Consequences in the Offspring
The purpose of this RFA is to investigate the effect
of maternal obesity and diabetes on mechanisms that could potentially
contribute to obesity, cardiovascular, or metabolic disease in the offspring;
and to determine if and how maternal overnutrition elicits permanent metabolic
or cardiovascular disease in the fetus.
Pilot and Feasibility Program Related to the
Kidney
The purpose of this PA is to support high-risk pilot
and feasibility research that will enable subsequent submission of R01
applications relevant to the study of acute and chronic kidney diseases and
their complications.
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Trans-PHS
New Initiative
Community Participation in Research
The purpose of this PA is to conduct community-based
research on health promotion, disease prevention, and health disparities. The
NHLBI will support joint projects conducted by researchers and communities in
hypertension, cardiovascular fitness, obesity, asthma, SCD, and hereditary
blood disorders.
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