[DIV28SUPER] NIDA Neuroscience Update, September 27, 2011

Table of Contents.

I. Neuroscience Information Framework (NIF): One-stop Shopping for Data, Resources, and Databases

II. The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) 2011 recipients of the Medications Initiative for Tobacco Dependence (MITD) Phased-Innovation (UH2) Awards

III. NOT-DA-11-021 Request for Information (RFI): Expansion of sharing and standardization of NIH-funded human brain imaging data

IV. NIH/CDC SBIR Contract Solicitations - NIDA Opportunities

Proposal Submission Date:  Monday, November 7, 2011

 

V. Funding opportunity concepts presented to NIDA’s Council

 

 

I. Neuroscience Information Framework (NIF): One-stop Shopping for Data, Resources, and Databases

The Neuroscience Information Framework (NIF; http://neuinfo.org) has recently federated its 100th data resource.  NIF provides access to the largest searchable collection of neuroscience data and to the largest catalog of biomedical resources available. Researchers can access this data via a semantically-enhanced portal and unified framework that expose the contents of more than 108 federated databases (more than 320 million data records), the published literature (PubMed and full text indexing of open access literature from PubMed Central) and deep or “hidden” web resources, allowing users to discover content that is normally hidden from traditional search engines. NIF continually adds new information sources in response to community demand.  Our latest additions include posters, videos, blogs and podcasts.  Register your data resource with NIF today http://neuinfo.org/cindy.php!

 

II. The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) 2011 recipients of the Medications Initiative for Tobacco Dependence (MITD) Phased-Innovation (UH2) Awards:

1. Dr. Selena Bartlett of the Ernest Gallo Clinic and Research Center,
2. Drs. Patrick Griffin and Paul Kenny of Scripps Florida, and
3. Dr. Doris Jane Rouse of the Research Triangle Institute (RTI)

This award program brings together expertise from diverse areas to accelerate the development of more effective and accessible anti-smoking medications in the form of product-development partnerships (PDP). These multidisciplinary collaborations between public, non-profit, and private-sector organizations serve NIH’s mission to improve public health through biomedical research in a fast, efficient, and more effective way by leveraging the strengths and resources of diverse parties to achieve a common, focused goal.

The selected proposals describe innovative approaches for building a therapeutic research and design (R&D) pipeline. RTI’s Dr. Doris Rouse will  identify medications (e.g., nicotinic, dopaminergic targets) at different stages of development to populate a R&D pipeline; Drs. Patrick Griffin and Paul Kenny at Scripps Florida will construct a bioinformatics database to identify worthwhile targets to treat nicotine addiction, and will host a symposium including members of the pharmaceutical industry, academia, government, and charitable organizations to gather key information for more efficient translational drug development; and, Dr. Selena Bartlett from the Ernest Gallo Clinic and Research Center will employ an array of  approaches to identify novel lead compounds for future development, while concurrently exploring leads based on existing compounds for other indications.  Each awardee will receive $125,000.

Smoking remains the leading cause of preventable death and illness; more than 440,000 people die each year from tobacco related illnesses in this Country alone, and a billion people are expected to die prematurely from it over the next century. Each year, tens of millions of American smokers attempt to quit, but fewer than 7% are able to remain abstinent for more than six months at a time.  Thus, current approaches to smoking cessation are inadequate, and pharmaceutical industry investment in this area remains modest, with most efforts directed at medications to treat the consequences of tobacco dependence (e.g., lung cancer) and not its root cause (i.e., nicotine addiction).

All of the results and accomplishments from the activities of this NIDA-funded PDP initiative will be made available to the public. For more information about the Medication Initiative for Tobacco Dependence (MITD) UH2/UH3 Phased-Innovation Awards, click here.

 

III. NOT-DA-11-021 Request for Information (RFI): Expansion of sharing and standardization of NIH-funded human brain imaging data

The Blueprint Workgroup on Neuromaging Data-Sharing and the Blueprint Lifespan Human Connectome Project Team are seeking input from the scientific community, health professionals, patient advocates, community-based organizations, students, and the general public about the administrative and technical issues involved in removing barriers to the sharing of human brain imaging data collected using NIH support.  Read more:  http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-DA-11-021.html

 

 

IV. NIH/CDC SBIR Contract Solicitations - NIDA Opportunities

Proposal Submission Date:  Monday, November 7, 2011

·      139 - Confirming Compliance with Experimental Pharmacotherapy Treatment of Drug Abuse

·      140 - Development of a Solid Oral Dosage Form for Fenobam

·      141 - Recovery Warrior: Behavioral Activation Video Game for Substance Abuse via a Commercially Available Active & Interactive Gaming Platform (e.g., Wii, Play Station Move, or Xbox Kinect)

·      142 - Highly Effective Methods for Systemic In Vivo Targeted Delivery of shRNAi to the Brain for Treatment of Substance Use Disorders and Other Brain Disorders

·      143 - Feasibility of Development of RNAi-based Therapeutics for Treatment of HIV and HCV Infections in Drug Abusing Populations

·      144 - Smokescreen: Genetic Screening Tool for Tobacco Dependence and Treatment Approaches

·      145 - Feedback-regulated Naloxone Delivery Device to Prevent Opiate Overdose Deaths

·      146 - Drugged Driving: Future Research Directions

 

Contact:
Mr. Brian O'Laughlin
Phone: (301) 443-6677
Fax: (301) 443-7595
E-mail: bo50d@nih.gov

Proposals to the NIDA must be mailed or delivered to:

Mr. Brian O'Laughlin
NIDA R&D Contracts Management Branch
Neurosciences Office of Acquisition
6001 Executive Boulevard
Room 4211, MSC 9559
Bethesda, MD 20892-8402 *
*Change the city to Rockville and the zip code to 20852 if hand-delivered or delivered by an overnight service to the NIDA.

For Full NIH/CDC SBIR Contract Solicitation - see NIH/CDC SBIR Contract Solicitation Information .  This includes information about contract solicitations from other NIH Institutes and the CDC.

 

V. Funding opportunity concepts presented to NIDA’s Council

At the September 2011 meeting of the National Advisory Council on Drug Abuse (NACDA), program staff presented potential initiatives to NACDA members for their consideration.   These are

 

Title:  Role of glial cells in mediating the effects of HIV-1 infection and substance use disorders

Title:  Impact of the Affordable Care Act on Drug Abuse Prevention and Treatment Services

Title: Criminal Justice Drug Abuse Treatment Studies for Adolescents (CJ-DATS-A)

Title: Synthesis and Early-Stage Evaluation of Medications to Treat Substance Use Disorders (SUD)

Title: Joint Ventures for Medications Development to Treat Substance Use Disorders (SUDs)

 

The purpose of this announcement is to make you aware of recent discussions between NIDA program staff and NACDA.  It is important to note, however, that presentation of a concept to NIDA’s Advisory Council does not imply that the concept will become an Institute initiative. NIDA makes that decision based on programmatic priorities and the availability of funds. Concepts, however, do reveal interest in areas of research important to the scientific mission of NIDA. 

 

 

 

 

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