I. RFA-HG-12-009 Clinical Sequencing Exploratory Research (UM1)
II. Mouse Brain Architecture Project Releases Data as First Installment to Construct Whole Brain Wiring Diagram of Mouse
III. National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) Seeks Applications Using the JAX Diversity Outcross (DO) Mice NOT-DA-12-013
IV. Short Course on the Genetics of Addiction
Aug 18, 2012 - Aug 23, 2012 The Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor ME
V. Lectures from the 2009 and 2011 Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory "Cellular Biology of Addiction Course"
I. RFA-HG-12-009 Clinical Sequencing Exploratory Research (UM1)
Application Due date: July 26, 2012, by 5:00 PM local time of applicant organization.
The NHGRI and NIDA seek grant applications to explore, within an active clinical setting, the application of genomic sequence data to the care of patients. Our understanding of human genetic variation and its association with disease risk and with individual response to treatment continues to expand rapidly. Simultaneously, a revolution has occurred in genomic sequencing technologies, making it technically and economically feasible to consider the application and utilization of genomic sequence data in clinical care. Applications submitted in response to this FOA will address critical questions about the application of genomic sequencing to clinical care of individual patients, from generation of genomic sequence data, to interpretation and translation of the data for the physician, to communication to the patient, including an examination of the ethical, legal and psychosocial implications of bringing broad genomic data into the clinic. See http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-HG-12-009.html for the entire funding opportunity announcement.
II. Mouse Brain Architecture Project Releases Data as First Installment to Construct Whole Brain Wiring Diagram of Mouse
A NIH-funded neuroscience team led by Prof. Partha P. Mitra, Ph.D., at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory has publicly released the first installment of data from the 500 terabytes so far collected in their project to construct the first whole-brain wiring diagram of a vertebrate brain, that of the mouse. The data just released – the first in what will be a regular series of releases in the Mouse Brain Architecture project -- consists of gigapixel images of whole-brain sections that can be zoomed to show individual neurons and their processes, providing a "virtual microscope." The images are integrated with other data sources from the web, and are being made fully accessible to the neuroscience community as well as interested members of the general public (http://mouse.brainarchitecture.org). Each sampled brain is represented in about 500 images, each image showing an optical section through a 20 micron-thick slice of brain tissue. A multi-resolution viewer permits users to journey through each brain, following the pathways taken through three-dimensional brain space by tracer-labeled neuronal pathways. A key point is that at the mid-range "mesoscopic" scale, the team expects to assemble a picture of connections that are stereotypical and probably genetically determined in a species-specific manner. By dividing the volume of a hemisphere of the mouse brain into 250 equidistant, predefined grid-points, and administering four different kinds of tracer injections at each grid point -- in different animals of the same sex and age a complete wiring diagram that will be stitched together in "shotgun" fashion from the full dataset. Major funding for the Mouse Brain Architecture project comes from a Challenge Grant from the National Institutes of Health (RC1MH088659) and a Transformative Award from the Office of the NIH Director (R01MH087988).
III. National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) Seeks Applications Using the JAX Diversity Outcross (DO) Mice NOT-DA-12-013
Purpose
The Genetics and Molecular Neurobiology Research Branch (GMNRB) at the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) seeks applications using the JAX Diversity Outcross (DO) mice to identify genetic variants associated with substance abuse and addiction as well as treatment response. To apply for grants within this area of interest, refer to PA-11-026 Molecular Genetics of Drug Addiction and Related Co-Morbidities (R01) (http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-11-026.html).
The diversity outcross mice permit fine mapping of genetic loci for complex trait with far less effort and greater resolution than before with other mouse resources. Papers highlighting this resource can be found in the Feb 16, 2012 issues of Genetics www.genetics.org and G3: Genes|Genomes|Genetics www.g3journal.org
Identification the gene variants underlying the following traits DO mice that are of interest to GMNRB include but are not limited to:
· Motivation to work for a drug as measured by drug self-administration breakpoint.
· Persistence of drug seeking behavior
· Compulsivity of drug seeking behavior
· Preference between drug and sucrose following drug self-administration and the absence of any withdrawal symptoms
· Withdrawal
· Tolerance
· Sensitization
· Novelty seeking
· Different measures of impulsivity, e.g. 5CSRTT (five-choice serial reaction time task) and reversal learning
· Goal trackers vs. sign Trackers, i.e. difference in cue reactivity and auto-shaping.
· Measures of anxiety associated with drug seeking behavior.
· Altered brain circuitry following drug exposure
· Drug Toxicity
· Pharmacokinetics
· Phenotypes produced by GXE interactions that may affect substance abuse and addiction phenoytpes such as maternal separation, victimization by aggression, learned helplessness in utero exposure to drugs of abuse and environmental toxins such as lead, and vulnerability to drugs of abuse during puberty and early adulthood.
· Genetic modifiers of knockout mouse phenotypes affecting drug response.
· Treatment response to pharmacological agents that have potential for treating substance abuse
· Nicotine, cocaine, and heroin vaccine responses such antibody titer and amount of free and bound drug in tissues.
The JAX:DO are available from The Jackson Laboratory (Bar Harbor, ME), as JAX Mice stock number 009376. Sibling information at each generation is tracked and made available upon request. http://cgd.jax.org/datasets/phenotype/SvensonDO.shtml.
If interested in developing an application please contact Dr. Jonathan Pollock.
Inquiries
Please direct all inquiries to:
Jonathan D. Pollock, Ph.D.
Chief
Genetics and Molecular Neurobiology Research Branch
Division of Basic Neuroscience and Behavioral Research
National Institute on Drug Abuse
6001 Executive Blvd. Rm 4103
Bethesda, MD 20892
(For Fedex Delivery the address is Rockville, MD 20852)
Telephone: 301-435-1309
FAX: 301-594-6043
IV. Short Course on the Genetics of Addiction
Aug 18, 2012 - Aug 23, 2012 The Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor ME
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This course emphasizes genetic applications and approaches to drug addiction research through methodological instruction based on literature, data sets and informatics resources drawn from studies of addiction related phenotypes. The course includes plenary sessions on major progress in addiction genetics, and discussion sessions in which students present their work for discussion on applications of genetic methods. Students will leave the course able to design and interpret
genetic and genomic studies of addiction as they relate to their specific research question, and will be able to make use of current bioinformatics resources to identify research resources and make use of public data sources in their own research.
Funding for this conference was made possible (in part) by R13 DA 032192 from the National Institute on Drug Abuse. These views expressed in written conference materials or publications and by speakers and moderators do not necessarily reflect the offical policies of the Department of Health and Human Services; nor does mention by trade names, commercial practices, or organizations imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.
V. Lectures from the 2009 and 2011 Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory "Cellular Biology of Addiction Course"
The 2009 course features presentations by Mark Von Zastrow, Bertha Madras, Ulrike Heberlein, George Koob, Robert Edwards, Eric Nestler, Mary Jeanne Kreek, Jonathan Pollock, Peter Kalivas, Antonello Bonci, Mark Wightman, John Williams, Bridgitte Kieffer, Julie Blendy, Angus Nairn, Ken Mackie, Charles O'Brien, Marina Picciotto, Laura Bierut, and George Augustine http://leadingstrand.cshl.edu/Drug/Drug09/Index.htm
The 2011 course features talks by Chris Evans and Mark Von Zastrow, Brigitte Kieffer, Kenneth Mackie, Mary Jeanne Kreek, David Goldman, Ilana Witten, Paul Kenny, Jonathan Pollock, Ulrike Helberlein, Phil Skolnick, Charles Chavkin, Geoffrey Schoenbaum, Nora Volkow, Charles O'Brien, Peter Kalivas, Robert Edwards, Richard Palmiter, R. mark Wightman Marina Picciotto, and Eric Nestler, http://leadingstrand.cshl.edu/Drug/Drug11/
The National Institute on Drug Abuse at the National Institutes of Health is an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services TO UNSUBSCRIBE: send email to listserv@list.nih.gov<mailto:listserv@list.nih.gov>, Copy and paste UNSUBSCRIBE NIDA_NEURO_SCIENCE-L in the message body of the email
- You will receive a confirmation email if successful. If you have problems contact jpollock@mail.nih.gov 301-435-1309
