Articles
Bringing out the best in us during the pandemic
Autism risk estimated at 3 to 5% for children whose parents have a sibling with autism
COVID-19 Brings Health Disparities Research to the Forefront
NIH-supported research survey to examine impact of COVID-19 on rare diseases community
NIH-funded study links early sleep problems to autism diagnosis among at-risk children
Emergency drug overdose visits associated with increased risk for later suicide
COVID-19
The NIH-supported Rare Diseases Clinical Research Network (RDCRN) has announced the launch of a new online survey to investigate how the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting individuals with rare diseases, their families, and caregivers. The new survey represents one of the first nationwide efforts to quantify the impact of a health crisis on the rare disease community, which encompasses approximately 30 million people in the U.S. For more information on the survey, or to participate, please visit the RDCRN COVID-19 survey site.
National Science Foundation has established a digital resource for information about the novel Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19). This page is updated frequently and includes links to their latest guidance on upcoming program deadlines as well as budget and logistics questions pertaining to existing awards that may be affected in various ways. For the latter, you may find this document describing additional administrative flexibilities and the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) for NSF Proposers and Awardees particularly helpful. These temporary flexibilities are designed to support the best possible science under the current difficult circumstances. It also links to a Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) that NSF issued earlier this month inviting research proposals via NSF’s Rapid Response Research (RAPID) mechanism on topics of specific relevance to COVID-19.
Neurological Disorders and Stroke
The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) released a Request for Information (RFI) (NS-20-026) to gather information on health disparities and inequities in neurological disorders. They are seeking input on the most important knowledge gaps, health and research needs, and promising opportunities to help NINDS research on health disparities and inequities in neurological diseases, services, and care. This RFI will be open for public comment until June 15, 2020 via an online web form at https://www.ninds.nih.gov/RFI-NOT-NS-20-026
Natural Science Foundation
You are invited to attend the Advisory Committee Meeting for National Science Foundation Directorate for Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences on June 4, 2020 from 11:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. EDT. Zoom webinar registration page *Real-time captions will be available for this event. To view the captions, go to the live captioning page and enter event ID 4439649.
Alzheimer's and Aging Research
National Institute on Aging recently launched a new data sharing resources page for researchers. This new page compiles a variety of data sharing policies, considerations, and guidance, as well as links to related NIA-funded initiatives and repositories, both for Alzheimer’s disease and other aging research.
On the InsideNIA Blog, Dr. Partha Bhattacharyya, Program Director in the NIA Division of Behavioral and Social Research, highlighted two new funding opportunities for pragmatic dementia research. These opportunities are sponsored by the NIA Imbedded Pragmatic Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) and AD-Related Dementias (ADRD) Clinical Trials Collaboratory (Impact Collaboratory). The Impact Collaboratory has released two new Requests for Applications (RFAs) for conducting ePCTs in persons with AD/ADRD, including an RFA for a 1-year ePCT pilot; and an RFA for 2-year career development awards to support early-stage investigators in this area. Please see Dr. Bhattacharyya’s full blog post for due dates for each RFA, including respective deadlines for letters of intent and full proposals, as well as dates of upcoming informational webinars on the RFAs.
On the InsideNIA Blog, Dr. Luigi Ferrucci, NIA Scientific Director, discussed the establishment of the Center for Alzheimer’s and Related Dementias (CARD). A joint initiative of NIA and the National Institute for Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), CARD will be housed in a newly constructed headquarters on the main NIH campus in Bethesda, Maryland, and is slated to open in the fall of 2021. CARD’s mission is to accelerate basic, translational, and clinical research on Alzheimer’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease-related dementias (AD/ADRD).
A new NIA-sponsored study suggests that retinal abnormalities may serve as biomarkers of Alzheimer’s disease.
A new NIA-funded Clinician Scientists Transdisciplinary Aging Research (Clin-STAR) Coordinating Center exists to connect and support the diverse array of aging researchers in the U.S. in order to advance transdisciplinary aging research.