NIEHS Collaborative Centers for Parkinson’s Disease Environmental Research (CCPDER) Program: Notice of New Round of Competition with Broadened Scope

Notice Number: NOT-ES-07-002

Key Dates
Release Date: November 3, 2006

Issued by
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), (http://www.niehs.nih.gov/)

Background

The NIEHS created the Collaborative Centers for Parkinson’s Disease Environmental Research (CCPDER) Program (http://www.niehs.nih.gov/ccpder/) in 2002 to foster interdisciplinary approaches to study gene-environment interactions in Parkinson’s Disease (PD) and to speed the translation of research findings to intervention and prevention strategies.  The CCPDER is a five-year, $20 million program utilizing the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Cooperative Agreement U54 Specialized Cooperative Center program award mechanism (RFA-ES-02-003).

Three Centers are currently funded through this Program.  Each Center contains Integrative Research Projects utilizing multidisciplinary approaches to explore gene-environment interactions in PD, an Administrative Core to provide coordination, integration, and oversight of the activities of the CCPDER member, and a Research Development Core for developing and supporting pilot projects. The CCPDER Steering Committee oversees collaborative activities between CCPDER members. 

Change in CCPDER Program to encompass other neurodegenerative diseases

Funding for the current CCPDERs will end in August 2007.  In recognition of the progress that has been achieved through the existing CCPDER Program, and to provide comparable opportunities for investigators who study other neurodegenerative diseases, the NIEHS intends to issue an RFA soliciting applications for a new round of Centers. This new Program, which will be named the Collaborative Centers for Neurodegenerative Disease Environmental Research (CCNDER), is aimed at supporting the study of neurodegenerative diseases for which there is significant evidence for environmental influences in disease etiology, phenotypic expression and/or progression.

The NIEHS expects to release the CCNDER RFA in January 2007, with an anticipated receipt date in June-July 2007, and awards issued as early as April-May 2008.  Each CCNDER application will be required to constitute an interdisciplinary team of investigators who will conduct a series of integrated research projects that address questions of environmental influences in neurodegenerative disease.  Each Center application will be required to include one or more human-based studies in addition to projects that propose mechanistic experimental work in cells or non-human model systems.  Applicants need not have an existing base of extramurally-funded research. The total funds available for this RFA will not exceed those of the original Program (4 million dollars in total costs for each of five years). No additional details regarding the CCNDER RFA will be available prior to its release in the Guide.

The NIEHS uses a variety of mechanisms to support interdisciplinary research teams and extramural investigators are encouraged to explore other opportunities for disease-focused research in environmental health sciences, including the DISCOVER (Disease Investigations through Clinically Oriented Ventures in Environmental Research) Program (http://www.niehs.nih.gov/dert/discover/home.htm).

Inquiry

Specific questions about this Notice may be directed to:

Cindy P. Lawler, Ph.D.
Program Administrator
Cellular, Organ and System Pathobiology Branch
Division of Extramural Research and Training
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
Phone: (919) 316-4671
Fax: (919) 541-5064
Email: lawler@niehs.nih.gov