Notice of Intent to Publish a Request for Applications for the NINDS Morris K. Udall Centers of Excellence for Parkinson's Disease Research (P50)


Notice Number: NOT-NS-12-021

Key Dates

Release Date: September 6, 2012
Estimated Publication Date of Announcement: November 2012
Estimated Application Due Date: January 2013

Issued by

National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)

Purpose

The NINDS intends to issue a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) to continue the Morris K. Udall Centers of Excellence for Parkinson's Disease Research program. It is anticipated that this FOA will be published in the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts in November of 2012, with the application receipt date in January 2013. This FOA will utilize the Specialized Center (P50) activity code. Details of the planned FOA are provided below.

Research Initiative Details

The goal of this NINDS program is to fund multidisciplinary research Centers of Excellence that will rapidly advance innovative research to our understanding and treatment of Parkinson’s disease (PD) and related disorders. Udall Centers perform state-of-the-art research on PD, including examination of underlying neurobiological and neuropathological mechanisms, identification and characterization of candidate and disease-associated genes, establishment of improved PD models and development and testing of potential therapeutics, and the initiation of novel avenues of clinical research. As Centers of Excellence, Udall Centers should serve as regional and national resources for the study of PD and related parkinsonian disorders.

The Udall Centers program utilizes a Specialized Center (P50) grant mechanism, which is designed to support a spectrum of basic, translational and clinical research activities utilizing an integrated, multidisciplinary approach to a specific disease entity or biomedical problem area. The overall theme of the Center, proposed research projects and integral resource Cores should relate directly to the etiology, pathogenesis or treatment of PD and related parkinsonian disorders.

This Notice encourages established investigators with proven expertise in and/or novel insights into PD and related disorders to consider applying through this upcoming FOA. Applications from Principal Investigators not currently pursuing PD research are welcome if their specific expertise, together with proof of project feasibility and relevance, can provide novel approaches to the identification of disease mechanisms and therapeutic targets for PD and related disorders.

Centers will be expected to contribute unique knowledge to the ongoing network of Udall Centers programs and to collaborate within that network.

While basic research on PD has and will continue to serve as the foundation of discovery in the Udall Centers program, each proposed Center must include at least one, small-scale, early translational research project. In this context, translational research is defined as investigations focusing on the development of therapeutics, diagnostics, devices or clinical criteria that would ultimately lead to new approaches for the treatment of PD.

NINDS policy for Udall Centers includes the following budget limits for new or renewal applications: applicants may request maximum annual direct costs of $1,500,000; accompanying budget should be clearly described and specified.

Full details will be available in the FOA.

APPLICATIONS ARE NOT BEING SOLICITED AT THIS TIME.

Inquiries

Please direct all inquiries to:

Beth-Anne Sieber, PhD
Program Director, Neurodegeneration Cluster
Division of Extramural Research
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
6001 Executive Boulevard, Room 2223
Bethesda, MD 20892-9525
Phone: (301) 496-5680
Email: sieberb@ninds.nih.gov