Notice Number: NOT-DA-17-063

Key Dates
Release Date: December 7, 2017

Issued by
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)

Purpose

NIDA is issuing this Notice to highlight its interest in receiving career development award grant applications from research chemists who want to expand their knowledge into the complementary fields of biology, pharmacology or neuroscience. NIDA intends to increase the workforce of cross-trained chemists who can perform early translational work on drug abuse. Through training and career development with an established mentor with complementary expertise, the applicant’s scientific research proficiency will be broadened. These experiences will enable the career development awardee to more comprehensively and significantly address addiction-related research questions utilizing chemical, pharmacological and/or computational approaches. Research projects can involve assay development, ligand discovery, ligand-receptor interactions and development or the design of pharmacological tools or technologies that aim to treat all aspects of addiction, including but not limited to craving, tolerance, withdrawal symptoms etc., and its adverse effects.

Examples of projects that are encouraged through this Notice include, but are not limited to:

• Combining chemical, pharmacological, and/or neurobehavioral approaches to identify and develop chemical ligands with therapeutic potential (e.g., hit identification and DMPK/tox studies of potential lead compounds)
• System biology approaches including proteomics, metabolomics, lipidomics, transcriptimics
• Development of novel drug delivery technologies, (e.g., nanotechnological approaches for targeted drug delivery of payloads including labile compounds or peptides
• Development of vaccines or antibodies for drug abuse treatment
• Development of nanobodies with possible applications to structure based drug discovery, intracellular imaging, in vivo imaging probes (e.g., PET), structure-function assays, targeted delivery systems, or as potential therapeutics
• Development of novel ligands for positron emission tomography (PET)
• Combining receptor pharmacology with cell biology to uncover cellular signaling engaged by ligand-receptor interactions
• Structural studies including determination of 3D structures of ligands, receptors, receptors with associated G-proteins, beta-arrestin etc.; structures of transporters (efflux transporters), channels and related critical chemical entities by X-Ray crystallography, cryo-EM and related technologies
• Development of probes for structural elucidation of receptors, transporters, protein-protein interactions
• Identification of new chemical scaffolds based upon natural products for potential drug discovery

NIDA’s intent in issuing this notice is to provide support and "protected time" (up to five years, depending upon the funding mechanism) for an intensive chemistry-based, cross-disciplinary career development experience.

NIDA invites career development award applications from early stage investigators, who have a research doctorate in chemistry who are seeking mentored career development and from early to midcareer investigators and clinicians with research support who are in faculty positions.

All requirements of the relevant Funding Opportunity Announcement will need to be followed in any application (and award) that proposes to develop and conduct a study on one of these high priority areas. Possible funding opportunities that can be used are below or their reissues:

• PA-16-190 Mentored Research Scientist Development Award (Parent K01)
• PA-16-191 Mentored Clinical Scientist Research Career Development Award (Parent K08)
• PA-16-198 Mentored Patient-Oriented Research Career Development Award (Parent K23)
• PA-16-193 NIH Pathway to Independence Award (Parent K99/R00)
• PA-16-192 Independent Scientist Award (Parent K02)
• PA-16-206 Midcareer Investigator Award in Patient-Oriented Research (Parent K24)
• PA-18-363 Mentored Research Scientist Development Award (Parent K01 - Independent Clinical Trial Required)
• PA-18-369 Mentored Research Scientist Development Award (Parent K01 - Independent Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
• PA-18-372 Mentored Clinical Scientist Research Career Development Award (Parent K08-Independent Clinical Trial Required)
• PA-18-373 Mentored Clinical Scientist Research Career Development Award (Parent K08 - Independent Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
• PA-18-374 Mentored Patient-Oriented Research Career Development Award (Parent K23- Independent Clinical Trial Required)
• PA-18-375 Mentored Patient-Oriented Research Career Development Award (Parent K23 - Independent Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
• PA-18-397 NIH Pathway to Independence Award (Parent K99/R00-Independent Clinical Trial Required)
• PA-18-398 NIH Pathway to Independence Award (Parent K99/R00-Independent Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
• PA-18-370 Independent Scientist Award (Parent K02- Independent Clinical Trial Required)
• PA-18-371 Independent Scientist Award (Parent K02 - Independent Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
• PA-18-393 Midcareer Investigator Award in Patient-Oriented Research (Parent K24- Independent Clinical Trial Required)
• PA-18-394 Midcareer Investigator Award in Patient-Oriented Research (Parent K24 - Independent Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
• PA-18-395 Mentored Quantitative Research Development Award (Parent K25 - Independent Clinical Trial Required)
• PA-18-396 Mentored Quantitative Research Development Award (Parent K25 - Independent Clinical Trial Not Allowed)

Applicants considering such an application are strongly encouraged to consult with NIDA Program Officials prior to submission.

Inquiries

Please direct all inquiries to:

Kiran Vemuri, Ph.D.
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
Email: [email protected]
Telephone: 301-402-3396