Notice of Special Interest to Encourage Resource-Related Research Project Applications for Developing Methods for Cryogenic or Other Long-term Preservation and Revival of Drosophila and Zebrafish Genetic Stocks

Notice Number: NOT-OD-19-081

Key Dates
Release Date: February 27, 2019

Related Announcements
PAR-16-369
NOT-OD-19-089

Issued by
Division of Program Coordination, Planning and Strategic Initiatives, Office of Research Infrastructure Programs (ORIP)

Purpose

ORIP is issuing this Notice to highlight its interest in receiving grant applications through PAR-16-369: Resource-Related Research Projects for Development of Animal Models and Related Materials (R24) focused on resource-related research projects aimed at developing cost-effective and reliable approaches to cryogenic or other long-term preservation and revival of Drosophila and zebrafish stocks. Priority will be given to cryogenic approaches, particularly high throughput ones, that can be reliably and widely used by stock centers or individual laboratories with a large number of stocks.

Areas of high priority include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Germplasm cryogenic or other long-term preservation procedures and tools to achieve efficient, reliable, reproducible and cost-effective approaches for genetic banking and revival of stocks, including vitrification methods;
  • Tools and processes to standardize cryogenic or other long-term preservation protocols that can boost the reliability, reproducibility, simplicity, throughput capacity and efficiency of stock preservation;
  • Methods to extend lifespan and reproductive lifespan that can reduce stock maintenance effort, including transgenic and dietary approaches (Drosophila only);
  • Novel methods for dehydration of implantable gonad tissues (Drosophila only);
  • Studies that focus on developing methods to extend the health and reproductive capability of live cultures and hence significantly reduce the turn-over frequency of live cultures and maintenance effort are also appropriate for this announcement (Drosophila only);
  • Strategies to increase the cryopreservation efficiency of embryos (Zebrafish only).

Application and Submission Information:

Submissions should indicate that they are in response to NOT-OD-19-081 in Field 4.b on the SF 424 form.

Program Directors/Principal Investigators (PD/PIs) planning to submit applications on this topic are strongly encouraged to contact the scientific contacts listed in this Notice to be advised on the appropriateness of the intended resource or research plans for this program, competitiveness of a potential application and alignment with ORIP's program priorities.

Inquiries

Please direct all inquiries to:

For Drosophila related inquiries:

Sige Zou, Ph.D.
Office of Research Infrastructure Programs (ORIP)
Telephone: 301-435-0749
Email: zous@mail.nih.gov

For zebrafish related inquiries:

Miguel Contreras, Ph.D.
Office of Research Infrastructure Programs (ORIP)
Telephone: 301-594-9410
Email: contre1@mail.nih.gov