NIH Basic Behavioral and Social Science Opportunity Network (
OPPNET)
National Institute on
Aging (NIA)
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and
Stroke (NINDS)
National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR)
National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD)
National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH)
All applications to this funding opportunity announcement should fall within the mission of the Institutes/Centers. The following NIH Offices may co-fund applications assigned to those Institutes/Centers.
Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR)
The purpose of this Notice is to add a third due date and additional areas of focus especially of interest for PAR-19-373 and PAR-19-384 "Research on Biopsychosocial Factors of Social Connectedness and Isolation on Health, Wellbeing, Illness, and Recovery (R01 Clinical Trials Not Allowed/Basic Experimental Studies with Humans Required), between the two current due dates, March 17, 2020 and March 17, 2021.
In Part 1 of both PARs, under Key Dates, an additional application due date of June 8, 2020, is added.
I. Part 1 Key Dates in PAR-19-373 and PAR-19-384
Currently Reads:
Application Due Date(s):
March 17, 2020; March 17, 2021
All applications are due by 5:00 PM local time of applicant organization. All types of non-AIDS applications allowed for this funding opportunity announcement are due on the listed date(s).
Applicants are encouraged to apply early to allow adequate time to make any corrections to errors found in the application during the submission process by the due date.
II. Part 1 Key Dates in PAR-19-373 and PAR-19-384
Modified (by this Notice) to Read (in italics):
Application Due Date(s):
March 17, 2020; June 8, 2020; March 17, 2021
Scientific Merit Review:
June 2020, October 2020, June 2021
All applications are due by 5:00 PM local time of applicant organization. All types of non-AIDS applications allowed for this funding opportunity announcement are due on the listed date(s).
Applicants are encouraged to apply early to allow adequate time to make any corrections to errors found in the application during the submission process by the due date.
Scientific Merit Review:
June 2020, October 2020; June 2021
Advisory Council Review:
August 2020, January 2021, August 2021
III. Part 1 Key Dates in PAR-19-373 and PAR-19-384
Remain Unmodified:
Earliest Start Date
September 2020
Expiration Date
March 18, 2021
In Part 1 of both PARs, under Part 2, Section I. Funding Opportunity Description, two of the Three areas of focus especially of interest to OppNet and participating NIH ICO’s include, but are not limited to, those listed below now appear as,
1. Effects of social connectedness, connection, and isolation across the lifespan
- Affective and cognitive function during the aging process
- Contextual factors that increase or mitigate impact of disruption or isolation at different developmental time points, e.g.,
- Caregivers of people with dementia, severe illness, end-of-life
- Chronic illness or limited mobility
- Perceived strength or quality of extant social connections
- Recent diagnosis with a serious medical illness
- Sleep changes across the lifespan (e.g. during adolescence, early parenthood, menopause)
- Molecular markers and mechanisms (e.g., epigenetic modifications, gene expression, microbiome alterations, telomere attrition) associated with changes in social connectedness
- Neurobiological developmental trajectories
- Protective and/or risk factors associated with isolation or connection disruption at different times in development and over the lifespan
- (e.g., adolescence, death of mate/parent, middle-age males, onset of serious medical diagnosis)
- Aggressive behaviors and/or risky sexual activity associated with connection trajectories
- Mechanisms of connectedness, connection, and isolation
- Neurobiological factors
- Impact on structure and function of the nervous system (central, peripheral, autonomic)
- Impact of neuroimmune and neuroendocrine systems
- Impact on neural systems associated with basic affective, cognitive, and social processes
- Importance of inter-individual neural synchrony in mediating or moderating effects in relationship trajectories
- Neurobiological biosignatures that predict sensitivity to connection disruption or isolation
- Neurobiological processes that could be targets to ameliorate negative effects of disruption or isolation
- Neurophysiological consequences of disruption or isolation on substance use disorders (SUDs) and mental illness
- Behavioral and environmental factors
- The consequences of perceived isolation (e.g., loneliness) and/or objective/observed isolation on behavioral and clinical outcomes in adolescence and adulthood
- Connections between social disruption/isolation in specific populations and/or health/illness contexts, e.g.,
- Sex/gender differences; sexual and gender minorities
- Racial/ethnic differences, acculturation/bicultural adaptations and contributions to social integration versus isolation
- Autism, HIV, mental illness, recovery status, substance use disorder
- Whether the source of connection disruption leads to different processes or outcomes
- E.g., Self-induced isolation versus isolation by others, or sense of undesired loneliness vs. sought solitude
Modified (by this Notice) to Read (in italics):
1. Effects of social connectedness, connection, and isolation across the lifespan
- Affective and cognitive function during the aging process
- Contextual factors that increase or mitigate impact of disruption or isolation at different developmental time points, e.g.,
- Caregivers of people with COVID-19, dementia, severe illness, end-of-life
- Chronic illness or limited mobility
- Perceived strength or quality of extant social connections
- Recent diagnosis with a serious medical illness including, but not limited to, COVID-19
- Sleep changes across the lifespan (e.g. during adolescence, early parenthood, menopause)
- Molecular markers and mechanisms (e.g., epigenetic modifications, gene expression, microbiome alterations, telomere attrition) associated with changes in social connectedness
- Neurobiological developmental trajectories
- Protective and/or risk factors associated with isolation or connection disruption at different times in development and over the lifespan
- (e.g., adolescence, death of mate/parent, middle-age males, onset of serious medical diagnosis)
- Aggressive behaviors and/or risky sexual activity associated with connection trajectories
- Mechanisms of connectedness, connection, and isolation
- Neurobiological factors
- Impact on structure and function of the nervous system (central, peripheral, autonomic)
- Impact of neuroimmune and neuroendocrine systems
- Impact on neural systems associated with basic affective, cognitive, and social processes
- Importance of inter-individual neural synchrony in mediating or moderating effects in relationship trajectories
- Neurobiological biosignatures that predict sensitivity to connection disruption or isolation
- Neurobiological processes that could be targets to ameliorate negative effects of disruption or isolation
- Neurophysiological consequences of disruption or isolation on substance use disorders (SUDs) and mental illness
- Behavioral and environmental factors
- The consequences of perceived isolation (e.g., loneliness) and/or objective/observed isolation on behavioral and clinical outcomes in adolescence and adulthood
- Connections between social disruption/isolation in specific populations and/or health/illness contexts, e.g.,
- Sex/gender differences; sexual and gender minorities
- Racial/ethnic differences, acculturation/bicultural adaptations and contributions to social integration versus isolation
- Autism, COVID-19, HIV, mental illness, recovery status, substance use disorder
- Whether the source of connection disruption leads to different processes or outcomes
- E.g., Self-induced isolation versus isolation by others, or sense of undesired loneliness vs. sought solitude
- E.g., Isolation as the result of preventing COVID-19 from a household, or preventing COVID-19 infection within a household
NOTE: All other aspects of these funding opportunity announcements (PAR-19-373 and PAR-19-384) remain unchanged.
