Request for Information (RFI): Identifying Gaps in Understanding the Mechanisms of Physical Activity-Induced Health Benefits

Additional Information:
http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-RM-14-001.html

Description:
Increased physical activity has been linked to numerous health benefits including improved cardiovascular and respiratory health, insulin sensitivity, bone and muscle strength, and cognitive function. In addition to these improvements, physical activity is associated with reductions in coronary heart disease, stroke, some cancers, type 2 diabetes and depression (http://www.health.gov/paguidelines/guidelines/chapter2.aspx). For most health outcomes, benefits increase as the amount of physical activity increases through higher intensity, greater frequency, or longer duration, although the magnitude of these benefits diminishes with advancing age.

For the purposes of this request, physical activity is defined as any bodily movement produced by the contraction of skeletal muscle that increases energy expenditure above basal levels.

Although researchers have demonstrated that physical activity contributes to improved health outcomes (for purposes of this request, “improved health” and related phrases include reduced risk of disease), studies tend to focus on a single signaling pathway, tissue, or organ system and have not identified the molecular mechanisms by which physical activity is beneficial. Such compartmentalization limits the scope and impact of most research findings.

The NIH Common Fund is exploring strategies to help the research community develop a more integrative perspective on the molecular and cellular mechanisms through which physical activity improves multiple health outcomes.  The NIH is requesting comments, to include but not limited to addressing the following:

A. The most pressing research questions related to the molecular and cellular mechanisms by which physical activity improves health and reduces the risk of disease.

B. The types of new protocols, techniques, and tools needed to answer these research questions.

C. The likely translational applications for new knowledge about the mechanisms by which physical activity improves overall health and the long-term, overarching benefits of this knowledge.

New Connections: Increasing Diversity of RWJF Programming

Additional Information:
http://www.rwjf.org/content/rwjf/en/grants/calls-for-proposals/2013/new-connections-midcareer-consultants-2013-cfp.html

Description:
The New Connections program provides support and training to Midcareer Consultantsto address priorities related to RWJF’s program areas: Childhood Obesity, Coverage, Human Capital, Pioneer, Public Health, Quality/Equality and Vulnerable Populations. This round of New Connections funding will focus on projects addressing health disparities. A brief overview of programming priorities and research topics is included on pages 2-3. Please go to www.rwjf-newconnections.org and click on “Research Topics” for more detail.

Capacity Building Grants

Additional Information:
http://nb3foundation.org/capacity-building-grants.html


Description:

The purpose of the Native Strong: Healthy Kids, Healthy Futures Capacity Building Grant is to support:

1)    Community Health Assessments (new or ongoing): to better understand the root causes of childhood obesity and type 2 diabetes which will result in strategies and an action plan to address this health issue; or 

2)    Community Planning and Capacity Building: to create a community-driven action plan to address childhood obesity and type 2 diabetes (i.e. host stakeholder convenings, coalition building and collaboration efforts)

Grants will be awarded up to $20,000 each.  Applications will be accepted from throughout the U.S. However preference will be given to grantees from three specific regions – the Southwest (New Mexico, Arizona), the Upper Midwest (Minnesota, Wisconsin) and the Southern Plains (Oklahoma, Texas).

Washington University Bear Cub Fund

Additional Information:
http://research.wustl.edu/Offices_Committees/OTM/faculty/Pages/TranslationalResearch.aspx#bear_cub

Description:
The Bear Cub Fund was initiated by the Vice Chancellor for Research to support faculty in translational studies not normally supported by federal grants from the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, and other sources.

Bear Cub Fund awards are designed to support translational research activities that will generate results to improve commercial licensing opportunities and/or investment potential. Such proof-of-concept studies are increasingly required by potential licensees to provide additional confidence that a technology will work in an applied setting.

The individual awards of $20,000 to $75,000 are intended to support research projects of one year or less.

APPLICATION DEADLINE: November 30, 2013

Dissemination and Implementation Research in Health (R01, R03, and R21)

Additional Information:

http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-10-038.html (R01)

http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-10-039.html (R03)

http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-10-040.html (R21)

 

Description:

Dissemination and implementation research intends to bridge the gap between public health, clinical research, and everyday practice by building a knowledge base about how health information, interventions, and new clinical practices are transmitted and translated for public health and health care service use in specific settings. Unfortunately, there continues to be great variation in how these terms are used. Dissemination and implementation have both been used to represent the complete process of bringing "evidence" into practice, originally defined as "diffusion." While using the terms dissemination and implementation to cover such a wide area can be very helpful in facilitating discussion, it does not allow for the division of this very complex diffusion process into smaller, more easily addressed research questions that can develop a robust knowledge base. We are inviting applications that will continue to break down the complexity of bridging research and practice.

For the purpose of this FOA, we make a distinction between "dissemination" and "implementation."

• Dissemination is the targeted distribution of information and intervention materials to a specific public health or clinical practice audience. The intent is to spread knowledge and the associated evidence-based interventions.
• Implementation is the use of strategies to adopt and integrate evidence-based health interventions and change practice patterns within specific settings.

This distinction needs to be made because interventions developed in the context of efficacy and effectiveness trials are rarely transferable without adaptations to specific settings. Therefore, research is needed to examine the process of transferring interventions into local settings, settings that may be similar to but also somewhat different from the ones in which the intervention was developed and tested.

Collaborative Interdisciplinary Team Science in NIDDK Research Areas (R24)

Additional Information:

http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-13-305.html

Description:

The purpose of this FOA is to encourage applications that assemble an interdisciplinary, collaborative team of creative, independent, and funded investigators to address a complex and important problem relevant to the mission of NIDDK.  The team should be able to provide an integrative plan of working together to effectively address the complex challenge at hand.  The team science approach encouraged by this FOA could be used to generate a research resource, which may include discovery-based or hypothesis-generative approaches, to advance the relevant area of biomedical research.

Home and Family Based Approaches for the Prevention or Management of Overweight or Obesity in Early Childhood (R01)(R21)

 Additional Information:

http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-13-153.html

Description:

This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) invites Research Project Grant (R01) applications from institutions/organizations that propose randomized clinical trials testing novel home- or family-based interventions for the prevention or management of overweight in infancy and early childhood.  Tested interventions can use behavioral (including dietary and physical activity), environmental, or other relevant approaches.

Applications should focus on infants and young children (to age 6 years) and emphasize the role of home environment and the influence of family/extended family members and parents (including guardians/ substantial care providers) within the child's home environment.  The direct goal of this initiative is to fund research that will advance knowledge for innovative approaches to the prevention or management of overweight in children less than 6 years of age, with potential for future translation to applications either in the home or linked to a community setting.  Research should consider the familial mechanisms of behavior such as the role of families in the initiation, support, and reinforcement of fundamental food and beverage consumption, physical activity practices, and sedentary behaviors.  In addition, it is of interest to elucidate various underlying behavioral determinants that are crucial to initiate or sustain changes in behaviors that impact energy balance.  Research designs may include linkages with other settings (e.g., daycare, pre-school, or other community venues) or other care providers (e.g., health care providers or teachers) but must include infants or children less than age 6 years as the primary study participant along with parents, and/or other family members residing with the child.  The overarching goal is to identify interventions that influence parent and child behaviors that contribute to inappropriate weight gain, and thereby improve subsequent health status in childhood, adolescence, and adulthood for which overweight is a known risk factor.