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

Notice Number: NOT-NS-09-009

Key Dates
Release Date: May 28, 2009

Issued by
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) (http://www.ninds.nih.gov)

Purpose and Background

The purpose of this Notice is to indicate the intent to issue a Request for Applications (RFA), with set-aside funds, to continue the Morris K. Udall Centers of Excellence for Parkinson’s Disease Research program. It is also intended to alert potential applicants, including existing Centers approaching competing renewal, to the change in the Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) from Program Announcement (PAR) to RFA. Finally, the Notice is being provided to allow potential applicants sufficient time to develop meaningful collaborations and responsive projects.

The previous Udall Center FOA (http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-06-058.html), which expired on May 8, 2009, will not be renewed.

The RFA is expected to be published in the summer of 2009 with an anticipated application receipt date of November 20, 2009.

This RFA, like previous announcements, will utilize the Specialized Center Mechanism (P50).

Research Initiative Details

The goal of the Udall Centers program is to fund high quality, multidisciplinary and synergistic Centers that can rapidly advance innovative basic, translational and clinical research to improve understanding and treatment of Parkinson’s disease (PD) and related disorders. These 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.

This Notice encourages established investigators with proven expertise in and/or novel insights on PD and related disorders to consider applying through this upcoming RFA. Applications from Principal Investigators outside of the PD field are welcome if their specific expertise can provide novel approaches to identification of disease mechanism and therapeutic targets.

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. As Centers of Excellence, Udall Centers should serve as regional or national resources for the study of PD and related parkinsonian disorders.

The overall theme of the Center, proposed research projects and scientific Cores should relate directly to the etiology, pathogenesis or treatment of PD and parkinsonian disorders.

At this critical juncture for PD research and in the evolution of the Udall Centers program, this RFA will solicit applications focused on an identified area of need: the translation of basic research into clinical practice. While basic research has and will continue to serve as the foundation of discovery, each proposed Center must include at least one translational project. For this purpose, translation is defined as pre-IND/IDE (Investigational New Drug/Investigational Device Exemption) stage research on potential therapeutic or diagnostic candidates.  Inclusion of an integrated clinical component is encouraged.

Responsive applications will  demonstrate potential to:

    • pursue rapid translation of basic research to clinical practice
    • contribute unique knowledge and results to the Udall Centers program
    • collaborate effectively with existing Centers
    • serve as a local or national resource for PD research

NINDS policy for Udall Centers establishes the following budget limits: new or competing renewal applications may request maximum annual direct costs of $1,000,000; a requested budget of $1,500,000 is permitted with inclusion of a clinical component. The clinical component and accompanying budget should be clearly described and specified.

Full details will be available in the RFA.

APPLICATIONS ARE NOT BEING SOLICITED AT THIS TIME.

Inquiries

For further information, please contact:

Beth-Anne Sieber, PhD
Program Director, Neurodegeneration Cluster
Division of Extramural Research
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
6001 Executive Boulevard, Room 2192
Bethesda, MD 20892-9531
Phone: (301) 496-5680
Email: sieberb@ninds.nih.gov