Spotlight
Videocast—NIAMS Coalition Outreach and Education Meeting
NIAMS held its ninth biennial Coalition Outreach and Education (O&E) Meeting on September 19, at the Natcher Conference Center on the National Institutes of Health (NIH) campus in Bethesda, Maryland. The NIAMS Coalition is an independent group of more than 90 professional and voluntary organizations interested in programs that are under NIAMS’ purview. More than 50 participants from 45 Coalition organizations attended the meeting. Watch the recorded plenary sessions from O&E Day.
News
Higher Income and Longer Working Years Are Linked to Better Mobility
A new NIAMS-funded study on the relationship between mobility and income has shown that better mobility was strongly associated with higher income and longer working years in adults. The findings also suggest that maintaining mobility was linked to greater earnings over time.
NIAMS Is Accepting Applications for Scientific Director Position
The Scientific Director will lead the NIAMS Intramural Research Program (IRP) in collaboration with the NIAMS Clinical Director. Review of applications will begin October 30, 2023. Applications will continue to be accepted and considered until the position is filled. Read the NIH IRP announcement or the Human Resources job announcement.
2023 NIAMS Interns Return to In-Person Research in Labs
This past summer, the Career Development and Outreach Branch of the NIAMS IRP welcomed 16 interns from across the country to participate in the NIAMS Summer Internship Program, known as InVTRO. The interns worked in 12 different IRP labs for the 9-week program, where they were able to conduct research into a variety of diseases within the NIAMS mission areas. Meet this year’s interns.
Conquering Low Back Pain: Finding the Best Treatment for Individual Patients
The Helping to End Addiction Long-term® Initiative, or NIH HEAL Initiative®, and NIAMS-funded clinical trial, “Biomarkers for Evaluating Spine Treatments (BEST),” is taking an innovative approach to understanding how individual people experience pain—and what back pain treatments are most effective for people based on their unique traits. Read more about this large collaborative study developed by the Back Pain Consortium (BACPAC) Research Program.
Cold Virus May Set the Stage for Long COVID
NIAMS and NIH-funded research involving people with rheumatic diseases showed that prior infection with a common cold coronavirus may predispose them to developing Long COVID. The findings identified a potential marker that could help identify people at high risk of developing Long COVID.
NIH Director's Blog: Pain Circuit Discovery in the Brain Suggests Promising Alternative to Opioid Painkillers
In a study in mice, researchers tested a drug on acetylcholine receptors in the brain, finding that pain relief occurred with no signs of dependency or addiction. Another discovery suggests that acetylcholine receptors in the brain play a role in the process of acute pain becoming chronic.
NIH Launches Community-Led Research Program to Advance Health Equity
Through the NIH Common Fund Community Partnerships to Advance Science for Society (ComPASS) program, 26 NIH awards will enable community organizations to examine ways to address structural drivers of health, including access to safe spaces; healthy food; employment opportunities; transportation; and quality health care.
Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) Launches Nationwide Health Innovation Network
ARPANET-H is a nationwide health innovation network that connects people, innovators, and institutions. The network is anchored by three regional hubs—one focused on designing technology for the American people and their caregivers, another on catalyzing markets and industry to ensure solutions thrive after government funding, and a third hub in the National Capital Region focused on coordinating with federal partners and managing ARPA-H’s programs.
NIH News in Health: To Heal a Wound—Helping the Skin Fix Itself
Skin wounds that don't heal properly can lead to dangerous and painful infections. This “all-about-skin-healing” article features the work of and comments from several researchers at NIH, including Maria Morasso, Ph.D., chief of the NIAMS Laboratory of Skin Biology.
Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 Funding Plan
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), including NIH, operates under the “Continuing Appropriations Act, 2024 and Other Extensions Act” (Public Law 118-015) signed by President Biden on September 30, 2023. This Act (CR) continues government operations through November 17, 2023, at the FY 2023 enacted level.
COVID-19 Updates: Keep up with the latest on COVID-19 with health information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and research from NIH.
Resources
Lupus Awareness Videos on Instagram
Mariana Kaplan, M.D., chief of the Systemic Autoimmunity Branch at NIAMS, answers frequently asked questions about lupus in three Instagram videos:
Stay Fit, Stay Active, Stay Mobile...Stay Stronger Than Sarcopenia
The HHS Office on Women’s Health is sponsoring a new nationwide campaign to raise awareness about sarcopenia, a loss of muscle and strength that can happen when someone gets older and does less physical activity. Check out new resources to learn about staying stronger than sarcopenia.
Spotlight on Scientific Imagery: Stem Cells Growing on Woven Scaffold
This image shows stem cells (stained green) growing throughout the pores of a three-dimensional, biodegradable, woven scaffold (stained red), which was designed to fit over the ball of the patient’s hip joint. This work may lead to treatments for hip osteoarthritis that avoid the need for extensive hip replacement surgery.
Funding Opportunities
Human Virome Program: Developing novel and innovative tools to interrogate and annotate the human virome (U01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) (RFA-RM-23-018)
Due date: November 14, 2023
Human Virome Program: Characterization of functional interactions between viruses and human and microbial hosts (U01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) (RFA-RM-23-017)
Due date: November 15, 2023
Human Virome Characterization Centers (U54 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) (RFA-RM-23-019)
Due date: November 17, 2023
Consortium Organization and Data Collaboration Center (CODCC) for the Human Virome Program (HVP) (U24 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) (RFA-RM-23-016)
Due date: November 29, 2023
Research Supplements to Promote Diversity in Health-Related Research (Admin Supp Clinical Trial Not Allowed) (PA-23-189)
NIAMS accepts and reviews applications on a continuous basis between October 1, 2023, and April 15, 2024. Find additional NIAMS-specific information on the NIAMS Diversity Supplement Program webpage.
Senator Paul D. Wellstone Muscular Dystrophy Specialized Research Centers (MDSRC) (P50 Clinical Trial Optional) (RFA-NS-23-032)
Application due date: November 28, 2023
Notice of Special Interest (NOSI): Accelerating Research in Understudied Skin Types (NOT-AR-24-009)
Application (use PA-20-272) due date: December 31, 2023
Notice of Special Interest (NOSI): Promoting Research on COVID-19 and Rheumatic, Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NOT-AR-23-008)
This Notice applies to applicable funding opportunities for due dates through January 8, 2024.
Health and Health Care Disparities Among Persons Living with Disabilities (R01 - Clinical Trials Optional) (PAR-23-309)
Application due date: February 5, 2024
All Open HEAL Opportunities List
Information about the NIH HEAL Initiative, an NIH-wide effort to speed scientific solutions to stem the national opioid public health crisis, can be found on the HEAL website.
Stay Updated About Funding Announcements
If you would like information about grants and funding opportunities, subscribe to funding-dedicated email newsletters, including periodic NIAMS Funding Alerts and a monthly NIAMS Funding News email, and follow our Twitter account (@NIAMSFunding) focused on funding opportunities. Also check out the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts, the primary source for information about NIH funding opportunities. You can also request a weekly Table of Contents from the NIH Guide. In addition, the NIAMS website provides comprehensive information on NIAMS-related grants and processes.
Events
NIAMS Advisory Council
Watch the videocast of the NIAMS Advisory Council Meeting that took place on August 29, 2023. The next NIAMS Advisory Council Meeting will be held virtually on January 30, 2024.
NIAMS Regenerative Medicine Meeting
November 6–7, 2023
Day One and Day Two can be viewed via videocast.
2023 Anita Roberts Lecture: Microbiome Control of Host Immunity
Yasmine Belkaid, Ph.D., National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
November 7, 2023
1 p.m. ET
Videocast available.
NIH Science Lectures and Events Available via Internet
2023 Lindberg-King Lecture—Got Community? Reflections on the Relevance of Community Engagement in Equitable Health Informatics and Data Science Innovations
December 8, 2023
10:30 a.m. ET
Look for past videocasts, including:
- Meeting of the Interagency Pain Research Coordinating Committee—October 2023
- The Dark Side of DNA—How the Immune System Senses DNA as a Danger Signal—October 2023
- Fibrous Dysplasia/McCune-Albright Syndrome: Celebrating 25 Years of NIDCR Research—September 2023
- Thymic Mimetic Cells: Tolerogenic Masqueraders—September 2023
For additional online science seminars and events hosted by the NIH, view the NIH VideoCast Future Events and the NIH calendar.