Announcements  October 27, 2020 Director's Message COVID-19 may be the first major pandemic weve seen in our lifetime, but Americans need no introduction to the realities of epidemics. While weve often understood epidemics in the context of infectious disease, the public health community has led important work to understandand to combatother major health problems as epidemics. The chronic pain epidemic. The opioid epidemic. The obesity epidemic. The diabetes epidemic. The suicide epidemic. |
 October 28, 2020 Emmeline Edwards, Ph.D. We are now beginning to witness and participate in a growing field of research at the intersection of music, science, technology, and health. While scientific research on the effects of music on health and the clinical discipline of music therapy have been with us for years, research in these areas has accelerated over the past few years. Because of the complexity of researching music-based interventions, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is encouraging interdisciplinary research collaborations among basic research scientists, translational researchers, clinical trialists, neuroscientists, music health professionals, musicians, neurologists, and/or technology development researchers. |
 October 26, 2020 WenChen,Ph.D. Last month, theNIH Blueprint for Neuroscience Research, a collaborative framework through which 14 NIH institutes, centers, and offices jointly support neuroscience-related research, announced an exciting funding opportunity (RFA-AT-21-003) for investigating the neural circuitry of interoception. The announcement asks for applications from researchers with innovative approaches for defining interoception at a molecular, cellular, circuitry, functional, or behavioral level. Interoception is the way an organism senses, interprets, integrates, and regulates signals originating from within itself. |
Resources for Researchers Highlighted Funding Opportunities Notice of Special Interest (NOSI): Development and/or Validation of Devices or Electronic Systems to Monitor or Enhance Mind and Body Interventions (SBIR/STTR) NCCIH is committed to the rigorous investigation of mind and body interventions (MBIs) to determine their usefulness and safety. Through this Notice of Special Interest (NOSI), NCCIH supports cutting-edge Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) grant applications from small business concerns that will develop and/or validate devices or electronic systems that can: 1) monitor biologically or behaviorally based processes applicable to MBIs or 2) be used in optimizing the practice or increasing the efficacy of MBIs. The applications should: 1) lead to the development of new technologies, 2) adapt existing innovative technologies, devices, and/or electronic systems, 3) repurpose existing devices and electronic systems, or 4) conduct testing of single or combined components of an integrated, long-term, automated, wearable stimulation device or electronic system to monitor or enhance the mechanistic processes or functional outcomes of MBIs. For the purposes of this NOSI, MBIs are nonpharmacologic approaches that include mind/brain focused interventions (e.g., meditation, mindfulness, hypnosis, art/music) or combined mind and body treatment (e.g., acupuncture, massage, spinal manipulation/mobilization) or meditative movement practices (e.g., yoga, tai chi, qi gong). Please review specific areas of interest in the NOSI prior to applying. First Available Due Date: January 05, 2021 Upcoming Events Save the date, December 9, 2020, for this year's Distinguished Lecture! We are pleased to announce this year's speaker is Shannon N. Zenk, Ph.D., M.P.H., R.N., F.A.A.N., Director, National Institute of Nursing Research. More information will be coming soon. |
