NIAMS - National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases

04/30/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 04/30/2024 10:37

NIAMS Update, Issue 2, 2024

Spotlights

Letter From the Director: NIAMS Boosts Support for Pain Research

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Many diseases and conditions that fall within the NIAMS portfolio can cause acute and chronic pain. While research has come a long way, we still need to better understand the mechanisms of pain, find effective and nonaddictive options for treatment, and improve health equity for those disproportionately affected. Read the recently published director's letter to learn more about NIAMS-funded pain research.

How NIAMS Makes Grant Funding Decisions

In a director's letter earlier this year, NIAMS announced that it would set aside a larger portion of its research project grant budget to support applications that fall outside of its payline (which is the funding percentile up to which almost all grant applications will be funded). This approach allows NIAMS to increase funds available for high-priority projects-allowing the institute to better address gaps and opportunities in our broad portfolio mission areas and support a wide span of scientific perspectives and investigative approaches. For more information, please visit the newly updated How NIAMS Makes Grant Funding Decisions webpage.

News

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President Biden Issues Executive Order on Advancing Women's Health Research and Innovation

NIAMS Director Lindsey A. Criswell, M.D., Ph.D., D.Sc., joined National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director Monica Bertagnolli, M.D., and other NIH leaders at the White House as President Joe Biden signed an Executive Order announcing new actions to advance women's health research and innovation.

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New Awardees Aim to Develop National Research Network That Will Explore the Role of the Exposome in Autoimmune Diseases

The NIH Office of Research on Women's Health (ORWH) recently announced the six recipients of the EXposome in Autoimmune Diseases PLANning (EXACT-PLAN) Awards. This is a collaborative effort between ORWH, the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), NIAMS, and other NIH institutes, centers, and offices engaged in autoimmune disease research.

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Saving the Skin From a Renegade Immune Reaction

Research led by NIAMS' Edward Cowen, M.D., and colleagues in the NIAMS intramural program suggests the possibility of using genetic information to personalize medical treatment for patients who experience serious skin problems after receiving a transplant of the bone marrow's blood-producing stem cells.

Speaking of Science Podcast: Dr. Michael Ombrello-The Rare Case of Beverly Gage

Beverly Gage came to NIH with a condition that had never been observed before. A mysterious genetic mutation that caused her chronic joint pain and inflammation led her to Michael Ombrello, M.D., an expert in rare inflammatory diseases at NIAMS. Where their paths cross shows us the current challenges of diagnosing, treating, and living with a disorder that is new to science. Listen to this story. A version of this story appeared in The New Yorker as an essay.

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New Video Series Offers Look Inside NIAMS Core Facilities

The NIAMS Labs Core Facilities facilitate deeper dives into tissues and cells and help researchers unravel the mysteries of human disease by offering cutting-edge instruments, technologies, and data analysis services.

A new video series provides researchers with a look inside four of the institute's facilities.

NIH Modifies Application and Review Process for Fellowship Grants to Broaden Scientific Trainee Pool

NIH is revising the application and peer review process for grants that enable external institutions to recruit for research training fellowships. The changes will be effective for fellowship applications due on or after January 25, 2025.

NIH to Increase Pay Levels for Pre- and Postdoctoral Scholars at Grantee Institutions

The increase applies to more than 17,000 research trainees and includes additional funds for childcare and training-related expenses.

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NIAMS Awards a Supplement to Advance Research (STAR) From Projects to Programs-Enhancing NIH Support for Early Career Stage Investigators

The NIAMS STAR program awarded a funding supplement to Douglas P. Millay, Ph.D., an early career stage investigator at the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. The supplement supports the expansion of a NIAMS-supported RO1 project, enabling his team to further investigate the processes of muscle formation and regeneration.

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ARPA-H's NITRO Selects Teams to Lead Breakthroughs in Reversing Osteoarthritis

The Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) announced the Novel Innovations for Tissue Regeneration in Osteoarthritis (NITRO) program's five teams receiving awards to create and commercialize injectable and implantable regenerative therapies for osteoarthritis.

FDA Approves Nonsteroidal Treatment for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Duvyzat (givinostat), an oral medication for the treatment of Duchenne muscular dystrophy in patients 6 years of age and older. Duvyzat is the first nonsteroidal drug approved to treat patients with all genetic variants of the condition.

Resources

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Spotlight on Scientific Imagery: Hair Follicles and Sweat Glands

NIAMS-funded researchers found that two opposing signaling pathways determine the formation of hairs and sweat glands. In developing human (embryonic) skin, hair follicles (pink) form first and sweat glands (arrow) emerge later. The study may help researchers improve skin grafts for burn victims and persons with some genetic disorders.

Photo Credit: Catherine Lu, Ph.D., and Elaine Fuchs, Ph.D., Rockefeller University

Common Fund Venture Space Initiative and Research Opportunity

The NIH Common Fund Systems Biology Data Platform (SysBio) Leveraging the Accelerating Medicines Partnership® (AMP®) Venture Initiative aims to integrate various data types that will allow researchers to explore the role of a specific gene, molecule, cell, or pathway across tissues involved in different diseases. Applications to the Research Opportunity Announcement [PDF-451 KB] are due on May 15, 2024.

NCCIH: What You Need to Know About Nutritional Approaches for Musculoskeletal Inflammation

NIH's National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) has a collection of fact sheets on the scientific evidence and potential risks and benefits of many complementary health practices, including "7 Tips: What You Need to Know About Nutritional Approaches for Musculoskeletal Inflammation."

Stay Updated About Funding Announcements

To get timely information about grants and funding opportunities, subscribe to funding-dedicated email newsletters, including periodic NIAMS Funding Alerts and a monthly NIAMS Funding News email. Also check out the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts, the primary source for information about NIH funding opportunities, and 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

The next NIAMS Advisory Council Meeting will be a hybrid (virtual and in-person) meeting on May 29, 2024. The meeting will be available for viewing via the NIH videocasting service. Watch a videocast recording of the most recent NIAMS Advisory Council Meeting, held on January 30, 2024.

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