Hello NIF/SciCrunch Community!

Please take a moment to read the information below about New SPARC Other Transaction (OT) Funding Opportunities provided by the NIH Common Fund SPARC Program staff.

Dear Colleague,

The NIH Common Fund Program on Stimulating Peripheral Activity to Relieve Conditions (SPARC) has released two new funding opportunity announcements (FOAs), consisting of an initial pre-application FOA (OT1) and a subsequent limited competition FOA (OT2). These FOAs solicit applications to develop new and/or enhance tools and technologies that elucidate the neurobiology and neurophysiology underlyingautonomic control of organs in health or disease. These FOAs accept technology projects at all points of the technology development pipeline (early stage to late stage validation and translation to humans).

(RFA-RM-16-002)

Application Receipt Dates(s): March 11, 2016 and May 16, 2016

(RFA-RM-16-003)

Application Receipt Date(s): Not Applicable. New applications are accepted on the date specified in the Invitation to Submit after successful competition of the corresponding OT1 (RFA-RM-16-002) application.

SPARC is uniquely positioned to serve as a community resource that provides the broader public and private research communities with the scientific foundation necessary to pilot new and/or improved closed-loop neuromodulation devices and stimulation protocols to treat diseases and conditions through precise neural control of peripheral end-organ system function. The first FOA of the Next Generation Tools and Technologies research component supported twelve U18 awards to develop a broad range of technologies that address the gaps in understanding underlying physiology and targeted mechanisms of action of future neuromodulation therapies. In this second set of FOAs, the two-year Other Transaction (OT) awards resulting from these OT FOAs will further facilitate technology development for neural mapping activities and ultimately inform future neuromodulation therapies. It is anticipated that the resulting next generation technologies will be responsive to, and freely shared with, other SPARC projects.

Detailed in the FOAs, the Other Transaction (OT) mechanisms will afford the program the agility necessary to make rapid progress toward program goals. In addition, the OT mechanisms will enable the SPARC Program Manager and funded awardees to quickly and fluidly incorporate relevant breakthroughs and discoveries, engage non-funded pioneers, and establish SPARC awardee collaborations and partnerships. For more detail on the management of SPARC OT awards visit our SPARC Other Transaction Authority page. Guidelines for these OT processes are listed within the NIH Other Transaction Award Policy Guide for the SPARC Program. This document describes the various laws, regulations, guidelines and polices to which the SPARC program will adhere.

Please contact SPARC_NextGen-Tools@mail.nih.gov if you have any questions regarding these funding opportunities. In addition, please feel free to share this announcement with your colleagues.

Sincerely,

NIH Common Fund SPARC Program staff

Happy Friday!

The NIF/SciCrunch Team