by Louis V. DePaolo, Ph.D.
Chief, Reproductive Sciences Branch

NICHD Renamed for Late President's Sister
On December 13th, the US Congress passed a bill to rename the NICHD the "Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development." The bill honors Mrs. Shriver's work in both establishing the NICHD and her ongoing efforts on behalf of the intellectually disabled. The President signed the bill on December 21st.

NIH Director's Bridge Award Program
The NIH has re-announced the availability of bridge awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 2008 through the NIH Director's Bridge Award (NDBA) Program. Initiated in FY 2007, the NDBA is designed to provide stop-gap funding for grantees who have submitted a competing renewal grant application that has missed the nominal funding payline for the NIH institute/center to which it is primarily assigned.

Investigators submitting such applications cannot apply for a bridge award, but must be nominated for the NDBA by the administering institute/center. Renewal applications must be for either an initial submission of an R01 grant renewal or revisions thereof. The P.I. may not have more than $266,000 in direct costs from all sources and the bridge award cannot exceed more than $333,000 in direct costs. In the RSB, preference will be given to renewal applications from investigators seeking renewal of their first R01 award who meet the above-mentioned eligibility requirements.

New Funding Opportunity Announcements
The following are newly issued Program Announcements (PAs) that seek to convey the interest of the RSB in supporting research in a particular area. Remember that there are no set-aside funds to support the applications submitted in response to a particular PA, although such applications are given priority in making funding decisions. The PA designation indicates that a Special Emphasis Panel will be convened to review the applications. The PAs are:

Role of Adipose Tissue as an Endocrine Organ in Reproduction and Infertility
PA-08-059 for R01 (http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-08-059.html)
PA-060 for R21 (http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-08-060.html)

Adverse Outcomes of Assisted Reproductive Technologies
PA-08-103 for P01 (http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-08-103.html)
PA-08-104 for R01 (http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-08-104.html)

Optimizing Technologies for the Preservation of Fertility (R21)
PAR-08-105 (http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-08-105.html)

Leiomyomata Uteri: Basic Science, Translational and Clinical Research (R01)
PAR-08-102 (http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-08-102.html)