NIH / Core Centers for Musculoskeletal Biology and Medicine (P30) - Limited Submission Internal Due Date
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Research Core Centers could potentially facilitate projects in many areas of musculoskeletal biology and medicine: the skeleton, muscles, connective tissues such as tendon and ligament, cartilage surfaces of joints, and the intervertebral discs of the spine.
The Division of Musculoskeletal Diseases of the NIAMS supports research aimed at improving the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of diseases and injuries of the musculoskeletal system and its component tissues. Key public health problems addressed by this research include osteoporosis, osteoarthritis, and muscular dystrophy. Core Centers for Musculoskeletal Biology and Medicine (CCMBMs) are intended to combine and provide additional resources for research into these areas of human health.
The CCMBMs will provide support for the following:
1. Core resources and facilities to be used by investigators of individually supported research projects in order to enhance and coordinate their activities - This support may include personnel, equipment, supplies, services, and facilities.
2. Up to $100,000 yearly in direct costs for pilot and feasibility studies
3. Program enrichment activities
4. Administrative Core
An Administrative Core should be proposed to coordinate the Center and administer the program enrichment activities. CCMBM Directors are encouraged to propose a broad research base that includes multiple disciplines, departments, and institutions. Two or more research cores must be proposed. A research core is a facility shared by two or more Center investigators that enables them to conduct their independently funded individual research projects more efficiently and/or more effectively. Cores generally fall into one of four categories:
1. Provision of a technology that lends itself to automation or preparation in large batches (e.g., histology, tissue culture, high throughput sequencing, and genotyping)
2. Complex instrumentation (e.g., electron microscopy, flow cytometry, confocal microscopy, whole animal imaging, microarray scanning, and mass spectrometry)
3. Animal preparation (including transgenic and knockout) and care
4. Methodology cores (e.g., molecular biology, systems biology, bioinformatics, biostatistics, and clinical)
CCMBM Directors are encouraged to leverage existing resources, such as registries, tissue banks, and cohorts, and to coordinate with NIAMS-funded Skin and Rheumatic Disease Cores at the same and/or other institutions, particularly if they provide similar or overlapping technologies and services.
A pilot and feasibility study program provides modest research support ($20,000-$50,000 direct costs yearly) for a limited time (one to three years) to enable eligible investigators to explore the feasibility of a musculoskeletal-related concept and amass sufficient data to pursue it through other funding mechanisms. The initial set of pilot and feasibility studies must be part of the application. In addition, a plan for program management of the pilot and feasibility program will also be reviewed. The plan must include review of future pilot and feasibility applications during the tenure of the Core Center.
