Funding-alternative medicine grants; deadline April 6, 2009

The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) invites applications for Partnerships for Complementary Alternative Medicine (CAM) Clinical Translational Research (PCCTR). Each PCCTR application must include at least one but not more than two domestic U.S. CAM institutions and at least one biomedical or behavioral research-intensive institution.   NIH defines each type of institution:

• An eligible CAM institution is a nationally or regionally accredited academic, health care or research institution with a primary goal of educating students to be CAM practitioners.  Documentation of accreditation must be included in the application. Students who matriculate from the program must do so with either a degree or certificate in a designated CAM practice that is licensed or certified at the state level. Eligible institutions include but are not limited to colleges/schools of naturopathy, chiropractic, traditional Chinese medicine, acupuncture, and massage.  For the purposes of this initiative, osteopathic medical institutions that teach manual manipulation as part of the core curriculum required for all students may collaborate with an eligible research-intensive institution (as defined below).
• An eligible research-intensive institution is an academic, health care and/or research institution with a tradition of rigorous biomedical or behavioral research that does not have as a primary goal training of CAM practitioners.

The PCCTR will support partnerships between faculty at CAM institutions and at highly research-intensive institutions in research projects directed towards the development of CAM clinical research translational tools, including approaches, tools and methodology that will make substantial contributions to the progress of CAM research.  NCCAM strongly encourages applicants to structure the proposed research projects around an appropriate, but clearly defined focus.  This focus may be a disease or class of diseases treated using CAM, a specific group of related CAM interventions, or the mechanisms of action of specific CAM modalities.  Centers may also be organized around a CAM-relevant theme, e.g., pain.

A Cooperative Agreement mechanism (U19) will be used to support the research and capacity-building activities carried out by the multidisciplinary, multi-institution PCCTR.  The PCCTR cooperative agreements will provide up to five years of support (a planning year with direct costs of $100,000 and up to four additional years each with direct costs of up to $750,000) for two or three collaborative CAM clinical translational research projects.  Each proposed research project must be active throughout the requested funding period, and each research project must involve one or more CAM practitioners, as well as key personnel from a CAM institution and one or more researchers with substantial relevant research experience who are on faculty at a participating research-intensive institution.  Project Co-Leaders must be named from both CAM and research-intensive institutions for each research project.  PCCTR applications are encouraged to leverage resources available through existing NIH-funded or other research centers. 

Multiple PD/PI applications to the PCCTR initiative are encouraged.  If there are multiple PD/PIs, at least one PD/PI must have primary appointment at a CAM institution and at least one PD/PI must have primary appointment at a research-intensive institution.  Applications including consortia appropriate for the research focus of the application are encouraged.

Additional details including a list of eligible areas of research are available in the complete Program Announcement:  http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-09-066.html

Because the sponsor limits an institution to one application, UK has established an internal selection process and a deadline for receipt of applications.  Researchers wanting to submit a Partnership for Complementary Alternative Medicine Clinical Translational Research application are to send the following material electronically to the Office of the Vice President for Research at vpr@email.uky.edu and a copy to their Associate Dean for Research by Monday, April 6, 2009:

1. Names and departments of the Project Director and other key personnel from the UK project team
2. Name of the eligible CAM institution(s) and names and departments of participating practitioners
3. Title of the proposed research area
4. The two or three research projects related to the focus area that will be conducted.  For each research project, list the participating faculty from UK and the CAM institution(s), the project title, and specific aims. 

The Vice President for Research will appoint a committee to review the material and make recommendations as to the University’s applicant.  The individual will be notified in time for the May 26, 2009 letter of intent and June 26, 2009 complete application deadlines.

Questions about the submission process may be sent to Ms. Annette Evans in the Office of the Vice President for Research (alevan4@email.uky.edu or 257-1663.)