National Institutes of Health: Inviting Research Projects – US

fundsforNGOs

5 years ago

Deadline: 21-Jun-24

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) invites research projects that seek to model the underlying mechanisms, processes, and trajectories of social relationships and how these factors affect outcomes in health, illness, recovery, and overall wellbeing.

Both animal and human subjects research projects are welcome. Researchers proposing basic science experimental studies involving human participants should consider the companion "Research on Biopsychosocial Factors of Social Connectedness and Isolation on Health, Wellbeing, Illness, and Recovery".

Research areas of interest include understanding differences and similarities between objective social isolation and loneliness, how complex biopsychosocial processes are regulated in the body, what occurs in response to dysregulation, and antecedent processes that influence responses to the trajectories of social relationships. Studies that involve neurobiological approaches—for example, how social or isolated settings influence neurobiological systems, brain function, and/or behavior are welcome. Projects designed to study how changes in the quantity and/or quality of social connections influence health behaviors and outcomes are encouraged.

Focus Areas

Three areas of focus especially of interest to OppNet and participating NIH Office of the Director (ICOs) include, but are not limited to, those below:

Effects of social connectedness, connection, and isolation across the lifespan
- Affective and cognitive function during the aging process
- Contextual factors that increase or mitigate impact of disruption or isolation at different developmental time points, including but not limited to:
  - Caregivers of people with dementia, severe illness, end-of-life
  - Chronic illness or limited mobility
  - Perceived strength or quality of extant social connections
  - Recent diagnosis with a serious medical illness
  - Sleep changes across the lifespan (e.g., during adolescence, early parenthood, menopause)
- Molecular markers and mechanisms (e.g., epigenetic modifications, gene expression, microbiome alterations, telomere attrition) associated with changes in social connectedness
- Neurobiological developmental trajectories
- Protective and/or risk factors associated with isolation or connection disruption at various times in development and over the lifespan
  - (e.g., adolescence, death of mate/parent, middle-aged males, onset of serious medical diagnosis)
- Aggressive behaviors and/or risky sexual activity associated with connection trajectories
Mechanisms of connectedness, connection, and isolation
- Neurobiological factors
  - Impact on structure and function of the nervous system (central, peripheral, autonomic)
  - Impact on neuroimmune and neuroendocrine systems
  - Impact on neural systems associated with basic affective, cognitive, and social processes
  - Importance of inter-individual neural synchrony in mediating or moderating effects in relationship trajectories
  - Neurobiological biosignatures that predict sensitivity to connection disruption or isolation
  - Neurobiological processes that could be targets to ameliorate negative effects of disruption or isolation
  - Neurophysiological consequences of disruption or isolation on substance use disorders (SUDs) and mental illness
- Behavioral and environmental factors
- The consequences of perceived isolation (e.g., loneliness) and/or objective/observed isolation on behavioral and clinical outcomes in adolescence and adulthood
- Connections between social disruption/isolation in specific populations and/or health/illness contexts, e.g.,
  - Sex/gender differences; sexual and gender minorities
  - Racial/ethnic differences, acculturation/bicultural adaptations, and contributions to social integration versus isolation
  - Autism, HIV, mental illness, recovery status, substance use disorder
- Whether the source of connection disruption leads to different processes or outcomes
  - E.g., Self-induced isolation versus isolation by others, or sense of undesired loneliness vs. sought solitude
Knowledge representation and behavioral ontology development
- Development of clearly defined vocabularies and taxonomies
- Elucidating relationships across constructs and between constructs and measures
- Integration of knowledge related to social connectedness, connection, and isolation into existing interoperable and sharable measures or ontology frameworks

Duration: The scope of the proposed project should determine the project period. The maximum project period is 5 years.

Eligibility Criteria

Higher Education Institutions
- Public/State Controlled Institutions of Higher Education
- Private Institutions of Higher Education
- The following types of Higher Education Institutions are always encouraged to apply for NIH support as Public or Private Institutions of Higher Education:
  - Hispanic-serving Institutions
  - Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs)
  - Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs)
  - Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions
  - Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs)
Nonprofits Other Than Institutions of Higher Education
- Nonprofits with 501(c)(3) IRS Status (Other than Institutions of Higher Education)
- Nonprofits without 501(c)(3) IRS Status (Other than Institutions of Higher Education)
For-Profit Organizations
- Small Businesses
- For-Profit Organizations (Other than Small Businesses)
Local Governments
- State Governments
- County Governments
- City or Township Governments
- Special District Governments
- Indian/Native American Tribal Governments (Federally Recognized)
- Indian/Native American Tribal Governments (Other than Federally Recognized)
Federal Governments
- Eligible Agencies of the Federal Government
- U.S. Territory or Possession
Other
- Independent School Districts
- Public Housing Authorities/Indian Housing Authorities
- Native American Tribal Organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments)
- Faith-based or Community-based Organizations
- Regional Organizations
- Non-domestic (non-U.S.) Entities (Foreign Institutions)

For more information, visit Grants.gov.

For more information, visit https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=336015