Fw: NIEHS ALLOCATES $74 MILLION TO STUDY ENVIRONMENTAL CAUSES OF DISEASE TOMMORROW, OCTOBER 20

[Guest guest]

If any of our North Carolina board members can attend this grant briefing

session TOMMORROW, October 20, and get the word out, at that meeting, that we

exist, and deserve some grant money spent on our health problems, it would do

more good than all the petitions in the world. I have already signed the

petition. The original notification email arrived yesterday, October, 18, just

48 hours before the scheduled meeting. I just read my email, and forwarded this

to the board. You can be sure that other " environmental " illness interests knew

of this meeting LAST MONTH. If anyone knows a medical researcher, or

professional grant writer, who could write up a " quickie " preliminary grant

proposal and get it to someone who can submit it at the meeting, it would be a

step in the right direction.

----- Forwarded Message ----

From: NIH OLIB (NIH/OD) <olib@...>

NIHPRESS@...

Sent: Wednesday, October 18, 2006 2:51:40 PM

Subject: NIEHS ALLOCATES $74 MILLION TO STUDY ENVIRONMENTAL CAUSES OF DISEASE

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH

NIH News

National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS)

<http://www.niehs.nih.gov/>

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Wednesday, October 18, 2006

CONTACT: , 919-541-7860, <peterso4@...>,

NIEHS ALLOCATES $74 MILLION TO STUDY ENVIRONMENTAL CAUSES OF DISEASE

As part of the new Exposure Biology Program, the National Institute of

Environmental Health Sciences, a component of the National Institutes of

Health, today announced $74 million in grant opportunities for the

development of new technologies that will improve the measurement of

environmental exposures that contribute to human disease.

The three grant opportunities will support research to develop portable,

easy-to-use sensing devices that will accurately measure personal

exposure to a wide variety of chemical and biological agents. The grants

will also support the development of sensitive biomarkers, based on

subtle changes in DNA structure, proteins, metabolites and other

molecules, that will enable scientists to study how the body responds to

environmental stress.

The Exposure Biology Program is one of two complementary research

programs outlined in the Genes and Environment Initiative, a five-year,

NIH-wide effort to identify the genetic and environmental underpinnings

of asthma, diabetes, cancer, and other common illnesses. The program

will focus on the development of innovative technologies for assessing

exposures to chemical and biological agents, dietary intake, physical

activity, psychosocial stress, and addictive substances, as well as new

methods for quantifying the biological responses to these environmental

stressors.

" These new exposure technologies will enable researchers to accelerate

their discovery of genetic and environmental risk factors for human

disease, " said NIEHS Director A. Schwartz, M.D. " The discoveries

made with these new tools will ultimately lead to new strategies for the

prevention and treatment of many illnesses. "

There is increasing evidence that common human diseases result from a

complex interplay between genes and environmental exposures. Population

studies designed to investigate the role of gene-environment

interactions in human disease have often been hampered by the lack of

precise measurement tools for assessing a person's exposure to

environmental agents that impact disease risk.

" The technologies used for the detection and measurement of

environmental exposures should be as precise as the measurement tools

currently used for genetic research, " said Weis, Ph.D., senior

science advisor at NIEHS and program coordinator for the Exposure

Biology Program.

The following are trans-NIH grant opportunities led by the NIEHS:

-- ENVIRONMENTAL SENSORS FOR PERSONAL EXPOSURE ASSESSMENT

This announcement will support the development of field-deployable or

wearable sensing devices that provide direct measurements of exposure to

ozone, fine particles, diesel exhaust, heavy metals, volatile organic

compounds, pesticides, microbial toxins, and other environmental agents

that have been linked with respiratory disease, cancer, and other common

illnesses.

--BIOLOGICAL RESPONSE INDICATORS OF ENVIRONMENTAL STRESS

This announcement will focus on the development of sensitive biomarkers

that reflect subtle changes in inflammation, oxidative damage and other

pathways that can lead to disease. By measuring the cellular and

molecular responses that are involved in disease development,

researchers will be better able to define the relationships between the

genetic and environmental components of human illness.

-- BIOLOGICAL RESPONSE INDICATORS OF ENVIRONMENTAL STRESS CENTERS

This announcement will focus on the development of sensitive biomarkers

that reflect subtle changes in inflammation, oxidative damage and other

pathways that can lead to disease, and the incorporation of these

markers into field- and laboratory-based sensing devices.

The Exposure Biology Program also includes two other grant

opportunities: IMPROVED MEASURES OF DIET AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITY FOR THE

GENES AND ENVIRONMENT INITIATIVE, led by the National Cancer Institute

and National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, and FIELD-DEPLOYABLE TOOLS

FOR QUANTIFYING EXPOSURES TO PSYCHOSOCIAL STRESS AND TO ADDICTIVE

SUBSTANCES FOR STUDIES OF HEALTH AND DISEASE, led by the National

Institute on Drug Abuse.

" Any individuals with the skills, knowledge and abilities required to

carry out the proposed research, including scientists who work in NIH

laboratories, are encouraged to submit an application for participation

in the program, " said Weis.

NIEHS will host an information meeting and videoconference, October 20,

2006 in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, to allow potential

applicants to obtain information and clarify any questions about the

funding opportunities. Detailed information about the meeting, including

time, location, and the new grant opportunities, is available at the

Exposure Biology Program website:

<http://www.gei.nih.gov/exposurebiology/index.asp>.

The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), a

component of the National Institutes of Health, supports research to

understand the effects of the environment on human health. For more

information on environmental health topics, please visit our website at

<http://www.niehs.nih.gov/>.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) -- " The Nation's Medical

Research Agency " -- includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a

component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It is the

primary federal agency for conducting and supporting basic, clinical and

translational medical research, and it investigates the causes,

treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more

information about NIH and its programs, visit <http://www.nih.gov>.

##

This NIH News Release is available online at:

http://www.nih.gov/news/pr/oct2006/niehs-18.htm.

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