A Request for Applications (RFA) is proposed entitled “National Centers for Translational Research in Reproduction and Infertility”. The proposed RFA will use the Specialized Research Center (P50) award mechanism.
Purpose
The purpose of this RFA is to announce the re-competition of the National Centers for Translational Research in Reproduction and Infertility (NCTRI; formerly SCCPIR). NCTRI provides an arena for multidisciplinary interactions between basic and clinical scientists interested in establishing high quality translational research programs in the area of reproduction and infertility. The centers also serve as national resources for the training and career development of new scientists electing to pursue careers conducting translational research in high priority areas of reproduction and infertility (nearly 400 individuals have received training/career development opportunities since inception of the program in 1998). Finally, center investigators develop and participate in important community outreach and education efforts to increase awareness and convey the importance and implications of their research activities to the general public.
Scope
The research activities included in these center grants must comprise a multidisciplinary approach to biomedical problems in reproduction and infertility that are deemed of high significance to NICHD. Centers may have more than one theme, focus or emphasis, but all projects involved must be responsive to one or more mission-relevant areas supported by the Fertility and Infertility Branch. For this competition, applications addressing the genetic or epigenetic bases of infertility will be encouraged. To meet the translational objectives of this centers program, one of the projects must be a clinical research project and all basic science projects must be linked to the clinical components of a center.
Objective
The objectives of the NCTRI are to support specialized reproduction and infertility research programs of high quality, and to facilitate and accelerate bidirectional transfer of knowledge between the laboratory and clinic with the ultimate goal of improving human reproductive health. This RFA is specifically designed to stimulate the reproductive sciences research community to organize and maintain research-based centers of outstanding quality that, serving as national research resources, form a collaborative network that fosters communication, innovation and high quality reproduction and infertility research. Such a network of centers will ensure that the reproductive research community remains in the forefront of the development and utilization of new technologies that can be used to diagnose, treat and ameliorate reproductive diseases and disorders, as well as to identify novel leads for fertility regulation.
Program Contact
Louis DePaolo, PhD
Fertility and Infertility Branch
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