The National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) https://ncats.nih.gov within NIH, plans to publish a new Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) in August 2016. NCATS will solicit applications for ideas on how to develop specific experiments in space for the International Space Station National Laboratory (ISS-NL) www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/nlab/index.html.
Research is needed to find ways to create micro physiological systems and organ-on-chip technology platforms to help understand the molecular basis of human disease and/or the effectiveness of diagnostic markers and therapeutic intervention for treating diseases.
NCATS and the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS) www.iss.casis.org are interested in translating models of living human tissues on microchips and related novel technologies to the ISS-NL to understand the molecular and cellular basis of human disease in microgravity.
CASIS is the nonprofit organization responsible for managing and promoting research onboard the ISS-NL. NCATS and CASIS are interested in promoting communication and interaction research communities specifically related to the NIH NCATS Tissue Chip Program. The information from research conducted on the ISS-NL will provide discoveries for a range of common human disorders.
Of particular interest will be translational research examining the mechanisms that underlie the effects of diseases or conditions associated with bone and cartilage, skeletal muscle, brain, gastrointestinal tract, lung, liver, microvasculature, skin, or other tissues due to prolonged exposure to a microgravity environment as well as strategies to prevent and treat these diseases or conditions.
Applications are not being solicited at this time but is expected sometime this month. An informational webinar will be held September 6, 2016 from 1pm to 4pm EST. The webinar will provide investigators an opportunity to interact with personnel that have specific expertise in developing spaceflight experiments for the ISS-NL.
Additionally, the website www.casistissuechip.blogspot.com has information relevant to this initiative.