Funding Opportunities

Federal Sources

Deadline: June 5, 2008
Social and Cultural Dimensions of Health (R01)
Source: NIH
-Purpose. The ultimate goal of this program announcement is to encourage the development of health research that integrates knowledge from the biomedical and social sciences. This announcement invites applications to (a) elucidate basic social and cultural constructs and processes used in health research (b) clarify social and cultural factors in the etiology and consequences of health and illness (c) link basic research to practice for improving prevention, treatment, health services, and dissemination, and (d) explore ethical issues in social and cultural research related to health.
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Deadline: June 5, 2008
Improving Diet and Physical Activity Assessment (R01)
Source: National Institutes of Health (NIH)
Diet and physical activity are lifestyle and behavioral factors that play a role in the etiology and prevention of many chronic diseases such as cancer and coronary heart disease. Both also play roles in preventing overweight/obesity and in maintaining weight loss. Therefore, diet and physical activity are assessed for both surveillance and epidemiologic/clinical research purposes. The measurement of usual dietary intake or physical activity over varying time periods or in the past, by necessity, has relied on self-report instruments. Such subjective reporting instruments are cognitively difficult for respondents, and are prone to considerable measurement errors that may vary among population subgroups and depend on the time frame considered and the characteristics of the respondents.
The National Cancer Institute (NCI), the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), the National Institute on Aging (NIA), the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR), and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of the Director (OD) Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS), are interested in promoting innovative research to enhance the quality of measurements of dietary intake and physical activity. Applications submitted under this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) may include development of: novel assessment approaches and/or better methods to evaluate instruments assessment tools for culturally diverse populations across various age groups including older adults; improved technologies and/or applications of existing technologies; and/or statistical methods to assess or correct for measurement errors or biases.
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Deadline: June 5, 2008
Understanding and Promoting Health Literacy (R01)
Source: NIH
-Purpose. The ultimate goal of this program announcement is to encourage empirical research on health literacy concepts, theory and interventions as these relate to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services public health priorities that are outlined in its HealthierUS and Healthy People 2010 initiatives. Health literacy is defined as the degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain, process, and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions.
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Deadline: June 16, 2008
A Cooperative Agreement for National Organizations For the Dissemination of Effective Strategies for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (NCCDPHP), Division of Adult and Community Health (DACH), announces the availability of fiscal year (FY) 2008 funds for cooperative agreements with national organizations to establish a national program to promote healthy communities and prevent chronic diseases. This cooperative agreement focuses on health promotion, disease prevention, access to health services, and health disparities related to arthritis, cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, obesity, poor nutrition, physical inactivity, tobacco use, and other chronic diseases. It builds on the experiences of community-based chronic disease prevention programs to empower local communities with funding, tools, and strategies to implement and sustain policy, systems and environmental changes in chronic disease prevention and health promotion.

The goal of this cooperative agreement is to enhance national organizations’ ability to improve the health of local communities through community-based policy, systems, and environmental changes. In order to achieve this goal, this cooperative agreement focuses on two categories of activities: Category A: provision of funding and technical assistance to local affiliates/chapters in local community settings and Category B: translation and dissemination of evidence- and/or practice-based interventions, lessons learned at the local level, and other health promotion concepts, items, and materials.
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Deadline: June 16, 2008
Mechanisms, Models, Measurement, and Management in Pain Research (R03) (R21)
Source: NIH
The purpose of this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA), Mechanisms, Models, Measurement, and Management in Pain Research, issued by the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR) is to inform the scientific community of the pain research interests of the various Institutes and Centers (ICs) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and to stimulate and foster a wide range of basic, clinical, and translational studies on pain as they relate to the missions of these ICs. -New advances are needed in every area of pain research, from the micro perspective of molecular sciences to the macro perspective of behavioral and social sciences. Although great strides have been made in some areas, such as the identification of neural pathways of pain, the experience of pain and the challenge of treatment have remained uniquely individual and unsolved. Research to address these issues conducted by interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary research teams is strongly encouraged, as is research from underrepresented, minority, disabled, or women investigators. -
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Deadline: June 16, 2008
Methodology And Measurement In The Behavioral And Social Sciences (R21)
Source: NIH
The goal of this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is to encourage research that will improve the quality and scientific power of data collected in the behavioral and social sciences, relevant to the missions of the participating NIH Institutes and Centers. -The participating Institutes and Centers invite qualified researchers to submit research grant applications aimed at improving and developing methodology and measurement in the behavioral and social sciences through innovations in research design, data collection techniques, measurement, and data analysis techniques. -Research that addresses methodology and measurement issues in diverse populations, issues in studying sensitive behaviors, issues of ethics in research, issues related to confidential data and the protection of research subjects, and issues in developing interdisciplinary, multimethod, and multilevel approaches to behavioral and social science research is particularly encouraged, as are approaches that integrate behavioral and social science research with biological, physical, or computational science research or engineering.
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Deadline: June 17, 2008
Institutional Clinical and Translational Science Award (U54)
Source: National Institutes of Health (NIH)
The Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) initiative assists institutions to create an integrated academic home for Clinical and Translational Science that has the resources to train and advance multi- and inter-disciplinary investigators and research teams with access to innovative research tools and information technologies that apply new knowledge and techniques to patient care. Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSAs) will attract basic, translational, and clinical investigators, community clinicians, clinical practices, networks, professional societies, and industry to develop new professional interactions, programs, and research projects. Through innovative advanced degree programs, CTSAs will foster a new discipline of Clinical and Translational Science that will be much broader and deeper than their separate components (definitions of Clinical and Translational Science are provided in Section I.1 of this document).
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Deadline: July 15, 2008
The Social Psychology Program at NSF
Source: National Science Foundation
The Social Psychology Program at NSF supports basic research on human social behavior, including cultural differences and development over the life span.

Among the many research topics supported are: attitude formation and change, social cognition, personality processes, interpersonal relations and group processes, the self, emotion, social comparison and social influence, and the psychophysiological and neurophysiological bases of social behavior.

The scientific merit of a proposal depends on four important factors: (1) The problems investigated must be theoretically grounded. (2) The research should be based on empirical observation or be subject to empirical validation. (3) The research design must be appropriate to the questions asked. (4) The proposed research must advance basic understanding of social behavior.
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Deadline: July 15, 2008
Perception, Action & Cognition Program at NSF
Source: National Science Foundation
Supports research on perception, action and cognition including the development of these capacities. Emphasis is on research strongly grounded in theory. Research topics include vision, audition, haptics, attention, memory, reasoning, written and spoken discourse, motor control, and developmental issues in all topic areas. The program encompasses a wide range of theoretical perspectives, such as symbolic computation, connectionism, ecological, nonlinear dynamics, and complex systems, and a variety of methodologies including both experimental studies and modeling. Research involving acquired or developmental deficits is appropriate if the results speak to basic issues of perception, action, and cognition.
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Deadline: September 19, 2008
Behavioral and Social Science Research on Understanding and Reducing Health Disparities (R01)
Source: NIH
Purpose. To encourage behavioral and social science research on the causes and solutions to health and disabilities disparities in the U. S. population. Health disparities between, on the one hand, racial/ethnic populations, lower socioeconomic classes, and rural residents and, on the other hand, the overall U.S. population are major public health concerns. Emphasis is placed on research in and among three broad areas of action: 1) Public policy, 2) health care, and 3) disease/disability prevention. Particular attention is given to reducing "health gaps" among groups. Proposals that utilize an interdisciplinary approach, investigate multiple levels of analysis, incorporate a life-course perspective, and/or employ innovative methods such as system science or community-based participatory research are particularly encouraged.
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Deadline: June 5, October 5
Transdisciplinary Research on Fatigue and Fatigability in Aging (R01, R21)
Source: National Institutes of Health (NIH)
The purpose of this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is to encourage submission of research applications on fatigue and fatigability in aging. This FOA is intended to promote research studies employing transdisciplinary approaches that could lead to increased understanding of mechanisms contributing to, assessment of, or potential interventions for, increased fatigue or fatigability in older persons. Both animal models and humans are appropriate for study under this FOA.
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Deadline: Jan 07, 2011
Promoting Careers In Aging and Health Disparities Research (K01)
Source: NIH
The goals of NIH-supported career development programs are to help ensure that diverse pools of highly trained scientists are available in adequate numbers and in appropriate research areas to address the Nation's biomedical, behavioral, and clinical research needs. The focus of this FOA is limited to health disparities related to aging. For purposes of this funding opportunity, eligible individuals are applicants who have been determined by the grantee institution to be committed to a career in health disparities research related to aging and who are members of or knowledgeable about health disparity population groups.
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Deadline: May 07, 2009
Retirement Economics (R21)
Source: NIH
The research objectives of this funding opportunity announcement (FOA) include, but are not limited to: (1) the determinants of retirement behavior, (2) the variation in work patterns in later life, (3) the evolution of health and economic circumstances of individuals through retirement and into later life, (4) time use and life satisfaction before and during retirement, (5) the implications of retirement trends, (6) retirement expectations, (7) international comparisons of retirement and (8) the development of innovative retirement modeling techniques.
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Deadline: May 07, 2009
Mentored Quantitative Research Development Award (K25)
Source: NIH
The goals of NIH-supported research training and career development programs are to help ensure that diverse pools of highly trained scientists are available in adequate numbers and in appropriate research areas to address the Nation s biomedical, behavioral, and clinical research needs. NIH mentored career development awards provide mentored research experiences to gain additional expertise in a new research area or in an area that will significantly enhance an investigator s research capabilities. It is expected that the mentored research and career development experience will lead to an independent and productive research career.
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Private Sources and Foundations

Deadline: May 27, 2008
The Health and Aging Policy Fellows
Source: The Atlantic Philanthropies.
One of today’s greatest policy challenges is how to ensure that the U.S. health care system can meet the needs of a rapidly increasing elderly population. Overcoming this challenge will require the translation of cutting-edge science and practical clinical experience into sound health policy. The goal of the Health and Aging Policy Fellows Program is to provide professionals in health and aging with the experience and skills necessary to help lead this effort, and
in so doing, shape a healthy and productive future for older Americans.
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