Exploratory Centers (P20) for Interdisciplinary Research

The summary for the Exploratory Centers (P20) for Interdisciplinary Research grant is detailed below. This summary states who is eligible for the grant, how much grant money will be awarded, current and past deadlines, Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) numbers, and a sampling of similar government grants. Verify the accuracy of the data FederalGrants.com provides by visiting the webpage noted in the Link to Full Announcement section or by contacting the appropriate person listed as the Grant Announcement Contact. If any section is incomplete, please visit the website for the National Institutes of Health, which is the U.S. government agency offering this grant.

Exploratory Centers (P20) for Interdisciplinary Research: In addition to the biological sciences, biomedical research encompasses a large number of scientific disciplines, including the behavioral, quantitative, engineering and computer sciences. Distinct disciplinary perspectives represent significant sources of strength to the overall research enterprise because each discipline has its own intellectual history, experimental and analytic approaches, and theoretical context that produce a unique way of thinking about a problem. Nevertheless, as scientific capabilities move forward, increasingly complex questions arise, and these often require the convergence of perspectives from multiple disciplines. Over the years, the Institutes and Centers (ICs) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have developed many initiatives, mechanisms and programs to support multidisciplinary research--that is, research that brings together researchers from different disciplines to focus on a circumscribed problem. It is becoming apparent that, in some cases, the collaborative nature of disciplines that characterizes multidisciplinary research is not sufficiently sustained to address, in a comprehensive and effective way, challenging problems in biomedical and behavioral research. Rather, interdisciplinary research, which integrates several disciplinary approaches in a more sustained and systematic fashion, may be required to tackle these more complex problems. Integrating different disciplines in this way holds the promise of opening up currently unimagined scientific avenues of inquiry, and in the process, may form whole new disciplines. Historical examples include the development of genomics, which was formed from genetics, molecular biology, analytical chemistry, and informatics. Another example in which multiple disciplines have, in a less directed way, blended and evolved into a new discipline is neuroscience. Thirty years ago, students of the brain might have identified themselves as anatomists, physiologists, or psychobiologists, but today they would consider themselves neuroscientists. Combining particular aspects of different disciplines to develop entirely new ways to approach biomedical and behavioral research problems is daunting in many ways. In recognition of the difficulty of establishing interdisciplinary research efforts, this Request for Applications (RFA) solicits applications for P20 planning grants that will support planning activities for groups of researchers to develop interdisciplinary research strategies to solve significant biomedical and/or behavioral research problems. Activities supported will include study design and, perhaps, pilot research to demonstrate the approach to be pursued. Whatever the approach, it must integrate aspects of multiple disciplines, which will be specified by the applicants. Planning activities are intended to lay the foundation and prepare investigators for submitting a subsequent application for more substantial and longer duration support through an Interdisciplinary Research Consortium. In recognition of the need to bring several disciplines together as equal partners, this RFA allows the research team to submit separate, but related applications that will be reviewed as a unit.