FY 08 Basic and Applied Research in Under Sea Medicine Broad Agency Announcement

The summary for the FY 08 Basic and Applied Research in Under Sea Medicine Broad Agency Announcement 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 Office of Naval Research, which is the U.S. government agency offering this grant.

FY 08 Basic and Applied Research in Under Sea Medicine Broad Agency Announcement: The Office of Naval Research (ONR 342) is soliciting pre-proposals and proposals in the following topic area within the Naval Warrior Applications program. This program includes basic research and applied research components.Undersea Medicine. The field of Undersea Medicine covers a broad area of research topics in need of multidisciplinary approaches to understanding basic mechanisms and developing solutions. Investigators in such research disciplines as molecular biology, immunology, biochemistry, physiology, stress physiology, environmental physiology, neuroscience, psychology, computational fluid dynamics, and others are invited and encouraged to bring their expertise to bear on the issues outlined below. The goal of this effort is to encourage new thinking that will lead to the elucidation of the physiological and biochemical (molecular) mechanisms underlying the effects of stressors experienced by Navy and Marine Corps divers and Navy submarine personnel. Research proposals in the following areas are requested:1) studies of the pathophysiology of decompression sickness (DCS) and arterial gas embolism (AGE), with an emphasis on characterizing a) cellular (gene activation) and molecular (enzymes, receptors or signaling systems) interactions with nitrogen gas emboli, b) how these interactions influence DCS/AGE risk (including molecular and cellular pathology), c) methods to improve prediction and diagnosis of DCS/AGE using non-invasive imaging techniques and/or by use of specific cellular and molecular processes, d) improved therapeutic (non-recompressive) interventions to mitigate DCS and AGE, e) novel methods to remove excess gases from tissues and f) greater understanding of how exposure to thermal stress can influence DCS risk, f) mathematical modeling of fluid dynamics that may influence DCS incidence;2) studies to elucidate the cellular (gene activation) and molecular (enzymes, receptors or signaling systems) pathology of hyperbaric oxygen toxicity (HBO) to include: a) determination of those specific perturbations of metabolic processes by hyperbaric oxygen that are demonstrably and causally related to HBO (using the tools of metabolomics, proteomics, and genomics, and leading to a functional understanding of these responses at the molecular and cellular level), b) molecular and cellular details of the pathology associated with HBO, c) studies to develop prophylactic therapeutics for HBO toxicity (e.g., central nervous system, pulmonary, and ocular pathology) and d) methods to detect in real time the development of oxidative injury in situ;3) studies to elucidate the acute effects of heat and cold stress on performance as well as the physiologic adaptive mechanisms to heat and cold stress, including the mechanisms of these responses at the cellular (gene activation) and molecular (enzymes, receptors and signaling systems) level;4) studies on the effects of high and low frequency sound on human divers at the organism, organ, cellular, and molecular levels; 5) studies on the identification and mitigation of operational stressors, including an understanding of these stressors at the molecular, cellular and pharmacologic level, experienced by submariners, including technologies to improve operator performance in submarines in the littoral battle space and to improve the survival of submariners during submarine rescue operations;6) studies on the management of trauma in the undersea environment;7) studies in the area of diving medicine such as fitness to dive, longitudinal medical effects, barotraumas and immersion stress;8) studies of high pressure nervous syndrome (HPNS) at the organism, organ, cellular and molecular level.In order to foster the development of young investigators in the field, up to two of the awards under this program may be Postdoctoral Awards (see paragraph 7 - Instrument Type(s) for details). Pre-proposals and Proposals submitted designated as "Postdoctoral" will be evaluated (using the same criteria as Primary Awards) as a separate category. Available funds not applied to Postdoctoral Awards will be applied to Primary Awards. It is not the intent of this solicitation to establish new facilities; investigators should be able to demonstrate that they have the required research capability and access to the necessary facilities. Pre-proposals and proposals whose main objectives are to conduct analyses, literature reviews, or program evaluations are not encouraged. Please see Amendment 0001.