The National Institutes of Health recently issued announcement that details the agency's plan for programs formerly under the National Center of Research Resources (NCRR). On December 23rd, 2011 the NCRR was disbanded as part of the Fiscal Year 2012 Omnibus Appropriations bill. All NCRR programs, awards and applications will be transferred to other Institutes and Centers with the NIH. A list of affected programs and the new Institutes and Centers is available on the NIH website.

The NIH National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) re-issued a funding opportunity announcement (FOA) to support research dissemination and implementation studies (R18). The purpose of the grants is to test the effectiveness, sustainability and cost effectiveness of well-developed behavioral interventions in real-world settings that aim to reduce the risk factors and enhance the prevention and treatment of heart, lung and blood diseases and sleep disordered breathing. Submission begins on January 2, 2012; the application follows the standard due dates for NIH grants.

In September 2011, the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) held a two-day workshop to discuss and identify opportunities for research to reduce disparities in cardiovascular morbidity and mortality coupled to sleep health. The workshop also aimed to advance the scientific understanding of the role of sleep in realizing optimal health outcomes. An executive summary with recommendations from the workshop was recently posted on the NHLBI website. Recommendations for future research ranged studies that effects of sleep impairment and sleep disorders across different populations to research to identify and understand the barriers to health care, diagnosis and treatment for sleep disorders.

A Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) issued by the NIH's National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR) calls for Research Project grant (R01) applications for Maternal Nutrition and Pre-pregnancy Obesity: Effects on Mothers, Infants and Children. The FOA will facilitate research focused on improving health outcomes for women, infants and children. The FOA states that this can include interventions that target modifiable factors in the maternal pre- and post-natal environment which may modulate genetic susceptibility to obesity, such as sleep habits. Standard date and deadlines for NIH R01 grants apply for this funding opportunity.

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) recently announced it will publish a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) to establish Centers for Accelerated Innovations (CAI). According to the NHLBI, the Centers are intended to tackle problems that hinder the critical, early steps necessary to translate novel scientific advances and discoveries into commercially viable diagnostics, devices, therapeutics and tools that improve patient care and advance public health. The Funding Opportunity Announcement will be published in Spring 2012 in the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts. The receipt date is expected to be in Fall 2012.

In 2008, the National Sleep Research Network (SRN) was established to address a gap in the sleep medicine research infrastructure needed to support collaborative research. The SRN aims to create a forum for sleep researchers to connect and form collaborations to promote clinical and translational sleep research that requires large-scale, coordinated and multidisciplinary approaches. The most recent SRN conference, supported in part by the AASM, occurred on October 5-6, 2011 and was attended by 61 participants representing 43 institutions, officials from the NIH and members of the Sleep Research Society (SRS) and the AASM. To learn how to participate in future collaborative efforts, go to the Sleep Research Network website.

On Monday, November 14, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) hosted a Sleep and Circadian Biology Datablitz in Washington, D.C. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine supported the event by providing an educational grant. The fast-paced Datablitz featured one-minute presentations on recent research developments in Sleep and Circadian Biology. Representatives from the National Center on Sleep Disorders Research and various NIH institutes were on hand to discuss the findings.

President Obama recently issued a Presidential Memorandum titled “Accelerating Products from the Science Lab to the Marketplace.” According to a White House release, the memo is intended to make startups receive grants 50 percent faster, by streamlining and accelerating the process for private-public research partnerships, small business research and development grants and university-startup collaborations. The memo also gives agencies more flexibility to partner with industry and share resources. The White House is directing federal agencies to develop a five–year plan with concrete goals and metrics to measure progress, including tracking number of patents each lab generates.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) recently announced a revision to the NIH Grants Policy Statement. The revision replaces the NIH Grants Policy Statement (10/2010) as a standard term and condition of award. This applies only to NIH grants and cooperative agreements with budget periods beginning on or after October 1, 2011. According to the NIH announcement, the revision does not introduce any new material, but instead incorporates new and modified requirements, clarifies certain policies and implements changes in statutes, regulations and policies that have been applied since the previous Grants Policy Statement. A summary of the changes is available to download on the NIH website.