NIDCD National Temporal Bone, Hearing & Balance Pathology Resource Registry (U24)

The NIDCD Temporal Bone Registry is a national research resource for human otopathology. Its fundamental purpose is to coordinate information about specimens of the human ear and its disorders. The Registry coordinates specimen collection, information recording and data management of specimens, and provides public information including an up to date website about human ear research. It is not a simple database or tissue bank for human ear specimens. This FOA is appropriate for these functions specifically to enhance and promote critically needed research on the middle ear and inner ear that cannot be done in living humans. This initiative will support the Registry by cooperative agreement, to:

• develop a growing database to access detailed information about the location, condition, accessibility, and other bioinformatics data about new and archival tissues around the country that are available as resources for otopathology and basic research, and to respond widely to scientific and clinical researchers, disseminating information about the resources available;
• maintain a well-organized nationwide network of on-call experts for timely post-mortem harvesting of tissues, to develop new methods or techniques for subject recruitment and tissue procurement, and to handle ‘pledges’ for tissue donation combined with relevant medical histories that will allow linking functional disorders to morphological, biochemical and genetic pathologies;
• coordinate information management among otopathologists including those involved in collaborations such as the current NIDCD Otopathology Network of research laboratories, to provide opportunities for short-term training experiences in otopathology laboratories, and coordinate preservation of existing valuable archival collections;
• provide education/outreach to the scientific community and to the public.

Application Instructions

As the School of Medicine may only submit 1 proposal for this opportunity, the Office of Research and Graduate Education has established an internal review process to determine which proposal(s) will move forward to the funding agency.

To apply for this funding opportunity, please email the following to the Office of Research and Graduate Education at rgeopps@uw.edu by Tuesday, September 10, 2013:

• 1-2 page letter of intent with a list of all anticipated investigators, description of proposed aims and approach
• Biosketch of the PI
• Letter of support from the Dean or Chair. This letter of support signifies that the Dean or Chair has ensured the nominee’s eligibility per the sponsor’s requirements, and that the nominee and application are likely to be of sufficient quality to be competitive nationally.

Applicants will be notified as soon as a decision is reached.  The selected applicants must adhere to OSP’s deadlines outlined in GIM-19: http://www.washington.edu/research/osp/gim/gim19.html