IDDRC Seminar Series

Monday, December 12, 2022
4-5:15 pm CST

The Phenotypic Effects of Enhancer Variation

Aravinda Chakravarti, PhD
Director, Center for Human Genetics & Genomics
Muriel G & George W Singer Professor of Neuroscience & Physiology
New York University School of Medicine

Virtual event

2023 SFARI Bridge to Independence Award Request for Applications

Dear Friend of SFARI,

The Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative (SFARI) is pleased to announce the 2023 Bridge to Independence Award request for applications (BTI RFA).

The BTI Award program engages talented early-career scientists in autism research by facilitating their transition to research independence and providing grant funding at the start of their professorships at a US or international institution. Awardees receive up to two years of postdoctoral fellowship support with an annual salary of $70,000 and an annual resource and professional development allowance of $10,000, followed by a commitment of $600,000 over three years, activated upon assumption of a tenure-track research professorship.

This RFA is aimed at scientists with a Ph.D. and/or M.D. who are currently in training positions but intend to seek tenure-track research faculty positions in the next academic cycle.

We welcome applications that span the breadth of science that SFARI normally supports, including genetics, molecular mechanisms, circuits and systems, and clinical science. We encourage applications from scientists who are currently working in the autism field, as well as those who are new to autism.

Applications from groups that have been historically underrepresented or excluded in the biomedical workforce — including but not limited to racial and ethnic groups, sexual orientation and gender identities, individuals with mental/physical disabilities, and those from economically disadvantaged backgrounds — are encouraged.

The deadline for letters of intent and letters of recommendation is February 16, 2023. Detailed information and application instructions are available here.

An informational session for prospective applicants will be held on December 8, 2022 at 12:00 p.m. EST, registration here.

New NIH Bioethics Supplement Notice

There is a new NIH bioethics supplement opportunity that might be of interest to you: https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/not-od-23-018.html. The deadline to submit a supplement application is February 17, 2023. The allowed budget is up to $200k direct costs for one year.

If you are interested in submitting an ethics supplement application, please email Dr. Tristan McIntosh (t.mcintosh@wustl.edu) by Monday December 12th to allow adequate time for planning, conversations with program officers, and preparing the application. In your email, please include a short description of the parent grant and any specific ideas you have about the focus and direction of the ethics supplement. Dr. McIntosh will then coordinate with you to schedule a meeting to discuss.

The NOSI provides specific examples of ethical issues that are of interest to the NIH. Methodologies might include in-depth interviews or surveys of research participants, clinicians, or other relevant stakeholders. Some possible topics to explore in an ethics supplement include:

· Stakeholder (e.g., patients, parents, clinicians) attitudes toward benefits and risks of participating in certain types of research

· Stakeholder comprehension of and perspectives about receiving results from genetic, neurocognitive, or other clinical tests (especially depending on whether or not research results are clinically actionable)

· Stakeholder views about the development and use of new technologies (e.g., wearables, implantable sensors) and treatments

· Participant privacy, especially as it relates to neural recordings or other brain data

Please note that the IDDRC Ethics Consultation Service has the bandwidth to support and submit only 1 ethics supplement application. We welcome discussion of multiple ideas IDDRC faculty may have so that we can determine which idea is the best fit and is most feasible to pursue. We look forward to hearing your ideas!

Inaugural Rare Diseases Day Symposium 2/28/2023 at Washington University in St Louis

We welcome abstracts on topics related to rare diseases (defined as affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the United States). We are now accepting abstracts in five categories:

1. Scientific – Preclinical
2. Scientific – Translational
3. Clinical services and multidisciplinary clinics
4. Patient advocacy partnerships
5. Education and training in specialty care

Abstracts should be 400 words or fewer and must be submitted via the abstract submissions page here: https://rarediseasesday.wustl.edu/proposals/ by 5 PM Central Time on Monday, December 12

Abstracts will be considered for poster presentation, and a subset of abstracts will be selected for oral presentation. Please plan to attend in person to present your abstract.

The Inaugural Rare Diseases Day Symposium will be held Tues., Feb. 28, 2023 8AM to 5PM in person at EPNEC Auditorium at Washington University School of Medicine – St. Louis or virtually via Zoom webinar. Registration is free and those attending in person will receive a box lunch, complimentary beverages and snacks, and can attend an afternoon reception.

Questions: rarediseases@wustl.edu

On behalf of the Organizing Committee,

Jonathan Cooper, PhD
Patricia Dickson, MD
Michele Herndon, MSN, RN, CPEN, TCRN, TNS
Kathleen Sisco, MSN, RN, CPNP
Fumihiko Urano, MD, PhD
Jennifer Wambach, MD, MS