DIRECTOR'S MESSAGE:
A Shared Vision: Collaboration, Community Outreach, and Informatics

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT:
NIH Launches Clinical and Translational Science Awards

FEATURED STORY:
The Burden of Being Unique
The Rare Diseases Clinical Research Network seeks to improve diagnosis and treatment of patients with rare diseases.

SCIENCE ADVANCES:
Incubating and Sharing Novel Technologies
Annual meeting of NIH centers highlights collaboration, accessible research tools, and clinical potential of new technologies.

RESEARCH BRIEFS:
Unusual Cell May Contribute to Asthma
A Closer Look at Hepatitis C

NEWS FROM NCRR:
People, Awards, Grants, and New Developments

Web Exclusives:
Funding Opportunities, Knockout Mouse Project, Successful CTSA Applications, X-ray Tomography Center, Grants to Underserved States

This e-newsletter links to full content of the NCRR Reporter quarterly magazine and to additional Web-exclusive content. To request a free subscription to the print magazine, contact info@ncrr.nih.gov.

You can subscribe, change your subscription options, or unsubscribe to this e-newsletter by using the NCRR Reporter subscriber page on the NIH LISTSERV Web site.

We encourage you to forward this e-newsletter to colleagues who may find it of interest.

Two wide-ranging programs—the Clinical and Translational Science Awards and the Rare Diseases Clinical Research Network—bring together diverse participants and resources to address complex health-related problems. Read more.

A new national consortium funded by NIH will help to transform the way scientists conduct clinical and translational research. Initial grants support 12 research institutions throughout the country. Read more.

Nationwide about 25 million individuals are affected by a rare disease. To date nearly 6,800 unique rare diseases have been identified, each one striking less than 1 percent of the U.S. population. Scientists from the NIH Rare Diseases Clinical Research Network are studying more than 40 rare diseases in hope of better understanding and developing improved therapies for these conditions. Read more.

Several novel technologies under development at NCRR-funded Biomedical Technology Resource Centers are aiding studies of molecules important to normal heart and muscle functioning. A new fluorescence technology also may also help to speed diagnosis of heart attack, stroke, and other medical conditions. Read more.

Scientists have found a newly recognized type of immune cell that is surprisingly abundant in some people with asthma. These cells, known as natural killer T cells, may be involved in triggering asthma attacks. Read more.

Until recently, infectious hepatitis C virus could not be readily grown in the laboratory. Now an international team of scientists has developed a cultured version of the virus that is fully infectious in certain animals. This discovery offers a new research tool for those studying the virus and its effects. Read more.

• Nobel Laureate's Research Aided by Synchrotron X-Rays
• Instrumentation Grants Awarded
• AIDS Researchers Honored

Funding Opportunities:

• Science Education. NCRR’s Science Education Partnership Awards support innovative partnerships between biomedical researchers, K-12 teachers, and others working together to develop novel programs to improve the public’s understanding of health-related sciences. Read more.
• Clinical Veterinarians. A new NCRR-funded training grant will provide funding for postdoctoral clinical education for veterinarians interested in pursuing careers in nonhuman primate clinical medicine. Read more.

NIH Launches Knockout Mouse Project. A newly funded program seeks to build a comprehensive and publicly available resource of knockout mutations in the mouse genome. The resource will provide new mouse models for understanding human disease. Read more.

Successful CTSA Grant Applications Available on Web. NIH and the principal investigators funded through the Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSA) are committed to building effective communication with research and patient communities. The new CTSA awardees have agreed to post part of their grant applications for public viewing. Read more.
 • See also the related Director’s Message and Special Announcement in this edition of the NCRR Reporter.

National Center for X-ray Tomography Opens. A dedication ceremony in October marked the official opening of a new NCRR-funded center at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. The center features a first-of-its-kind X-ray microscope that can perform “CAT scans” of cells. Read more.

Grants Support Multidisciplinary Centers in Underserved States. NCRR awarded grants totaling $117.3 million to fund four new and seven continuing Centers of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) in states that historically have not received significant levels of competitive NIH research funding. Read more.