OppNet Request for Applications: Mechanistic pathways linking psychosocial stress and behavior (R01)

OppNet, NIH’s Basic Behavioral and Social Science Opportunity Network, just released a new RFA for three-year research projects:

Mechanistic pathways linking psychosocial stress and behavior (R01)

This OppNet Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) encourages research grant applications that propose to investigate basic psychological, social, and environmental mechanisms and processes that link psychosocial stressors and behavior. Proposed research should facilitate the investigation of multiple and, potentially, bidirectional pathways that underlie the behavioral, environmental, and psychosocial link(s) between psychosocial stressors and behaviors that ultimately may have an impact on biological function, health, and disease. OppNet encourages applicants to use innovative and integrative designs to elucidate how social, psychological, and psychosocial environmental factors impact the processes by which stressors become coupled with and influenced by behaviors. Desirable applications include those that examine moderating factors—for example:

• Individual demographic and psychological differences

• Risk factors

• Timing of exposure to stressors and environments.

The proposed research will provide a deeper understanding of the psychological, environmental, and social processes that ultimately connect psychosocial stress and behaviors and, consequently, wellbeing, physiological processes, health, and disease.  This is the third FOA that OppNet has released for fiscal year 2012.

Follow this link to the complete funding opportunity (RFA-HL-12-037): http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-HL-12-037.html

About OppNet

OppNet is a trans-NIH initiative that funds activities to build the collective body of knowledge about the nature of behavior and social systems, and that deepen our understanding of basic mechanisms of behavioral and social processes.  All 24 NIH Institutes and Centers that fund research and four Program Offices within the NIH Office of the Director (ICOs) co-fund and co-manage OppNet.  All OppNet initiatives invite investigators to propose innovative research that will advance a targeted domain of basic social and behavioral sciences and produce knowledge and/or tools of potential relevance to multiple domains of health- and lifecourse-related research.

Applicants should understand that the NIH Institute or Center (IC) that made this FOA available to the public is not necessarily the NIH IC that ultimately will manage a funded OppNet project. Instead, OppNet assigns funding and project management of meritorious applications to the NIH IC whose scientific mission most closely corresponds to that of the proposed research project.

OppNet uses the NIH definition of basic behavioral and social science research (b-BSSR) to determine application responsiveness: http://obssr.od.nih.gov/about_obssr/BSSR_CC/BSSR_definition/definition.aspx.

Consequently, OppNet strongly encourages prospective investigators to consult:

• The NIH b-BSSR definition,

• OppNet’s answers to frequently asked questions about b-BSSR (http://oppnet.nih.gov/about-faqs.asp), and,

• The Scientific Contacts section of each OppNet FOA for individuals with expertise in the research subject matter and the OppNet initiative.

Deadlines

Letters of intent are due November 19, 2011.

Applications are due December 19, 2011 by 5:00 pm local time of applicant organization.

For more information about OppNet, our research grant portfolio, and all our current funding opportunities, visit http://oppnet.nih.gov<http://oppnet.nih.gov/.