- Centers of Excellence for Research on CAM,
- Developmental Centers for Research on CAM, and
- Planning Grants for International Centers for Research on CAM.
"These programs are designed to enlist researchers from multiple disciplines-in both conventional medicine and complementary and alternative medicine-to apply their expertise to advance complementary and alternative medicine research," said Stephen E. Straus, M.D., NCCAM Director.
A brief description of the three new centers follows.
Centers of Excellence for Research on Complementary and Alternative Medicine
Centers of Excellence will support program project grants (P01) to elucidate the mechanisms of action of CAM modalities. These awards will provide new opportunities for experienced molecular or cellular biologists, imaging scientists, immunologists, neurobiologists, pharmacologists, physiologists, and other scientists to investigate fundamental questions related to CAM.
Letters of intent due March 29, 2003; receipt date is April 29, 2003
Developmental Centers for Research on Complementary and Alternative Medicine
Developmental Centers will support U19 cooperative agreements in which CAM and conventional institutions and investigators will partner to conduct exploratory and developmental research projects. These awards will provide opportunities for CAM institutions and investigators to strengthen their research expertise and infrastructure while enabling conventional researchers to gain clinical and cultural perspectives critical to the conduct of CAM research.
Letters of intent due March 14, 2003; receipt date is April 15, 2003
Planning Grants for International Centers for Research on Complementary and Alternative Medicine
Planning Grants for International Centers will support exploratory/developmental grants (R21) to enable U.S. and international institutions to jointly plan exploratory and developmental studies of traditional/alternative healing approaches. The Planning Grants will lay the groundwork for developing applications for an International Center for Research on CAM that will be called for in 2004.
Letters of intent due February 28, 2003; receipt date is March 28, 2003
Requests for applications and program announcements for these opportunities are now available on NCCAM's Web site at nccam.nih.gov.
The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) supports rigorous research on complementary and alternative medical (CAM) practices, educates and trains CAM researchers, and disseminates information to the public and professionals. For additional information, call NCCAM's Clearinghouse toll free at 1-888-644-6226, or visit the NCCAM Web site at nccam.nih.gov.