Seeking wound healing research funding?

Bethesda, Md. - A variety of funding opportunities are available for research into improving the processes of wound healing. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is supporting clinical research that is interdisciplinary, multi-phased and translational - going from bench to bedside.

Gathering opportunities

Endocrinologist Teresa L.Z. Jones, M.D., has a special interest in diabetic foot ulcers. She pulled together a list of research funding opportunities.

"Research efforts that target these kinds of questions will require collaborative efforts of different scientists with diverse skills and expertise," she says.

Centers for Innovative Wound Healing Research: GM- 06002

The National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) invites applications for grants to support innovative research on wound healing by teams of basic and clinical researchers assembled for high risk/high impact research.

The research should integrate individual molecular and cellular processes involved in wound healing. It is anticipated that these projects will address problems that could lead to significant improvements in interventions that increase the quality and speed of healing and provide a greater understanding of the pathophysiology and systems biology of wound healing.

The NIGMS intends to award up to $2.5 million in fiscal year 2006 to fund three to four new grants in response. An applicant may request a project lasting up to four years and a budget for direct costs of up to $500,000 per year.

Application receipt date: Oct. 20, 2005. Go to http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-GM-06-002.html

Exploratory/Developmental Grants for Clinical Studies – PAR- 003-0153

This program provides funding for clinical researching in all domains of complementary and alternative medicine to test therapies already in use by the public.

Funding is available to obtain preliminary data from pilot studies and small phase 1 and phase 2 trials as a basis for larger clinical studies to test the efficacy of complementary and alternative medicines.

Project period: up to three years with a combined budget of up to $400,000.

Application receipt date: July 2, 2006. Go to http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/index.html and follow the links to PAR-003-0153.

Small Clinical Grants in Diabetes, Endocrine and Metaboloic Diseases

Upcoming program to be announced by the National Institute of Diabetes, Digestive and Kidney Diseases. Includes planning grants for pilot studies for full-scale multi-center phase 1/2 clinical trials coordinated between institutions and covering the design of protocols. It includes projects on diabetic wound healing.

The NIH is also accepting applications for investigator-initiated clinical research.

Dr. Jones says, "We have many more applications than we can fund. The key to obtaining funding is simply high quality science."

She says research projects that are trying to recruit clinicians for widespread testing of a medication or process may be more appropriate for the dermatologist interested in clinical trials.

For more information: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/index.html.