Rendimiento Académico

(NIDCD)

The NIDCD supports research on the normal mechanisms of, as well as on diseases and disorders of hearing, balance, smell, taste, voice, speech and language. The Institute also supports research related to disease prevention and health promotion. The NIDCD addresses special biomedical and behavioral problems associated with people who have communication impairments or disorders. The NIDCD also supports efforts to create and refine devices, as well as develop cellular-based applications that may replace or substitute for lost and impaired sensory and communication functions. For more information about areas of interest to the NIDCD, please visit our home page at http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/. Potential applicants are encouraged to contact the program staff listed in the following descriptions of NIDCD program areas early in the process of preparing the application.

Limited Amount of Award

For budgetary, administrative, or programmatic reasons, NIDCD may decrease the length of an award and/or the budget recommended by a review committee, or not fund an application. According to statutory guidelines, total funding support (direct costs, indirect costs, fee) normally may not exceed $150,000 for Phase I awards and $1,000,000 for Phase II awards. With appropriate justification from the applicant, Congress will allow awards to exceed these amounts by up to 50% ($225,000 for Phase I and $1,500,000 for Phase II). Applicants considering a requested budget greater than these limits are strongly

encouraged to contact program staff before submitting the application.

Phase IIB Competing Renewal Awards

The NIDCD will accept Phase IIB SBIR/STTR Competing Renewal grant applications to support

research and development that are required to SUPPORT the process of developing products that require approval by a Federal regulatory agency (e.g., FDA, FCC). Such products include, but are not limited to: medical implants, drugs, vaccines, and new treatment or diagnostic tools that require FDA approval.

Examples of topics of NIDCD interest are presented below:

Hearing and Balance Program

Development of treatment modalities to prevent or lessen the effects of hearing disorders; development of new hearing aids, cochlear implants, and other assistive devices; development of improved screening technologies to assess hearing loss, especially in neonates and infants; development of new or improved power sources for hearing aids or cochlear implants; development of technologies that provide self-fitting, self-adjusting, or other features that increase performance, accessibility, or affordability of hearing aids; development of new outcome measures for assessing the efficacy of treatments for hearing disorders; development of technologies for the study, diagnosis and treatment of tinnitus; development of

technologies for the study, diagnosis and treatment of otitis media including non-invasive diagnostics to identify middle ear pathogens, novel antibacterial strategies, and prophylactic anti-microbial strategies; development of technologies for the study, diagnosis and treatment of noise-induced and age-related hearing loss.

Development of technologies for the study, diagnosis and treatment of balance disorders, particularly for the elderly; development of clinical tests and instruments to assess balance/vestibular function;

development of instruments and tests measuring head stability and vestibular function during natural stimulation of the vestibular system; development of perceptual reporting techniques and psychological indices for clinical assessment of the balance-disordered patient; development of tests and new outcome measures for assessing the efficacy of physical rehabilitative regimens for balance disorders; and

NIH, CDC, FDA, and ACF Program Descriptions and Research Topics NIDCD 68 development of assistive devices for balance disorders, including neural prostheses for the vestibular system.

Development of new research tools to aid in the study of the auditory and/or balance systems that can provide an improved understanding of fluctuating patterns of neural circuit structure and function over time and across large assemblies of neurons; new animal models of impaired function; improved

diagnostic tools for inner ear function, including DNA-based assays and biochemical markers of disease. Development of improved tests and instruments for screening and diagnosis of inner ear function;

development of technologies to enable gene transfer to the inner ear, including viral vectors; development of cell type specific markers and probes to examine cell lineage in inner ear regeneration.

Roger L. Miller, Ph.D.

National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders 301-402-3458, Fax: 301-402-0390

Email: [email protected]

Voice, Speech, and Language Programs

Development of technologies for the study, diagnosis and treatment of voice, speech, and language disorders is strongly encouraged, as are projects that focus on determining the nature, causes, treatment and prevention of communication disorders such as stuttering, Specific Language Impairment, spasmodic dysphonia, dysarthria, and aphasia. Emphasis is on research and development of diagnostic measures and intervention strategies for voice, speech, and language disorders; development of communication and other assistive devices for individuals with voice, speech, and language disorders; development of speech and language assessments and interventions for nonverbal individuals with autism; development of new systems for visual communication by individuals who are deaf or severely hearing impaired; development of new systems of communication for individuals with motor speech impairment, including a brain computer interface (BCI) communication prosthesis; development of innovative treatment delivery systems or intervention protocols; design and development of diagnostic measures or materials for early identification of voice, speech and language impairment in children; development of assessments and treatments for childhood and adult voice, speech and language impairment associated with bilingual or multi-cultural populations; development of assessment measures of sign language abilities; development of improved artificial larynges and tracheoesophageal shunts; development of artificial intelligence computer models that simulate normal and disordered voice, speech and language.

Judith A. Cooper, Ph.D. [Language Program]

National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders 301-496-5061, Fax: 301-402-0390

Email: [email protected]

Lana Shekim, Ph.D. [Voice & Speech Program]

National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders 301-496-5061, Fax: 301-402-0390

Email: [email protected] Taste and Smell Program

Development of easily administered diagnostic tools for testing human chemosensory function throughout the lifespan; development of intervention strategies and targeted drugs for the treatment of taste and smell disorders; preventive measures to limit the deleterious effects of infections, airborne toxins, radiation, chemotherapy and other drugs on chemosensory function; novel therapies to stimulate regeneration of mature sensory neurons in damaged and/or aged tissue; development of olfactory biomarkers for neurodegenerative disease; development of tools to facilitate chemosensory research

NIH, CDC, FDA, and ACF Program Descriptions and Research Topics NIDCD 69 including mouse models of chemosensory dysfunction and improved neuroimaging, cell labeling, and axonal tracing techniques.

Roger L. Miller, Ph.D.

National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders 301-402-3458, Fax: 301-402-0390

Email: [email protected]

Other Research Topic(s) Within the Mission of the Institute

For additional information on research topics, contact: Roger L. Miller, Ph.D.

National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders 301-402-3458, Fax: 301-402-0390

Email: [email protected]

For administrative and business management questions, contact: Mr. Christopher P. Myers

Grants Management Officer

National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders 301-435-0713, Fax: 301-451-5370

NIH, CDC, FDA, and ACF Program Descriptions and Research Topics NIDCR 70