RF1MH100027

AUTISM GENETICS PHASE II: INCREASING REPRESENTATION OF HUMAN DIVERSITY - ABSTRACT AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER (ASD) IS A COMMON NEURODEVELOPMENTAL DISORDER WHOSE GENETIC CONTRIBUTIONS ARE INCREASINGLY RECOGNIZED. HOWEVER, THE VAST MAJORITY OF GENETIC RESEARCH AND DISCOVERY HAS OCCURRED IN POPULATIONS OF EUROPEAN (EU) ORIGIN, SIGNIFICANTLY UNDERREPRESENTING COMMUNITIES OF COLOR AND THOSE OF SELF- DESCRIBED AFRICAN AMERICAN (AA) ANCESTRY. THIS DISPARITY IN GENETICS RESEARCH, COUPLED WITH DISPARITIES IN DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT, MOTIVATED THE INVESTIGATORS IN THIS NETWORK TO TAKE A MAJOR NEW DIRECTION IN THEIR RESEARCH, EMBARKING ON WHAT HAS BEEN A UNIQUE AND HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL RECRUITMENT OF AA FAMILIES WITH ASD (AA-ASD) INTO GENE DISCOVERY RESEARCH AT MULTIPLE SITES, CONDUCTED PHENOTYPING—INCLUDING INFORMATION OF CRITICAL RELEVANCE TO THE ELUCIDATION OF RACE-BASED HEALTH DISPARITIES—WHILE COMMENCING GENETIC ANALYSIS TO IDENTIFY ASD SUSCEPTIBILITY GENES. VIA THIS COLLABORATIVE EFFORT, WE AIM TO FILL SIGNIFICANT GAPS IN ASD RESEARCH BY CONTINUING TO RECRUIT AND PERFORM GENETIC RESEARCH IN THIS IMPORTANT POPULATION THAT HAS NOT PREVIOUSLY BEEN WELL REPRESENTED IN ASD GENETICS RESEARCH. OUR NETWORK INVOLVES SEVEN RESEARCH SITES AND A DCC, COLLABORATING IN A SYSTEMATIC INVESTIGATION OF ASD GENETICS IN ORDER TO IDENTIFY RARE MUTATIONS, CHROMOSOMAL ABNORMALITIES, AND COMMON VARIATION CONTRIBUTING TO ASD SUSCEPTIBILITY IN THE AA POPULATION, WHILE LEVERAGING THIS UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY TO UNDERSTAND AND POTENTIALLY REMEDIATE HEALTH DISPARITIES. SPECIFICALLY, WE WILL ENRICH EXISTING RESOURCES BY RECRUITING AT LEAST 720 AA PROBANDS AND ADDITIONAL FAMILY MEMBERS TO ASCERTAIN A COHORT OF AT LEAST 2000 PROBANDS IN TOTAL. OUR RECRUITMENT PLAN INCLUDES AN EMBEDDED HEALTH DISPARITIES PROJECT THAT CONTINUES TO EVALUATE ACCESS AND QUALITY OF CARE FOR AAS WITH ASD WHILE INCREASING PARTICIPATION OF AA INDIVIDUALS IN GENETIC RESEARCH. WE WILL CONDUCT WHOLE-GENOME SEQUENCING (WGS), WHICH PERMITS COMPREHENSIVE INVESTIGATION OF GENOME-WIDE STRUCTURAL VARIATION (SV) AND CODING AND NON-CODING SEQUENCE VARIATION (SNV) IN ASD. WE WILL EMPLOY NOVEL METHODS TO DEFINE THE ANCESTRAL ORIGIN OF SPECIFIC CHROMOSOMAL SEGMENTS AND ASCERTAIN THE BACKGROUND ON WHICH SUSCEPTIBILITY ALLELES OCCUR AND RELATE THESE FEATURES TO QUANTITATIVE PHENOTYPES. IN PARALLEL, GENE EXPRESSION PROFILING AND NETWORK ANALYSIS WILL BE USED TO PRIORITIZE VARIANTS. GENETIC RISK FACTORS IDENTIFIED IN THE MOSTLY EU SAMPLES WILL BE TESTED FOR ASSOCIATION IN THE AA SAMPLE TO DETERMINE WHETHER THESE COHORTS SHARE THE SAME GENETIC RISK FACTORS, USING A SAMPLE SIZE PROVIDING POWER TO REPLICATE PREVIOUS ASSOCIATIONS AND TO IDENTIFY RARE, RECURRENT CNV AND SNV. WE WILL USE LOCAL ANCESTRY TO BOOST POWER OF POLYGENIC RISK SCORES DERIVED FROM EU COHORTS. THE OBSERVATION OF NEW FORMS OR DIFFERENT POPULATION FREQUENCIES OF ASD-RELATED VARIATION IN THIS SAMPLE AS WELL AS THE SHARING OF MOST CNV AND SNV WITH OTHER COHORTS ARE BOTH OUTCOMES THAT WILL HAVE GREAT SIGNIFICANCE FOR FUTURE STUDIES AND FOR CLINICAL CARE. AS HAS BEEN OUR PRACTICE, OUR NETWORK WILL MAKE ALL PHENOTYPIC AND GENOTYPE DATA ACCESSIBLE VIA THE INTERNET ON A ROLLING BASIS, FURTHER ENHANCING THE VALUE OF THIS RESOURCE TO THE COMMUNITY.

Los Angeles University Of California

THE MISSION OF THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF MENTAL HEALTH (NIMH) IS TO TRANSFORM THE UNDERSTANDING AND TREATMENT OF MENTAL ILLNESSES THROUGH BASIC AND CLINICAL RESEARCH, PAVING THE WAY FOR PREVENTION, RECOVERY, AND CURE. IN MAY 2020, NIMH RELEASED ITS NEW STRATEGIC PLAN FOR RESEARCH. THE NEW STRATEGIC PLAN BUILDS ON THE SUCCESSES OF PREVIOUS NIMH STRATEGIC PLANS BY PROVIDING A FRAMEWORK FOR SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH AND EXPLORATION, AND ADDRESSING NEW CHALLENGES IN MENTAL HEALTH. THE NEW STRATEGIC PLAN OUTLINES FOUR HIGH-LEVEL GOALS: GOAL 1: DEFINE THE BRAIN MECHANISMS UNDERLYING COMPLEX BEHAVIORS GOAL 2: EXAMINE MENTAL ILLNESS TRAJECTORIES ACROSS THE LIFESPAN GOAL 3: STRIVE FOR PREVENTION AND CURES GOAL 4: STRENGTHEN THE PUBLIC HEALTH IMPACT OF NIMH-SUPPORTED RESEARCH THESE FOUR GOALS FORM A BROAD ROADMAP FOR THE INSTITUTE'S RESEARCH PRIORITIES OVER THE NEXT FIVE YEARS, BEGINNING WITH THE FUNDAMENTAL SCIENCE OF THE BRAIN AND BEHAVIOR, AND EXTENDING THROUGH EVIDENCE-BASED SERVICES THAT IMPROVE PUBLIC HEALTH OUTCOMES. THE INSTITUTE'S OVERALL FUNDING STRATEGY IS TO SUPPORT A BROAD SPECTRUM OF INVESTIGATOR-INITIATED RESEARCH IN FUNDAMENTAL SCIENCE, WITH INCREASING USE OF INSTITUTE-SOLICITED INITIATIVES FOR APPLIED RESEARCH WHERE PUBLIC HEALTH IMPACT IS A SHORT-TERM MEASURE OF SUCCESS. THE NEW STRATEGIC PLAN ALSO ADDRESSES A NUMBER OF CROSS-CUTTING THEMES THAT ARE RELEVANT TO ALL RESEARCH SUPPORTED BY NIMH, THESE THEMES HIGHLIGHT AREAS WHERE NIMH-FUNDED SCIENCE MAY HAVE THE GREATEST IMPACT, BRIDGE GAPS, AND OFFER NOVEL APPROACHES TO ACCELERATE ADVANCES IN MENTAL HEALTH RESEARCH. FOR EXAMPLE, NIMH VALUES A COMPREHENSIVE RESEARCH AGENDA THAT TAKES AN INCLUSIVE APPROACH THAT ENSURES RESEARCH INTERESTS ARE VARIED, MAINTAIN DIVERSE PARTICIPATION AND PARTNERSHIPS, AND ACHIEVE RESEARCH GOALS ACROSS MULTIPLE TIMEFRAMES. THIS INCLUDES DIVERSE METHODOLOGIES, TOOLS, AND MODELS, RESEARCH ADDRESSING COMPLEX BASIC, TRANSLATIONAL, AND APPLIED QUESTIONS, RESEARCH INCLUDING BOTH SEXES AND, AS APPROPRIATE, GENETIC BACKGROUND, AND, PARTICIPANTS FROM DIVERSE RACIAL AND ETHNIC BACKGROUNDS, AND ACROSS GENDER IDENTITIES, GEOGRAPHICAL CONTEXT, SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS, NEUROTYPE, AND AGE OFFERING THE BEST POSSIBLE REPRESENTATION, FOR THE BROADEST NUMBER OF INDIVIDUALS WHO MAY ULTIMATELY BENEFIT FROM THESE SCIENTIFIC ADVANCES. TO ACCOMPLISH THE GOALS OUTLINED IN THE NEW STRATEGIC PLAN, NIMH WILL SUPPORT RESEARCH THAT AIMS: TO CHARACTERIZE THE GENOMIC, MOLECULAR, CELLULAR, AND CIRCUIT COMPONENTS CONTRIBUTING TO BRAIN ORGANIZATION AND FUNCTION, TO IDENTIFY THE DEVELOPMENTAL, FUNCTIONAL, AND REGULATORY MECHANISMS RELEVANT TO COGNITIVE, AFFECTIVE, AND SOCIAL DOMAINS, ACROSS UNITS OF ANALYSIS, AND, TO GENERATE AND VALIDATE NOVEL TOOLS, TECHNIQUES, AND MEASURES TO QUANTIFY CHANGES IN THE ACTIVITY OF MOLECULES, CELLS, CIRCUITS, AND CONNECTOMES. TO DISCOVER GENE VARIANTS AND OTHER GENOMIC ELEMENTS THAT CONTRIBUTE TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF MENTAL ILLNESSES IN DIVERSE POPULATIONS, TO ADVANCE OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE COMPLEX ETIOLOGY OF MENTAL ILLNESSES USING MOLECULAR EPIDEMIOLOGIC APPROACHES THAT INCORPORATE INDIVIDUAL GENETIC INFORMATION IN LARGE COHORTS, TO ELUCIDATE HOW HUMAN GENETIC VARIATION AFFECTS THE COORDINATION OF MOLECULAR, CELLULAR, AND PHYSIOLOGICAL NETWORKS SUPPORTING HIGHER-ORDER FUNCTIONS AND EMERGENT PROPERTIES OF NEUROBIOLOGICAL SYSTEMS, AND, TO DEVELOP NOVEL TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES FOR THE ANALYSIS OF LARGE-SCALE GENETIC, MULTI-OMIC DATA AS IT APPLIES TO MENTAL HEALTH. TO UTILIZE CONNECTOMIC APPROACHES TO IDENTIFY BRAIN NETWORKS AND CIRCUIT COMPONENTS THAT CONTRIBUTE TO VARIOUS ASPECTS OF MENTAL FUNCTION AND DYSFUNCTION, TO DETERMINE THROUGH BRAIN-WIDE ANALYSIS HOW CHANGES IN THE PHYSIOLOGICAL PROPERTIES OF MOLECULES, CELLS, AND CIRCUITS CONTRIBUTE TO MENTAL ILLNESSES, TO DEVELOP MOLECULAR, CELLULAR, AND CIRCUIT-LEVEL BIOMARKERS OF IMPAIRED NEURAL FUNCTION IN HUMANS, AND, TO DEVELOP INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGIES, INCLUDING NEW IMAGING, COMPUTATIONAL, PHARMACOLOGICAL, AND GENETIC TOOLS TO INTERROGATE AND MODULATE CIRCUIT ACTIVITY AND STRUCTURE ALTERED IN MENTAL ILLNESSES. TO ELUCIDATE THE MECHANISMS CONTRIBUTING TO THE TRAJECTORIES OF BRAIN DEVELOPMENT AND BEHAVIOR, AND, TO CHARACTERIZE THE EMERGENCE AND PROGRESSION OF MENTAL ILLNESSES, AND IDENTIFYING SENSITIVE PERIODS FOR OPTIMAL INTERVENTION. TO DETERMINE EARLY RISK AND PROTECTIVE FACTORS, AND RELATED MECHANISMS, TO SERVE AS NOVEL INTERVENTION GROUPS, AND, TO DEVELOP RELIABLE AND ROBUST BIOMARKERS AND ASSESSMENT TOOLS TO PREDICT ILLNESS ONSET, COURSE, AND ACROSS DIVERSE POPULATIONS. TO DEVELOP NOVEL INTERVENTIONS USING A MECHANISM-INFORMED, EXPERIMENTAL THERAPEUTICS APPROACH, AND, TO DEVELOP AND IMPLEMENT MEASUREMENT STRATEGIES TO FACILITATE MECHANISM-BASED INTERVENTION DEVELOPMENT AND TESTING. TO INVESTIGATE PERSONALIZED INTERVENTION STRATEGIES ACROSS DISEASE PROGRESSION AND DEVELOPMENT, AND, TO DEVELOP AND REFINE COMPUTATIONAL APPROACHES AND RESEARCH DESIGNS THAT CAN BE USED TO INFORM AND TEST PERSONALIZED INTERVENTIONS. TO DEVELOP AND TEST APPROACHES FOR ADAPTING, COMBINING, AND SEQUENCING INTERVENTIONS TO ACHIEVE THE GREATEST IMPACT ON THE LIVES AND FUNCTIONING OF PERSONS SEEKING CARE, TO CONDUCT EFFICIENT PRAGMATIC TRIALS THAT EMPLOY NEW TOOLS TO RAPIDLY IDENTIFY, ENGAGE, ASSESS, AND FOLLOW PARTICIPANTS IN THE CONTEXT OF ROUTINE CARE, AND, TO ENHANCE THE PRACTICAL RELEVANCE OF EFFECTIVENESS RESEARCH VIA DEPLOYMENT-FOCUSED, HYBRID, EFFECTIVENESS-IMPLEMENTATION STUDIES. TO EMPLOY ASSESSMENT PLATFORMS WITHIN HEALTHCARE SYSTEMS TO ACCURATELY ASSESS THE DISTRIBUTION AND DETERMINANTS OF MENTAL ILLNESSES AND TO INFORM STRATEGIES FOR IMPROVED SERVICES, TO OPTIMIZE REAL-WORLD DATA COLLECTION SYSTEMS TO IDENTIFY STRATEGIES FOR IMPROVING ACCESS, QUALITY, EFFECTIVENESS, AND CONTINUITY OF MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES, AND, TO COMPARE ALTERNATIVE FINANCING MODELS TO PROMOTE EFFECTIVE AND EFFICIENT CARE FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH SERIOUS EMOTIONAL DISTURBANCES AND SERIOUS MENTAL ILLNESSES. TO STRENGTHEN PARTNERSHIPS WITH KEY STAKEHOLDERS TO DEVELOP AND VALIDATE STRATEGIES FOR IMPLEMENTING, SUSTAINING, AND CONTINUOUSLY IMPROVE EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICES, TO BUILD MODELS TO SCALE-UP EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICES FOR USE IN PUBLIC AND PRIVATE PRIMARY CARE, SPECIALTY CARE AND OTHER SETTINGS, AND, TO DEVELOP DECISION-SUPPORT TOOLS AND TECHNOLOGIES THAT INCREASE THE EFFECTIVENESS AND CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT OF MENTAL HEALTH INTERVENTIONS IN PUBLIC AND PRIVATE PRIMARY CARE, SPECIALTY CARE, AND OTHER SETTINGS. TO ADAPT, VALIDATE, AND SCALE-UP PROGRAMS CURRENTLY IN USE THAT IMPROVE MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES FOR UNDERSERVED POPULATIONS, TO DEVELOP AND VALIDATE SERVICE DELIVERY MODELS THAT PROVIDE EVIDENCE-BASED CARE FOR INDIVIDUALS THROUGHOUT THE COURSE OF MENTAL ILLNESS, TO DEVELOP AND VALIDATE SYSTEMS-LEVEL STRATEGIES USING TECHNOLOGY AND OTHER APPROACHES, TO IDENTIFY, SUPPORT, AND MONITOR THE EFFECTIVENESS OF EVIDENCE-BASED CARE THROUGHOUT THE COURSE OF ILLNESS, AND, TO DEVELOP AND VALIDATE DECISION-MAKING MODELS THAT BRIDGE MENTAL HEALTH, MEDICAL, AND OTHER CARE SETTINGS TO INTEGRATE THE APPROPRIATE CARE FOR PEOPLE WITH SERIOUS MENTAL ILLNESSES AND COMORBID MEDICAL CONDITIONS.

93.242 - Mental Health Research Grants

National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) [HHS - NIH]

Los Angeles, California 900950001 United States

Single Zip Code

Autism Centers of Excellence: Networks (R01 Clinical Trial Optional) (RFA-HD-22-007)