AGENCY: Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS)/National Institutes of Health (NIH)/ Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)/ National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR)

PROGRAM: The Role of Human-Animal Interaction in Child Health and Development (R01)

OBJECTIVES: This program provides support to study the impact of human-animal interaction (HAI) on children's health and development and to test the efficacy of therapeutic uses of HAI with children. The purpose of this program is to establish Human-Animal Interaction (HAI) as an important field of inquiry by encouraging both basic and applied studies that focus on the interaction between humans and animals and the impact of HAI in three major areas: (1) foundational studies of the interaction itself and its impact on typical development and health, including basic research on biobehavioral markers of suitable behavioral traits for HAI and for using domesticated companion animals as models for identifying gene-behavior associations in humans; (2) applied studies (to include but not limited to clinical trials of the therapeutic use of animals); and (3) population level studies of the impact of animals on public health (prevalence/incidence studies, etc.), social capital, and the cost-effectiveness of using pets/animals in reducing/preventing disease and disorders.   

DEADLINES:
Letter of Intent (optional): October 19, 2009
Full Proposal: November 19, 2009

FUNDING INFORMATION: This program will utilize the NIH Research Project Grant (R01) mechanism. Because the nature and scope of the proposed research will vary from application to application, it is anticipated that the size and duration of each award will also vary.

AGENCY CONTACT:
Valerie Maholmes, Ph.D., CAS
Director, Social and Affective Development/Child Maltreatment & Violence Program
Child Development & Behavior Branch, Center for Research for Mothers and Children
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)
National Institutes of Health (NIH)
6100 Executive Boulevard, Room 4B05, MSC 7510
Bethesda, MD 20892-7510
Rockville, MD 20852 (for express/courier service; non-USPS service)
Telephone: 301-496-1514
Fax: 301-480-7773
Email: maholmev@mail.nih.gov
Web: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-HD-09-031.html

REMARKS: NIH requires that applications to this program be submitted electronically through Grants.gov (http://www.grants.gov). After submission via Grants.gov, applications will be retrieved and processed by the NIH Commons system (https://commons.era.nih.gov/commons/index.jsp). In order to prepare a responsive application, PIs should download both the complete program guidelines (RFA-HD-09-031) and the corresponding application package from Grants.gov as well as the NIH Grants.gov Application Guide (http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/424/index.htm). PIs must also be registered Commons users. For more information about Grants.gov and the NIH Commons, or to register as a Commons user, please contact either Kathleen Foster (kfoster@bu.edu) or Eleanor Greene (ergreene@bu.edu) in the Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) at x3-4365. In addition, please contact the OSP Assistant Director assigned to your school or department as soon as possible to coordinate submission through the Grants.gov system.