Discovery of In Vivo Chemical Probes for the Nervous System

The National Institute on Aging (NIA) intends to publish a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) to support investigators who have an interest and the capability to join efforts for the discovery of in vivo chemical probes for novel brain targets. It is anticipated that the following institutes will collaborate with NIA on the NOFO: the National Eye Institute (NEI), the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), and the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH).

It is expected that applicants will have, in hand, the starting compounds (validated hits) for chemical optimization and bioassays for testing new analog compounds.

Through the NOFO, NIH wishes to stimulate research in:

Discovery and development of novel, small molecules for their potential use in understanding biological processes relevant to the mission(s) of NEI, NIDA, NIMH, and/or NIA, andDiscovery and/or validation of novel, biological targets that will inform studies of brain disease mechanisms.Emphasis will be placed on projects that provide new insight into important disease-related biological targets and biological processes.

Applications are not being solicited at this time. This Notice is being provided to allow potential applicants sufficient time to develop meaningful collaborations and responsive projects.