Innovation Grants to Nurture Initial Translational Efforts (IGNITE): Development and Validation of

Innovation Grants to Nurture Initial Translational Efforts (IGNITE): Development and Validation of Model Systems and/or Pharmacodynamic Markers to Facilitate the Discovery of Neurotherapeutics (R21/R33)
This funding opportunity announcement (FOA) encourages the development and validation of: 1) animal models and human tissue ex vivo systems that recapitulate the phenotypic and physiologic characteristics of a defined neurological disorder and/or 2) clinically feasible pharmacodynamic markers for therapeutics designed to treat neurological disease. The goal of this FOA is to promote a significant improvement in the translational relevance of animal models, ex vivo systems, testing paradigms, and endpoints that will be utilized to facilitate the development of neurotherapeutics. Ideally, endpoints proposed in applications for this FOA would have the potential to provide feasible and meaningful assessments of efficacy following therapeutic intervention that would be applicable in both preclinical and clinical settings. This FOA is not intended to support the development of animal and ex vivo model systems for the interrogation of disease etiology or for the identification of new drug targets. It is also not intended to support human clinical validation of model systems or pharmacodynamic markers. This FOA is part of a suite of Innovation Grants to Nurture Initial Translational Efforts (IGNITE) focused on enabling the exploratory and early stages of drug discovery.