Funded Projects
Explore our currently funded projects. You may search with all three fields, then focus your results by applying any of the dropdown filters. After customizing your search, you may download results and even save your specific search for later.
Project # | Project Title | Research Focus Area | Research Program | Administering IC Sort ascending | Institution(s) | Investigator(s) | Location(s) | Year Awarded |
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3R01NS098826-02S1
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PROTEASE ACTIVATED RECEPTOR TYPE 2 TARGETING FOR MIGRAINE PAIN | Preclinical and Translational Research in Pain Management | NINDS | UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS DALLAS | PRICE, THEODORE J; BOITANO, SCOTT; DUSSOR, GREGORY O; VAGNER, JOSEF | RICHARDSON, TX | 2018 | |
NOFO Title: Administrative Supplements to Existing NIH Grants and Cooperative Agreements (Parent Admin Supp Clinical Trial Optional)
NOFO Number: PA-18-591 Summary: Migraine is the most common neurological disorder. Currently available treatments fail to effectively manage migraine in most patients. Development of new therapeutics has been slow due in large part to a poor understanding of the underlying pathology of migraine. Endogenous proteases, released in the meninges by resident mast cells, have been proposed as a potential driver of migraine pain via an action on protease activated receptor type 2 (PAR2). The central hypothesis is that PAR2 expression in nociceptors that project to the meninges plays a key role in the pathogenesis of migraine pain. The aims are to: 1) use the established PAR2 development pipeline to design new PAR2 antagonists with improved drug-like properties; 2) use pharmacological tools in a novel mouse migraine model to further understand the potential role of PAR2 in migraine; and 3) use mouse genetics to study the cell type–specific role of PAR2 in migraine pain. |
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1R43NS115312-01
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Long-acting ghrelin for neuropathy | Cross-Cutting Research | Small Business Programs | NINDS | EXTEND BIOSCIENCES, INC. | SOLIMAN, TARIK | Newton, MA | 2019 |
NOFO Title: PHS 2018-02 Omnibus Solicitation of the NIH, CDC, and FDA for Small Business Innovation Research Grant Applications (Parent SBIR [R43/R44] Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
NOFO Number: PA-18-574 Summary: There is a need for safe, effective, well- tolerated drugs to treat painful neuropathy by halting or reversing the underlying pathology of the disease. One promising approach to treating painful neuropathy without opioids is the use of ghrelin, a 28-amino acid acylated peptide hormone. However, it has a short half-life and must be delivered via a constant intravenous infusion to have a therapeutic effect. Extend Biosciences' D-VITylation platform technology is truly enabling for small peptide-based therapeutics that are rapidly cleared from the bloodstream by renal filtration. The platform harnesses the naturally long half-life of vitamin D and its dedicated binding protein, VDBP. When the vitamin D molecule is conjugated to a biological therapeutic, it dramatically improves the half-life and bioavailability of the drug. Use of the technology should also allow the drug to be self-administered by subcutaneous injection. This would be of significant benefit to patients. In this project, the team will test the efficacy of EXT405 in a cell-based model of neuropathy as well as in animal models of CIPN and diabetes- induced neuropathy. |
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3U24NS112873-03S2
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Clinical Coordinating Center for the Acute to Chronic Pain Signatures Program: Administrative Supplement | Clinical Research in Pain Management | Acute to Chronic Pain Signatures Program | NINDS | UNIVERSITY OF IOWA | SLUKA, KATHLEEN A | Iowa City, IA | 2021 |
NOFO Title: Notice of Special Interest to Encourage Eligible NIH HEAL Initiative Awardees to Apply for Administrative Supplements to Support Career Enhancement Related to Clinical Research on Pain (Admin Supp – Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
NOFO Number: NOT-NS-21-048 Summary: The Acute to Chronic Pain Signatures (A2CPS) Program aims to identify combinations of biomarkers that predict susceptibility or resilience to the development of chronic pain. This career enhancement award will help a promising postdoctoral trainee gain access to tools and develop skills needed to pursue a career in clinical pain research. The research involves conducting collaborative multi-site cohort studies and analyzing A2CPS data to determine if a combination of metabolic and psychosocial biomarkers can be used to explain pre-surgery differences in pain, function, and disability in patients with severe knee osteoarthritis. |
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1U19NS130608-01
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Human Nociceptor and Spinal Cord Molecular Signature Center | Preclinical and Translational Research in Pain Management | Discovery and Validation of Novel Targets for Safe and Effective Treatment of Pain | NINDS | UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS DALLAS | PRICE, THEODORE J (contact); CURATOLO, MICHELE; DOUGHERTY, PATRICK M | Richardson, TX | 2023 |
NOFO Title: Notice of Special Interest (NOSI): Encourage Eligible NIH HEAL Initiative Awardees to Apply for Administrative Supplements to Support Career Enhancement Related to Clinical Research on Pain
NOFO Number: NOT-NS-22-087 Summary: This project supports a post-baccalaureate trainee develop skills needed to pursue a career in clinical pain research. The research will use molecular tools to study nerve, joint, muscle, and fascia tissues from individuals with chronic low back pain who had spine surgery. The research will include working with patients, designing clinical studies, and sharing results. |
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1U24NS113849-01
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The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (ISMMS) EPPIC-Net Specialized Clinical Center | Clinical Research in Pain Management | Early Phase Pain Investigation Clinical Network (EPPIC-Net) | NINDS | ICAHN SCHOOL OF MEDICINE AT MOUNT SINAI | ROBINSON-PAPP, JESSICA | New York, NY | 2019 |
NOFO Title: HEAL Initiative: Early Phase Pain Investigation Clinical Network - Specialized Clinical Centers (U24 Clinical Trials Not Allowed)
NOFO Number: RFA-NS-19-025 Summary: The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (ISMMS) will support the mission of the Early Phase Pain Investigation Clinical Network (EPPIC-Net), through the ISMMS Department of Neurology as the core of a hub and spokes structure. The study contains four specific aims: (1) to streamline and optimize rapid implementation of EPPIC-Net studies, exceeding the required minimum of 100 subjects recruited per year to EPPIC-Net studies; (2) to ensure access to patient populations with a wide range of pain disorders, including CLBP, using a hub and spokes model to ensure effective recruitment; (3) to provide the highest-quality protocol implementation, deep clinical phenotyping of pain disorders, and accurate and complete data collection; and (4) to work collaboratively with the EPPIC-Net Coordinating Centers and investigators from the NIH HEAL Partnership to assist with development/design of clinical trials. The study team will also increase training opportunities through EPPIC-Net within ISMMS and the larger pain research community, training junior investigators to become future pain clinical trials leaders and increase and disseminate knowledge about pain research throughout the network. |
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2R44NS086343-04
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IND-ENABLING STUDIES ON NOVEL CAV3 T-CHANNEL MODULATORS FOR TREATMENT OF NEUROPATHIC PAIN | Cross-Cutting Research | Small Business Programs | NINDS | AFASCI, INC. | XIE, XINMIN SIMON | REDWOOD CITY, CA | 2018 |
NOFO Title: NINDS Renewal Awards of SBIR Phase II Grants (Phase IIB) for Pre-Clinical Research (R44)
NOFO Number: PAR-17-480 Summary: We discovered a class of non-opioid modulators of the T-type Cav3.2 channel that could treat neuropathic pain. In vivo pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic studies and preliminary toxicological studies identified AFA-279 and other candidates, which did not produce observable side-effects and showed greater analgesic effects than other neuropathic pain medications in rodent models. The goal of this proposed project is to submit the IND application on our Cav3.2 modulator to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). We will produce AFA-279 under Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP)–like conditions using chemical manufacturing controls for Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) nonclinical toxicity studies and GMP clinical batch future Phase 1 clinical trials, complete toxicological and safety studies to establish the safety profile of AFA-279, prepare and submit the IND application, and then initiate early clinical trials. Our ultimate goal is to deliver a safer, more effective, non-opioid Cav3.2 channel modulator to patients suffering from neuropathic pain. |
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1R43NS124421-01A1
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Development of Nav1.7 Monoclonal Antibodies for Treating Pain | Cross-Cutting Research | Small Business Programs | NINDS | INTEGRAL MOLECULAR | RUCKER, JOSEPH BENJAMIN | Philadelphia, PA | 2021 |
NOFO Title: HEAL INITIATIVE: Development of Therapies and Technologies Directed at Enhanced Pain Management (R43/R44 - Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
NOFO Number: RFA-NS-20-011 Summary: Many current pain relief treatments rely on use of opioid drugs. This research is conducting preclinical development on a non-addictive, non-opioid therapeutic that uses antibodies to target the sodium channel Nav1.7. This channel is known to be one of the primary routes for generating pain signals – thus it is a target for reducing pain. The antibody approach offers potential for greater specificity than small molecule approaches, potentially resulting in fewer side effects. |
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1RF1NS113839-01
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Target validation of a novel CGRP receptor in migraine | Preclinical and Translational Research in Pain Management | Discovery and Validation of Novel Targets for Safe and Effective Treatment of Pain | NINDS | UNIVERSITY OF IOWA | RUSSO, ANDREW F | Iowa City, IA | 2019 |
NOFO Title: Discovery and Validation of Novel Targets for Safe and Effective Pain Treatment (R01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
NOFO Number: RFA-NS-18-043 Summary: Migraine is a painful and debilitating neurological condition, the development and maintenance of which involves the neuropeptide calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP). An exciting development in the treatment of migraine is the recent FDA approval of a new class of CGRP-targeted therapies designed to prevent migraine. However, these drugs meet a clinically relevant endpoint for only about half of the patients. This project will test the hypothesis that the high-affinity CGRP receptor AMY1 is a novel and unexplored target that mediates specific migraine-related behaviors in the brain and/or periphery to cause migraine. Validation of CGRP and AMY1 receptor involvement in migraines will create a new direction for the development of novel drugs and provide alternatives to opioids for management of migraine and potentially for other chronic pain conditions. |
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1R01NS116704-01
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Validation of Fibroblast-Derived PI16 as a Novel Target for pain Treatment | Preclinical and Translational Research in Pain Management | Discovery and Validation of Novel Targets for Safe and Effective Treatment of Pain | NINDS | UNIVERSITY OF TX MD ANDERSON CAN CTR | KAVELAARS, ANNEMIEKE; HEIJNEN, COBI J | Houston, TX | 2020 |
NOFO Title: Discovery and Validation of Novel Targets for Safe and Effective Pain Treatment (R01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
NOFO Number: RFA-NS-18-043 Summary: This project aims to validate Peptidase Inhibitor 16 (PI16) as a novel target for the treatment of chronic pain using mouse models and tissues of human patients with neuropathy. PI16 was identified as a novel regulator of chronic pain in preclinical bench studies. PI16 is a small molecule that has not been studied in the context of pain. Mice that are deficient for PI16 function are protected against mechanical allodynia (tactile pain from light touch) in spared nerve injury (SNI) and paclitaxel models of neuropathic pain. PI16 is only detectable in fibroblasts around peripheral nerves (perineurium), and in the meninges of dorsal root ganglia (DRG), spinal cord, and brain, but not in neurons, glia or leukocytes. PI16 levels in perineurial and DRG meningeal fibroblasts increase during neuropathic pain. Increased PI16 secretion by DRG meningeal and perineurial fibroblasts may promote chronic pain by increasing blood nerve barrier (BNB) permeability and leukocyte trafficking into nerve and DRG. |
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3U24NS113844-03S1
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EPPIC-NET DCC | Clinical Research in Pain Management | Early Phase Pain Investigation Clinical Network (EPPIC-Net) | NINDS | NEW YORK UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE | TROXEL, ANDREA B (contact); YU, CHANG | New York, NY | 2021 |
NOFO Title: Notice of Special Interest to Encourage Eligible NIH HEAL Initiative Awardees to Apply for PA-20-222: Research Supplements to Promote Diversity in Health-Related Research (Admin Supp - Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
NOFO Number: NOT-NS-20-107 Summary: There is a clear public health imperative to improve the care and outcomes of people who experience severe acute and chronic pain. The Early Phase Pain Investigation Clinical Network (EPPIC-Net) is charged with conducting deep phenotyping and biomarker studies for specific pain conditions – and with conducting high-quality phase II clinical trials to test novel non-opioid pain treatments with academic and industry partners. This research will extend EPPIC-Net’s current portfolio to develop novel and efficient data-analytic methodologies for complex medical data, such as those that are expected to be generated by the clinical trials conducted by EPPIC-Net. |
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5R01NS094461-04
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Clustering of individual and diverse ion channels together into complexes, and their functional coupling, mediated by A-kinase anchoring protein 79/150 in neurons | Preclinical and Translational Research in Pain Management | Discovery and Validation of Novel Targets for Safe and Effective Treatment of Pain | NINDS | UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS HLTH SCI CTR SAN ANTONIO | SHAPIRO, MARK S | San Antonio, TX | 2018 |
NOFO Title: Administrative Supplements for Validation of Novel Non-Addictive Pain Targets (Clinical Trials Not Allowed)
NOFO Number: NOT-NS-18-073 Summary: Multi-protein complexes have emerged as a mechanism for spatiotemporal specificity and efficiency in the function and regulation of cellular signals. Many ion channels are clustered either with the receptors that modulate them or with other ion channels whose activities are linked. Often, the clustering is mediated by scaffolding proteins, such as AKAP79/150. We will probe complexes containing AKAP79/150 and three different channels critical to nervous function: KCNQ/Kv7, TRPV1, and CaV1.2. We will use"super-resolution" STORM imaging of primary sensory neurons and heterologously expressed tissue-culture cells, in which individual complexes can be visualized at 10–20 nm resolution with visible light. We hypothesize that AKAP79/150 brings several of these channels together to enable functional coupling, which we will examine by patch-clamp electrophysiology of the neurons. Since all three of these channels bind to AKAP79/150, we hypothesize that they co-assemble into complexes in neurons and that they are dynamically regulated by other cellular signals. |
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1R61NS127285-01
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Development of Therapeutic Antibodies to Target Sodium Channels Involved in Pain Signaling | Preclinical and Translational Research in Pain Management | Development and Optimization of Non-Addictive Therapies to Treat Pain | NINDS | University of California, Davis | YAROV-YAROVOY, VLADIMIR M (contact); TRIMMER, JAMES S | Davis, CA | 2022 |
NOFO Title: HEAL Initiative: Planning Studies for Initial Analgesic Development [Small Molecules and Biologics] (R61 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
NOFO Number: NS21-029 Summary: Voltage-gated sodium channels such as Nav1.7, Nav1.8, and Nav1.9 transmit pain signals in nerve fibers and are molecular targets for pain therapy. While Nav channels have been validated as pharmacological targets for the treatment of pain, available therapies are limited due to incomplete efficacy and significant side effects. Taking advantage of recent advances in structural biology and computational-based protein design, this project aims to develop antibodies to attach to Nav channels and freeze them in an inactive state. These antibodies can then be further developed as novel treatments for chronic pain. |
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9SB1NS137964-04
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Advancing precision pain medicines to the clinic | Cross-Cutting Research | Small Business Programs | NINDS | NAVEGA THERAPEUTICS, INC. | MORENO, ANA MARIA (contact); ALEMAN GUILLEN, FERNANDO | San Diego, CA | 2023 |
NOFO Title: HEAL Commercialization Readiness Pilot (CRP) Program: Embedded Entrepreneurs for Small Businesses in Pain Management (SB1 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
NOFO Number: PAR-23-069 |
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1R41NS132625-01A1
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Opioid-Sparing Non-Surgical, Bioresorbable Nerve Stimulator for Pain Relief | Cross-Cutting Research | Small Business Programs | NINDS | VANISH THERAPEUTICS INC. | CUI, XINYAN TRACY | Mars, PA | 2023 |
NOFO Title: HEAL Initiative: Development of Therapies and Technologies Directed at Enhanced Pain Management (R41/R42 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
NOFO Number: RFA-NS-23-007 Summary: Nerve stimulators are devices surgically implanted near a peripheral nerve or on the spinal cord that use electrical signals to reduce the perception of pain. Although these devices can provide effective pain relief to patients, many have high complication rates, resulting from the wire moving, breaking, not working, or the implantable battery pack or permanent wire causing new pain. This project will support the development and animal testing of a peripheral nerve stimulator to treat chronic pain which can be implanted without surgery. Once injected, the device will provide pain relief through electrical stimulation and then be safely degraded and resorbed by the body. |
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1U24NS113850-01
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Clinical Coordinating Center for the Health Initiative in Early Phase Pain Investigation Clinical Network | Clinical Research in Pain Management | Early Phase Pain Investigation Clinical Network (EPPIC-Net) | NINDS | MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL | FAVA, MAURIZIO (contact); EDWARDS, ROBERT R; RATHMELL, JAMES P | Boston, MA | 2019 |
NOFO Title: HEAL Initiative: Early Phase Pain Investigation Clinical Network - Clinical Coordinating Center (U24 Clinical Trials Not Allowed)
NOFO Number: RFA-NS-19-023 Summary: The objective of the Early Phase Pain Investigation Clinical Network (EPPIC-Net) and EPPIC- Net initiatives is to rapidly and efficiently translate advances in the neurobiology of pain into treatments for people with chronic and acute pain, conditions associated with a significant burden to both patients and society. The Clinical Coordinating Center (CCC) for EPPIC-Net will promote and facilitate, from initial conception through final analysis, clinical trials in adult and pediatric populations with acute or chronic pain by providing efficient methodological, organizational, and logistical support. The EPPIC-Net-CCC will adopt and establish processes aimed at dramatically increasing the efficiency of multicenter clinical trials, improving the overall quality of clinical trials, promoting patient recruitment and retention as well as increasing the number of clinical investigators and research staff well trained and passionate about leading and conducting multicenter clinical trials. |
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1R61NS113316-01
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Discovery and analytical validation of Inflammatory bio-signatures of the human pain experience | Preclinical and Translational Research in Pain Management | Discovery and Validation of Biomarkers, Endpoints, and Signatures for Pain Conditions | NINDS | THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS HEALTH SCIENCE CENTER AT HOUSTON | PROSSIN, ALAN RODNEY | Houston, TX | 2019 |
NOFO Title: Discovery of Biomarkers, Biomarker Signatures, and Endpoints for Pain (R61/R33 Clinical Trial Optional)
NOFO Number: RFA-NS-18-041 Summary: Postoperative pain is a major contributor to the current opioid epidemic. Novel objective measures capable of personalizing pain care will enhance medical precision in prevention and treatment of postoperative pain. This project seeks to discover and validate a novel biosignature of the human pain experience, based on underlying IL-1 family cytokine activity and associated brain endogenous opioid function, that is readily quantifiable and clinically translatable to prevention and treatment of postoperative pain states. Specific aims will assess whether the novel biosignature will predict 1) experimentally induced pain during an experimental nociceptive pain challenge; 2) postoperative pain states with accuracy >75%, accounting for a wide range of variance in the human pain experience; and 3) postoperative pain states in an expanded clinically enriched sample. |
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3U24NS113784-01S1
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University of Rochester Hub and Spokes for the EPPIC Network - Specialized Clinical Center | Clinical Research in Pain Management | Early Phase Pain Investigation Clinical Network (EPPIC-Net) | NINDS | UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER | MARKMAN, JOHN DOUGLAS | Rochester, NY | 2021 |
NOFO Title: Notice of Special Interest to Encourage Eligible NIH HEAL Initiative Awardees to Apply for Administrative Supplements to Support Career Enhancement Related to Clinical Research on Pain (Admin Supp – Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
NOFO Number: NOT-NS-21-048 Summary: Improving pain treatment for is a major goal of the NIH HEAL Initiative. This award supports an early career physician toward achieving a future in clinical pain research and in conducting phase II clinical trials focused on pain. Research activities will provide this individual with the skills needed to serve as a primary investigator for future clinical trials in chronic pain and will help to answer a key question that could improve the design of analgesic clinical trials for neurogenic intermittent claudication, a distinct form of chronic low back pain for which no available treatment exists. |
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1R43NS120617-01A1
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Chemokine-receptor profiling for painful diabetic neuropathy in biological samples from human clinical trials | Cross-Cutting Research | Small Business Programs | NINDS | PLUMERIA THERAPEUTICS, INC. | RICHARDSON, THOMAS P (contact); WANG, YIPING | Plainsboro, NJ | 2021 |
NOFO Title: HEAL INITIATIVE: Development of Therapies and Technologies Directed at Enhanced Pain Management (R43/R44 - Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
NOFO Number: RFA-NS-20-011 Summary: Chronic pain is a major healthcare burden. However, the types and underlying mechanisms of pain vary greatly, as do patient responses to currently available pain medications. Inflammation in the nervous system (neuroinflammation) is involved in several types of pain, and targeting key molecules involved in neuroinflammation is therefore a promising treatment approach. The chemokine receptor system, a complex network of more than 20 different receptors and more than 80 molecules that bind to these receptors, has a central role in neuroinflammation. Researchers do not yet fully understand the functioning of this network and how specific receptors vary in different chronic pain conditions. Therefore, this project aims to further characterize the expression of one specific receptor, using samples collected from participants in clinical trials evaluating a compound that interferes with the receptor’s function. This information should allow researchers to classify pain patients and identify those most likely to benefit from a treatment with compounds targeting the receptor. |
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1R01NS120663-01A1
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Genetic and Pharmacological Validation of CRMP2 Phosphorylation as a Novel therapeutic Target for Neuropathic Pain | Preclinical and Translational Research in Pain Management | Discovery and Validation of Novel Targets for Safe and Effective Treatment of Pain | NINDS | UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA | KHANNA, RAJESH | Tucson, AZ | 2020 |
NOFO Title: Discovery and Validation of Novel Targets for Safe and Effective Pain Treatment (R01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
NOFO Number: RFA-NS-18-043 Summary: Peripheral nerve injury-induced upregulation of three axonal guidance phosphoproteins correlates with the development of neuropathic pain through an unidentified mechanism: 1) collapsin response mediator protein 2 (CRMP2); 2) the N-type voltage-gated calcium (CaV2.2); 3) the NaV1.7 voltage-gated sodium channel. Injury induced phosphorylated-CRMP2/CaV2.2 and phosphorylated-CRMP2/NaV1.7 upregulation in the sensory pathway may promote abnormal excitatory synaptic transmission in spinal cord that leads to neuropathic pain states. This project will validate CRMP2 phosphorylation as a novel target in neuropathic pain using innovative tools. Examples include a genetic approach (crmp2S522A) in mice as well as a non-opioid pharmacological approach (a novel CRMP2-phsphorylation targeting compound). Demonstrating that inhibition of CRMP2 phosphorylation reverses or prevents neuropathic pain will promote the discovery and validation of a novel therapeutic target (CRMP2-phosphorylation) to facilitate the development of novel pain therapeutics. |
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1U19NS130607-01
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INTERCEPT: Integrated Research Center for Human Pain Tissues | Preclinical and Translational Research in Pain Management | Discovery and Validation of Novel Targets for Safe and Effective Treatment of Pain | NINDS | WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY | GEREAU, ROBERT W | Saint Louis, MO | 2022 |
NOFO Title: HEAL Initiative: Discovery and Functional Evaluation of Human Pain-associated Genes and Cells (U19 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
NOFO Number: NS22-018 Summary: This project will use a variety of state-of-the-art technologies to generate a comprehensive gene expression map of human peripheral nerves. The research will enhance understanding about genes involved in various painful conditions associated with nerve damage (neuropathies) resulting from injury or disease. This research will analyze DNA sequences of individual neuronal and non-neuronal cells in human nerve cells (from individuals with and without pain located outside the spinal cord that are involved in pain signal transmission. The findings, together with other imaging and computational approaches, will be used to generate a spatial atlas of the human dorsal root ganglia – a key hub for pain communication between the brain and spinal cord. |
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1UG3NS130592-01A1
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Sensory Phenotyping to Enhance Neuropathic Pain Drug Development | Clinical Research in Pain Management | Discovery and Validation of Biomarkers, Endpoints, and Signatures for Pain Conditions | NINDS | BETH ISRAEL DEACONESS MED CENT | FREEMAN, ROY (contact); EDWARDS, ROBERT R; GEWANDTER, JENNIFER | Boston, MA | 2023 |
NOFO Title: HEAL Initiative: Discovery of Biomarkers and Biomarker Signatures to Facilitate Clinical Trials for Pain Therapeutics (UG3/UH3 Clinical Trial Optional)
NOFO Number: RFA-NS-22-050 Summary: Neuropathic pain is a chronic and difficult to treat condition that affects people in different ways. This project aims to personalize treatments based on individual pain profiles. The research will develop an inexpensive test using a technique called quantitative sensory testing to predict how a patient will respond to two common pain medications. The research will also look for other factors in blood that enhance the accuracy of these predictions. |
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1U24NS115679-01
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MACC/EPICC-Net as a Hub for the HEAL Initiative EPICC-Net | Clinical Research in Pain Management | Early Phase Pain Investigation Clinical Network (EPPIC-Net) | NINDS | MEDICAL COLLEGE OF WISCONSIN | HERNANDEZ-MEIER, JENNIFER LYNN (contact); AUFDERHEIDE, TOM PAUL | Madison, WI | 2019 |
NOFO Title: HEAL Initiative: Early Phase Pain Investigation Clinical Network - Specialized Clinical Centers (U24 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
NOFO Number: RFA-NS-19-036 |
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3R01NS094461-04S2
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TARGETING SPECIFIC INTERACTIONS BETWEEN A-KINASE ANCHORING PROTEINS (AKAPS) AND ION CHANNELS WITH CELL-PERMEANT PEPTIDES AS A NOVEL MODE OF THERAPEUTIC INTERVENTION AGAINST PAIN DISORDERS | Preclinical and Translational Research in Pain Management | Discovery and Validation of Novel Targets for Safe and Effective Treatment of Pain | NINDS | UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS HLTH SCIENCE CENTER | SHAPIRO, MARK S | SAN ANTONIO, TX | 2019 |
NOFO Title: Administrative Supplements to Existing NIH Grants and Cooperative Agreements (Parent Admin Supp Clinical Trial Optional)
NOFO Number: PA-18-591 Summary: Multi-protein complexes have emerged as a mechanism for spatiotemporal specificity and efficiency in the function and regulation of myriad cellular signals. In particular, many ion channels are clustered either with the receptors that modulate them, or with other ion channels whose activities are linked. Often the clustering is mediated by scaffolding proteins, such as the AKAP79/150 protein that is a focus of this research. This research will focus on three different channels critical to nervous function. One is the"M-type" (KCNQ, Kv7) K+ channel that plays fundamental roles in the regulation of excitability in nerve and muscle. It is thought to associate with Gq/11- coupled receptors, protein kinases, calcineurin (CaN), calmodulin (CaM) and phosphoinositides via AKAP79/150. Another channel of focus is TRPV1, a nociceptive channel in sensory neurons that is also thought to be regulated by signaling proteins recruited by AKAP79/150. The third are L-type Ca2+ (CaV1.2) channels that are critical to synaptic plasticity, gene regulation and neuronal firing. This research will probe complexes containing AKAP79/150 and these three channels using"super-resolution" STORM imaging of primary sensory neurons and heterologously-expressed tissue-culture cells, in which individual complexes can be visualized at 10-20 nm resolution with visible light, breaking the diffraction barrier of physics. The researchers hypothesize that AKAP79/150 brings several of these channels together to enable functional coupling, which the researchers will examine by patch-clamp electrophysiology of the neurons. Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) will also be performed under total internal reflection fluorescence (TIRF) or confocal microscopy, further testing for complexes containing KCNQ, TRPV1 and CaV1.2 channels. Since all three of these channels bind to AKAP79/150, the researchers hypothesize that they co-assemble into complexes in neurons, together with certain G protein-coupled receptors. Furthermore, the researchers hypothesize these complexes to not be static, but rather to be dynamically regulated by other cellular signals, which the researchers will examine using rapid activation of kinases or phosphatases. Several types of mouse colonies of genetically altered AKAP150 knock-out or knock-in mice will be utilized. |
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3U44NS115111-03S1
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High-Resolution, Spinal Cord Stimulation for Non-Opioid Treatment of Neuropathic Pain | Preclinical and Translational Research in Pain Management | NINDS | MICRO-LEADS, INC. | MCLAUGHLIN, BRYAN L | Somerville, MA | 2021 | |
NOFO Title: Notice of Special Interest to Encourage Eligible NIH HEAL Initiative Awardees to Apply for PA-20-222: Research Supplements to Promote Diversity in Health-Related Research (Admin Supp - Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
NOFO Number: NOT-NS-20-107 Summary: This research seeks to develop a high-resolution spinal cord stimulation therapy for treating chronic neuropathic pain of the lower extremities, groin, and lower back. Systems that use wireless communication methods require robust strategies to prevent various forms of cyberattacks on implantable devices. The focus of this project's research will be to develop a new cybersecurity risk-reduced architecture for Bluetooth low-energy implant communication. |
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1R61NS127286-01
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Developing GPR37 Activators as Non-Opioid Pain Therapeutics | Preclinical and Translational Research in Pain Management | Development and Optimization of Non-Addictive Therapies to Treat Pain | NINDS | University of Texas Med BR | LA, JUN-HO (contact); ALLEN, JOHN A; ZHOU, JIA | Galveston, TX | 2022 |
NOFO Title: HEAL Initiative: Planning Studies for Initial Analgesic Development [Small Molecules and Biologics] (R61 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
NOFO Number: NS21-029 Summary: Chronic pain from tissue injury often stems from long-term changes in spinal cord circuits that change nerve sensation. Reversing these changes may provide better pain therapeutics. Previous work in animal models showed that activating G protein-coupled receptor 37 (GPR37) dampens nerve signal intensity after long-term stimulation and alleviates pain behavioral responses. This project aims to validate GPR37 in the spinal cord as a useful target for new treatments for neuropathic pain. The work will facilitate screening and identification of new molecules that activate GPR37, which can then be tested for efficacy and safety in further research in animal models of pain. |