Neurofibromatosis research grants account for approximately $3.3M from the total $10B American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding allotted to the National Institutes of Health, according to the NIH RePORTER* the publicly accessible database of funded grants. Though this seems like a tiny piece of the pie, its worth noting that in fiscal year 2008, NF research accounted for $15M of overall NIH spending from a budget of $30B – a not dissimilar ratio. NIH staffers have been stretched this year to manage review of ARRA grant applications (on top of normal NIH grant deadlines) and to meet the government requirement to activate funded ARRA grants by the end of the fiscal year 2009 – which is today. The ARRA grant program was immensely popular, and the 20,000+ applications received far exceed the number anticipated by NIH. Applications were assessed not only on scientific merit but on the likelihood of having an impact in two year term including an impact on the economy – in terms of job creation. The 13 NF awards reported cover a range of activities. Two awards, both focused on NF2 support brand new projects with sizeable grants over two years. Eight awards are targeted at bringing in summer students as an addition to the workforce. Three awards provide supplements or continuation to already existing NIH awards. Overall, a significantly greater amount of funding going to NF2 research than NF1. * For further information visit http://projectreporter.nih.gov/reporter.cfm. To view ARRA-funded NF research grants, check the box ‘Show only projects supported by NIH Recovery Act funds’ and enter term search ‘neurofibromatosis’.
NF Research Secures $3.3M in NIH Recovery Act Grants
