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Patty Mabry, Ph.D.
Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR)
National Institutes of Health
Systems Science Developments at the National Institutes of Health
Opportunities for Systems Science in Health Research
Office of the DirectorOffice of the Director
National Instituteon Alcohol Abuseand Alcoholism
National InstituteNational Instituteon Alcohol Abuseon Alcohol Abuseand Alcoholismand Alcoholism
National Instituteof Arthritis andMusculoskeletal
and Skin Diseases
National Instituteof Arthritis andMusculoskeletal
and Skin Diseases
National CancerInstitute
National CancerInstitute
National Instituteof Diabetes andDigestive and
Kidney Diseases
National Instituteof Diabetes andDigestive and
Kidney Diseases
National Instituteof Dental andCraniofacial
Research
National Instituteof Dental andCraniofacial
Research
National Instituteon Drug Abuse
National InstituteNational Instituteon Drug Abuseon Drug Abuse
National Instituteof Environmental Health Sciences
National Instituteof Environmental Health Sciences
National Instituteon Aging
National InstituteNational Instituteon Agingon Aging
National Instituteof Child Health
and HumanDevelopment
National InstituteNational Instituteof Child Healthof Child Health
and Humanand HumanDevelopmentDevelopment
National Institute onDeafness and Other
CommunicationDisorders
National Institute onDeafness and Other
CommunicationDisorders
National EyeInstitute
National EyeInstitute
National HumanGenome Research
Institute
National HumanGenome Research
Institute
National Heart,Lung, and Blood
Institute
National Heart,Lung, and Blood
InstituteNational Instituteof Mental Health
National InstituteNational Instituteof Mental Healthof Mental Health
National Instituteof NeurologicalDisorders and
Stroke
National Instituteof NeurologicalDisorders and
Stroke
National Instituteof General
Medical Sciences
National Instituteof General
Medical SciencesNational Institute
of Nursing ResearchNational Institute
of Nursing Research
National Libraryof Medicine
National Libraryof Medicine
Center for InformationTechnology
Center for InformationTechnology
Center for Scientific Review
Center for Scientific Review
National Centerfor Complementary
and AlternativeMedicine
National Centerfor Complementary
and AlternativeMedicine
National Instituteof Allergy and
Infectious Diseases
National Instituteof Allergy and
Infectious Diseases
National Centerfor ResearchResources
National Centerfor ResearchResources
Clinical CenterClinical Center
National Center on Minority Health andHealth Disparities
National Center on Minority Health andHealth Disparities
National Institute of Biomedical Imagingand Bioengineering
National Institute of Biomedical Imagingand Bioengineering
FogartyInternational
Center
FogartyFogartyInternationalInternational
CenterCenter
National Institutes of Health 27 Institutes and Centers
• The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is an agency of the U.S. federal government within the Department of Health and Human Services. With a near $30 billion budget, it is the the steward of medical and behavioral research for the Nation. (http://www.nih.gov/)
• NIH is made up of 27 Institutes and Centers (ICs) - each covering a specific domain of research, which is conducted both at NIH (intramural) and at grantee universities (extramural). See a directory of the ICs at http://www.nih.gov/icd/index.html
• The Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR) stimulates behavioral and social sciences research across the ICs. (http://obssr.od.nih.gov/index.aspx)
About NIH & OBSSR
Outside the skin
Under the skin
zz
The Complex Problem Space of Human Health
“Systems Science” terminology at NIH
Systems Science approaches appreciate the complexity, context, dynamic nature, and emergent phenomena associated with the problem under study
SS methodologies include
Computational/mathematical modeling
Agent-based modeling
Dynamic modeling
Network Analysis
Related Terms:
Complexity science
Complex adaptive systems
Non-linear dynamics
The “S” Curve of Science
About 150 years
Empirical Observations
ReductionistPhase
Data explosionGrowing UnderstandingOf Subsystems
Rise of Partial TheoriesInterventions on real complexsystems
Search for UnifyingTheories
From Large to Small scales ( and back)
From Qualitative to Quantitative
Why is NIH embracing Systems Science?
• Other approaches alone have not solved intractable health problems
• Health problems are embedded in dynamically complex systems
• Need to make best use of limited resources, evaluate trade offs
• Computers have the computational power to do what humans cannot
• keep track of large numbers of variables
• including their synergistic, cumulative and compounding effects, and
• delayed effects/changes over time
• System science methodologies used successfully in other fields – tried & true
Heuristic: to better understand problems (e.g., underlying dynamics)
Hypothesis Generation: new hypotheses and/or narrow the list of existing hypotheses prior to empirical studies
Knowledge Synthesis: synthesize existing knowledge for meaningful interpretation
Expose Gaps in Knowledge about a problem
Prediction to aid in preparing for the future
Intervention Testing in a virtual environment: saves time and money; can do things that are impossible or unethical in the real world; and exposes unintended consequences.
What are the benefits of systems science to NIH?
Interest in systems science (SS) is growing rapidly at NIH
Systems biology is further along than SS in the behavioral and social sciences.
SS is being used to study infectious disease transmission (e.g., HIV, flu, smallpox, SARS).
Less SS is being done in chronic disease/behavioral and social determinants of health – these areas are ripe for SS
Any area of health and disease is applicable for NIH funding
Current SS at NIH
Videocast 2007 Symposia Series on Systems Science and Health
Institute for Systems Science and Health – May 2009
Recognition of need for “cross fertilization” to encourage collaboration - Linking SBP’09 attendees and other systems scientists with health investigators to collaborate on NIH applications
Use the conference grant mechanism (R13/U13) to establish connections across fields
Stay tuned to the BSSR Systems Science Listserv for future opportunities to connect and collaborate
Current and Future Systems Science Activities NIH & CDC
• Pandemic flu
• Tobacco use/substance abuse/addiction
• Obesity
• Health disparities/inequalities
• Social determinants of health
• Chronic disease – cardiovascular, cancer, diabetes
• Health care delivery
• Stress, mental illness
• Demography and population health
Potential Areas of Modeling for NIH
Grant Funded Systems Science and BSSR at NIH
Joshua Epstein, Director’s Pioneer Award, NIGMS, OBSSR, 2008. Project Title: Behavioral Epidemiology: Applications of Agent-Based Modeling to Infectious Disease.
David Lounsbury, R03, NIDA, 2008. Project Title: Dynamics Modeling as a Tool for Disseminating the PHS Tobacco Treatment Guideline
David T. Levy, U01, NCI, 2002-2010. CISNET. Project Title: A Simulation of Tobacco Policy, Smoking and Lung Cancer.
Linda Collins & Daniel Rivera, R21, 2007-2010. NIH Roadmap.Dynamical System /Related Engineering Approach /Improving Behavioral Intervention
Daniel Rivera, K25, NIDA, OBSSR. Control Engineering Approaches to Adaptive Interventions in Drug Abuse Prevention.
PAR-08-224 – Awards pending.
RFA-HD-08-023 (R01), Innovative Computational and Statistical Methodologies for the Design and Analysis of Multilevel Studies on Childhood Obesity (R01). Awards pending.
NIH has a variety of mechanisms to address most any stage of the scientific development cycle:
R03 – small grant, in general $100K for two years
R21 - $275K Direct cost for a two year period
R01 – up to $500K per year for up to 5 years
Training and career development awards are also encouraged
Refer to www.nih.gov for detailed funding info – I can also send a resource page to you
Funding Mechanisms at NIH
Open Funding Opportunity Announcements at NIH in Systems Science
PAR-08-224 Using Systems Science Methodologies to Protect and Improve Population Health (R21).
PAR-08-212, -213, -214 Methodology and Measurement in the Behavioral and Social Sciences (R01, R21, R03).
RFA-07-079, -080 Behavioral and Social Science Research on Understanding and Reducing Health Disparities (R01, R21)
PAR-08-023 Predictive Multiscale Models of the Physiome in Health and Disease (R01).
To stay apprised of new Funding Opportunity Announcements, join the Behavioral and Social Science-Systems Science Listserv. Send email to Patty Mabry [email protected] to join.
About the Stimulus Funds – ARRAwww.Recovery.gov
www.nih.gov/recovery/index.htmARRA - $10.4 Billion to NIH
$200 million for Challenge Grants (RC1) http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/challenge_award/
01-AA-103* Capturing Social Network Information for Groups at High Risk for Negative Health Behaviors
01-GM-101* Individual-based model of social behavior. Development of a robust and well-characterized individual-based model of social behavior that includes the dynamics of social interactions and that matches observed patterns of behavior
Grand Opportunities (RC2) - $200 million – “GO” grants – RFA-OD-09-004 http://grants1.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-OD-09-004.html
Greater than $500,000 total costs per year for a project period of two years
The purpose of the Research and Research Infrastructure Grand Opportunities program () is to support high impact ideas that lend themselves to short-term, non-renewable funding, and may lay the foundation for new fields of investigation. The program will support large-scale research projects that accelerate critical breakthroughs, early and applied research on cutting-edge technologies, and new approaches to improve the synergy and interactions among multi and interdisciplinary research teams.
Student Summer Opportunities/ Teacher Summer Opportunities
NIH Roadmap for Medical Researchhttp://nihroadmap.nih.gov
The NIH Roadmap is a trans-NIH initiative funded through the Common Fund – ALL Institutes and Centers (ICs) participate.
Initiatives funded through the Roadmap/Common Fund fit into one or more of these major themes and address specific roadblocks or gaps to:
Foster high-risk/high-reward research
Enable the development of transformative tools and methodologies
Fill fundamental knowledge gaps
Change academic culture to foster collaboration
Director’s Pioneer Award
New Innovator Award
Transformative R01 program (TR01)
Other initiatives
NIH Biomedical Information Science and Technology Initiative (BISTI).
An initiative to enhance the application of computer science to problems in biology and medicine http://www.bisti.nih.gov/bistic2.cfm
NIH Blueprint for Neuroscience Research http://www.neuroscienceblueprint.nih.gov/
Advice for Getting NIH Funding
Identify a research question or area for which your skills are needed.
Identify collaborators with the content expertise, NIH track record of success
Identify pertinent FOAs
Identify one or more IC’s who might be interested
Develop a concept paper
Talk to Program Staff (Scientific Contacts)
Prepare application well before deadline – send draft out for feedback.
NIH BIG Data Initiative
• Trans-NIH Collaboration
• Activities – Information Collection on NIH and other Federal agency activities involving BIG Data
• Goal – Identify opportunities for trans/inter-disciplinary collaborations between BSSR, engineers and informatics experts to enhance population health research efforts
• Some examples of the kind of ventures that could benefit from a BSSR/engineering partnership
NIH BIG Data: GEI
Two main components of the Gene,Environment and Health Initiative:
The Genetics Program is a pipeline for analyzing genetic variation in groups of patients with specific illnesses
The Exposure Biology Program is an environmental technology development program to produce and validate new methods for monitoring environmental exposures that affect health
NIH BIG Data: PhenX• PhenX – a three year project to prioritize Phenotype
and eXposure measures for Genome-wide Association Studies (GWAS) and thereby contribute to the integration of genetics and epidemiological research
• Consensus measures for GWAS will have a direct impact on biomedical research and ultimately on public health. The goal is to maximize the benefits of future research by having comparable measures so that studies can be integrated
• Recommended measures will be vetted with the research community through a Web-based PhenX Survey and other appropriate mechanisms
NIH BIG Data: Surveys of the Future• NERD (Norms Evolving in Response to Dilemmas) – a web-based
survey instrument that is designed to bridge the gap between perceived and actual public opinion, which traditional surveys and focus groups are unable to capture
• Smarter Surveys (SurveyGizmo) – Make surveys respond to user input; show just the right questions or send an automatically triggered email auto-responder
• Handheld Devices/Smart Phones – handheld computers for collecting survey data
• Computer audio-recorded interviewing (CARI) – a laptop computer application developed for audio recording of field interviews. Provides the means for assessing the authenticity and quality of the field interview, including the behavior for the field interviewer during the interview and the reactions of the respondent to survey questions
NIH BIG Data: Community Health Labs• Technological advances allow for the development of integrated
data and application “grids” that facilitate multi-level, interdisciplinary research (e.g., CaBig)
• We need “community health laboratories” that would provide integrated data resources for research on community health
• Each community data grid would unite local data on social, economic, institutional and physical environments; population characteristics, behaviors and health, health services (including medical records), and, where possible, genetic/genomic and other biological data as well as geospatial data
• These data, and applications developed for their use, would provide the infrastructure for a transformation of research on the interaction of environmental, behavioral, and biological processes in producing health and disease within local contexts and provide the basis for identifying new, scientifically grounded, strategies for improving community health
