Purpose. Biomedical research laboratories increasingly undertake a software development project to solve a problem of interest specifically related to that laboratory. These software packages sometimes become useful to a much broader community of users that can include translational and clinical researchers. The goal of this program announcement is to support the continued development, maintenance, testing and evaluation of existing software. The proposed work should apply best practices and proven methods for software design, construction, and implementation to extend the applicability of existing biomedical informatics/computational biology software to a broader biomedical research community.

Research Objectives

This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is aimed at satisfying one of the needs created by the parallel achievements and increased interdependence of the biological and computing sciences. This interdependence offers an unprecedented opportunity for sophisticated approaches to computer-enabled research in the biological, clinical, and behavioral sciences. The purpose of this program announcement is to assure the availability and continued usefulness of existing biomedical informatics/computational biology software.

This program announcement is meant for existing software that serves a biological, clinical, or behavioral community of users. Applicants who are interested in developing new software should consult the funding section of the NIH Biomedical Information Science and Technology Initiative (BISTI) web page http://www.bisti.nih.gov/funding/index.asp for appropriate program announcements, specifically, the broad-based Innovations in Biomedical Computing (R01, PAR-09-218); high-risk high-reward Innovations in Biomedical Computing (R21, PAR-09-219); and Innovations in Biomedical Computing for SBIR/STTR (PAR-09-220, PAR-09-221).

Applications under this program announcement can seek support to improve the existing software in several different ways listed below. Any of these improvements should benefit the existing user community and/or have potential for attracting more users.

First, contemporary software must be easy to modify and extend, and must be fully documented. Users who experience problems with software should be able to correct the problem with minimal effort and a mechanism must exist for incorporating these corrections into the software. As the needs of a community of users change, the software that supports their research efforts must be adaptable as well. The ability of software to be repaired and to evolve is particularly important because the scientific discovery process is open-ended and ever-changing. Applications to modernize existing software to meet these standards are welcome under this program announcement.

Second, interoperability among different software packages or among software and existing databases is a major concern. Applications with the goal of extending interoperability are welcomed under this program announcement. Portability to different types of hardware is a related area of concern. Applications with the goal of improving software so that it operates on a variety of platforms employing different operating systems also are encouraged.

Finally, efforts to combine existing software with modern ontologies or libraries of controlled vocabularies also are well suited to the goals of this program announcement. Such applications might include (1) assessing data flow and use; (2) defining the terms used for data, fields, operations, etc.; (3) defining the relationships among terms and functions; (4) defining data models and schemas; and/or (5) other similar activities. It is important to emphasize that these activities should be related closely to the particular software, or to making the particular software interoperable with other specific software or databases. Thus adoption of widely used ontologies, data models, etc. is encouraged.

Awards made under this program announcement will support the continued development, and testing of pre-existing bioinformatics/computational biology software. Support will be provided to improve software in any of the areas mentioned above or in closely related areas. In the context of software improvement and maintenance, innovation will be evaluated on the potential to deliver new software products, knowledge or capabilities to end users. The nature of innovation will depend on the scope of the project. For example, an investigator may propose to extend software capability to solve current scientific or technical problems; or to integrate different software packages; or to adopt new hardware platforms to improve performance.

Applicants funded through this announcement are strongly encouraged to make the availability of their tool(s) known through existing electronic directories of resources relevant to their scientific domain. For example, if the software you are developing and maintaining would be useful to functional neuroimaging researchers, you are encouraged to consider disseminating your tools via the NIH-funded Neuroimaging Tools and Resources Clearinghouse (www.nitrc.org). More general neuroscience resources may be registered through the Neuroscience Information Framework (nif.nih.gov). Other examples include www.physionet.org/physiotools; www.BioWareDB.org; www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral; www.gmod.org; www.birncommunity.org; www.biositemaps.org; and http://cabig.nci.nih.gov/ .

Specific interests

In addition to the Research Objectives for all participating components, there are special interests from five participating ICs of this FOA. The following section briefly describes specific interests from these five participating ICs . Investigators are strongly encouraged to discuss their ideas with the respective program representatives listed in section VII.1.

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) is interested in supporting the continued development, maintenance, testing and evaluation of existing software programs that are broadly used by investigators in basic, translational and clinical research, particularly those that will enhance research that is directly relevant to the mission of NHLBI (http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/about/org/mission.htm).

The National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) is interested in supporting the continued development and maintenance of software that will facilitate and accelerate the development of biomedical imaging and bioengineering technologies. While the NIBIB will accept all applications consistent with its mission and programs (http://www.nibib.nih.gov/Research/ProgramAreas ), it is particularly interested in: informatics tools to support research and development for bioengineering research, such as algorithms and software for the design of biomaterials, engineered tissue, and point-of-care technologies.

The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) is interested in supporting the continued development, maintenance, testing and evaluation of existing software programs that are broadly used by investigators in the basic, translational and clinical neurosciences, particularly those that will enhance research that is directly relevant to the mission of the NINDS (http://www.ninds.nih.gov/about_ninds/mission.htm ).

The National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) is interested in supporting the continued development and maintenance of tools for sequence analysis, integration and analysis of genomic datasets, complex trait mapping, and genetic variation. Of particular interest is software for methods necessary for statistical analysis of genome-wide data on population-based observational studies and clinical trials. Under exceptional circumstances and with prior approval from program staff, NHGRI will accept applications under this program announcement that propose to support software for resources such as databases or web-based tools.

The National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) is also interested in supporting continued development and maintenance of software that applies to its general areas of interest which includes cell biology, biophysics, genetics, developmental biology, pharmacology, physiology, biological chemistry, bioinformatics and computational biology. More specific information on these areas may be obtained at http://search.nigms.nih.gov/research/programs.htm.

Eligible Applicants

State governments
Public and State controlled institutions of higher education
Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized)
Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments)
Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education
Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education
Private institutions of higher education
For profit organizations other than small businesses
Small businesses
Others (see text field entitled "Additional Information on Eligibility" for clarification)

Additional Information on Eligibility:

Other Eligible Applicants include the following: Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions; Hispanic-serving Institutions; Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs); Indian/Native American Tribal Governments (Other than Federally Recognized); Non-domestic (non-U.S.) Entities (Foreign Organizations); Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs) ; U.S. Territory or Possession.

Agency Name

National Institutes of Health