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domingo, 7 de diciembre de 2014

ncf.gov - National Science Foundation - Ebola rapid response

Hola amigos: A VUELO DE UN QUINDE EL BLOG., hemos recibido información de la Fundación Nacional de Ciencias de Los Estados Unidos de América, en la que ellos están reaccionado muy rápido en la investigación para combatir el Virus del Ébola, y nos dice: .."La Fundación Nacional de Ciencia (NSF) ha adjudicado a la primera de una serie de subvenciones de respuesta rápida para avanzar en la investigación fundamental Ébola......

Los subsidios apoyarán los investigadores que buscan responder a las preguntas importantes acerca de la naturaleza del virus fundamental, cómo interactúa con otras sustancias, cómo se transmite y cómo la comunicación y la percepción afectan a la seguridad pública durante una epidemia......

"Recibimos ideas innovadoras de los investigadores de todo el espectro de disciplinas científicas", dijo el director de la NSF Francia Córdova. "Estos proyectos recientemente adjudicados ayudará a expandir nuestro conocimiento del virus, así como los aspectos sociales y conductuales complejos asociados de un brote de la enfermedad. Este conocimiento podría conducir a aplicaciones prácticas para salvaguardar nuestra sociedad de esta y futuras amenazas.................."

Lea mas información abajo en inglés.

NSF grants first awards to diverse projects

Important questions remain about the fundamental nature of the virus.
Credit and Larger Version

December 3, 2014

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded the first of a number of rapid response grants to advance fundamental Ebola research.

The grants will support researchers seeking to answer important questions about the virus's fundamental nature, how it interacts with other substances, how it spreads, and how communication and perception affect public safety during an epidemic.

"We received innovative ideas from researchers across the spectrum of scientific disciplines," said NSF Director France Córdova. "These newly awarded projects will help to expand our knowledge of the virus as well as the associated complex social and behavioral aspects of a disease outbreak. This knowledge could lead to practical applications to safeguard our society from this and future threats."

NSF rapid response grants last one year, and individual award size varies according to project size and scope. The funding mechanism is intended for research with an urgent need--as is the case with the widespread Ebola outbreak--and is often used forenvironmental disasters.

Many Ebola rapid response grants are multidisciplinary and funded by more than one of NSF's seven research and education directorates.

In October, as part of a U.S. government-wide effort to protect against the virus, NSFinvited research proposals that might allow scientists to better understand it.

Since then, in-house subject matter experts with diverse backgrounds--from infectious disease to social science to environmental engineering--have worked collaboratively with other federal agencies to coordinate proposals and to expedite funding for new Ebola research.

General topics covered by the NSF-funded projects include:

New methods of virus detection.
Modeling and computation of how the pathogen behaves in different environments.
Development of new biomanufacturing processes for treatments.
Learning the length of time the virus persists on various surfaces.
Effective methods for disinfecting contaminated surfaces.
Use of robots in medical response and humanitarian relief.
Risk assessment and behavior.

The new awards are an extension of NSF's continuing investments in interdisciplinary, discovery-driven research, which have led to Ebola-related insights. Following the October call for proposals, the research community's response was immediate.

"Thanks to the lines of communication maintained via our programs and the standards set by NSF's merit review system, the community was poised to provide valuable guidance on how to best tackle this challenge," Córdova said.

Moreover, many of the projects also fall within research priority areas identified by leading U.S. public health officials at a recent workshop, as summarized in a recent report by The National Academies.

Project titles and abstracts are available in the NSF awards database as awards are finalized.

-NSF-

Media ContactsSarah Bates, NSF, (703) 292-7738, sabates@nsf.gov

Program ContactsSamuel M. Scheiner, NSF, (703) 292-7175, sscheine@nsf.gov
William J Cooper, NSF, (703) 292-5356, wjcooper@nsf.gov
Rosemarie Wesson, NSF, (703) 292-7070, rwesson@nsf.gov
William Olbricht, NSF, (703) 292-2563, wolbrich@nsf.gov
Keith Roper, NSF, (703) 292-8769, kroper@nsf.gov
Theresa Good, NSF, (703) 292-2450, tgood@nsf.gov
Arcady Mushegian, NSF, (703) 292-8528, amushegi@nsf.gov
Michael Steuerwalt, NSF, (703) 292-4860, msteuerw@nsf.gov
Mary Ann Horn, NSF, (703) 292-4879, mhorn@nsf.gov
Rosemary Anne Renaut, NSF, (703) 292-2112, rrenaut@nsf.gov
Sylvia Spengler, NSF, (703) 292-8930, sspengle@nsf.gov
Deborah Winslow, NSF, (703) 292-7315, dwinslow@nsf.gov
Kurtis Haro, NSF, (703) 292-8425, kharo@nsf.gov
Rajakkannu Mutharasan, NSF, (703) 292-4608, rmuthara@nsf.gov
Elizabeth E. Lyons, NSF, (703) 292-8710, elyons@nsf.gov
Anthony Kelly, NSF, (703) 292-7998, akelly@nsf.gov

Related WebsitesThe administration’s response to Ebola: http://www.whitehouse.gov/ebola-response
NSF invites proposals for Ebola-related fundamental research:http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=133052

The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent federal agency that supports fundamental research and education across all fields of science and engineering. In fiscal year (FY) 2014, its budget is $7.2 billion. NSF funds reach all 50 states through grants to nearly 2,000 colleges, universities and other institutions. Each year, NSF receives about 50,000 competitive requests for funding, and makes about 11,500 new funding awards. NSF also awards about $593 million in professional and service contracts yearly.