Description of Collaborative Activity: |
This meeting will bring together 45 researchers funded through the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development's (NICHD) Birth Defects Initiatives [PAR-12-034, Developmental Mechanisms of Human Structural Birth Defects (P01) and PA-11-085, Genetic Susceptibility and Variability of Human Structural Birth Defects (R01)], as well as other select NICHD Principal Investigators (PIs) who comprise the Birth Defects Working Group (a total of 56 grantees). The working group is unique in that it includes both basic scientists and clinicians, and the projects they oversee emphasize the translational aspects of birth defects research. These recurring meetings are designed to maintain an interactive special interest working group of investigators who are interested in multidisciplinary approaches to enhancing our understanding of the genetic epidemiology, etiology, pathogenesis, developmental biology, and genetics of structural birth defects. The research areas covered currently include the study of neural tube and other structural central nervous system (CNS) defects, cardiac defects, congenital diaphragmatic hernia, limb defects, skeletal dysplasias, osteogenesis imperfecta, congenital contractures, club foot, Cornelia de Lange Syndrome, pituitary defects, cryptorchidism, and craniofacial defects.
The purpose of the meeting is to provide a forum for the investigators to discuss the plans and progress of their research, exchange ideas and information, share resources, and foster synergistic collaborations relevant to the research goals of the NICHD Birth Defects Initiative. It is also an opportunity for the PIs to provide input and advice to NIH Program Staff. There will be an invited keynote speaker (Liliana Solnica-Krezel, Washington University, St. Louis) and a special round table discussion on tissue morphogenesis and biophysical and biomechanical aspects of embryonic development within the context of understanding normal development and structural birth defects. Representatives from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Birth Defects Branch, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR), National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), NICHD Division of Scientific Review (DSR), and National Institutes of Health (NIH) Center for Scientific Review (CSR) also will be invited. |
NIH Participating Institutes/Centers/Office of the Director: |
CSR, NHGRI, NHLBI, NIAAA, NIAMS, NICHD, NIDCR, NIDDK, NIEHS, NINDS |
