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News from the NIH

SPARC Program News

Submissions close on April 28 for the $9.8 million Neuromod Prize

This year, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) launched the Neuromod Prize, a $9.8 million competition to accelerate the development of targeted neuromodulation therapies. The first phase calls on scientists, engineers, and clinicians to submit novel concepts and plans for development by April 28.

The competition seeks groundbreaking uses of peripheral nerve stimulation that can independently regulate two or more desired autonomic functions without unintended effects on non-target organs. Up to eight winners will receive a share of the up to $800,000 first-phase prize pool.

Learn more about the Neuromod Prize and how to enter by April 28.

NIH News

NIH Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) Initiative® is seeking input

Share your input on collaborative strategies and approaches to facilitate investigator/industry collaborations for developing and disseminating noninvasive brain imaging technologies via NOT-NS-22-044 Request for Information. If you are a noninvasive brain imaging stakeholder and interested in providing input, you may respond by filling out this web form or submitting an email to [email protected] by April 14.

NIH Funding Opportunities

SPARC Neuromod Prize Competition

SPARC Neuromod Prize Competition: $9.8 million competition to accelerate the development of targeted neuromodulation therapies. The first phase calls on scientists, engineers, and clinicians to submit novel concepts and plans for development. Submissions are due by April 28. Learn more at NeuromodPrize.com.

SPARC VNS Endpoints from Standardized Parameters (VESPA)

SPARC VNS Endpoints from Standardized Parameters (VESPA) Funding Opportunity Announcement: This initiative plans to support a large multisite clinical study of multi-organ effects of vagal nerve stimulation in humans. Apply by April 1. Learn more at RFA-RM-22-002.

SPARC Reconstructing Vagal Anatomy (REVA) Contract Solicitation Notice

The SPARC program has a need for high-resolution connectivity profiles for human vagal nerves with a focus on predefined points of interest (branching points and potential sites of neuromodulation device interface). Apply by April 4. See the REVA Informational Webinar slides and FAQs for more information. Learn more at SAM.gov

NIDDK Research Education Program Utilizing SPARC-Generated Resources

NIH invites applications to establish research programs for qualified trainees to engage in neuroscience research using SPARC resources. Letters of intent are due October 9 and full applications are due November 9. NIDDK provides this opportunity in partnership with the SPARC program. Learn more at RFA-DK-20-020.

Emergency Awards: HEAL Initiative: Translational Science Career Enhancement Awards for Early and Mid-Career Investigators

Emergency Awards: HEAL Initiative: Translational Science Career Enhancement Awards for Early and Mid-Career Investigators: This funding opportunity invites applications from early/mid-career investigators to expand their research careers through acquisition of new knowledge/skills in the areas of therapeutic drug, biologic, or device development. Next receipt date is March 11. Learn more at PAR-22-058.

Upcoming Meetings

Experimental Biology (EB) 2022

SPARC is coming to EB, April 2-5 in Philadelphia! EB is the annual meeting of five societies exploring cutting-edge research in anatomy, biochemistry and molecular biology, investigative pathology, pharmacology, and physiology. SPARC activities at EB will include SPARC program talks, posters, as well as a Tools & Tech Showcase and hands-on Portal demonstrations on the exhibit floor. Drop by our tables, say hi, and see the new Portal features! We’ll be conducting user research and can’t wait to get your thoughts. Our tables at booths #1141 and #1140 are strategically located near the snacks. The conference is requiring masks and proof of full vaccination against COVID-19. You can register here.

The SPARC Portal Report

Over the past couple months, we have implemented new and exciting updates on the SPARC Portal. First, the SPARC Portal reached a milestone of hosting 150 richly curated datasets, models, and simulations! Next, the Tools and Resources page was overhauled, providing an updated landing page to guide exploration of tools and resources and their uses. Additionally, the dataset details page was completely redesigned to improve browsing a specific dataset, including: improved visibility of scientific metadata, easy access to citation information and version history, and a more user-friendly way to navigate dataset files.

Over the next couple of months, we will unveil additional, highly anticipated features and functionality, including a unified SPARC Portal login using ORCID; support for directly analyzing data from the Portal; new viewers for a wide range of file types; new simulation and analysis services on o2S2PARC; and much more!

As always, details about recently released features can be found in the SPARC Portal Release Notes.

New to the SPARC Portal? Check out our Portal Walkthrough on the SPARC YouTube channel!

SPARC Data and Resource Center (DRC) Dispatch

DRC Open Office Hours

The SPARC Data and Resource Center Cores and Steering CommitteeSPARC Data Resource Center (DRC) is hosting regular open office hours to support the SPARC community. Join us – whether you are a new user of the SPARC tools and resources, or have some experience and want to meet firsthand with SPARC experts from each of the DRC cores – for tutorials and Q&A sessions.

Here’s the schedule (all times are US Eastern):

Knowledge Management Core (K-Core, weekly) — K-Core is the curation and knowledge management hub for SPARC, working closely with the other cores to increase the quality and FAIRness of SPARC datasets and building the SPARC Knowledge Graph and services. Get one-on-one help with data submission.

• Tuesdays from noon to 1 p.m. ET
• Thursdays from 4 to 5 p.m. ET

Data Coordination Core (DAT-Core, monthly) — DAT-Core stores, organizes, manages, and tracks access to SPARC-generated data and resources.

• First Monday of each month from 11 a.m. to noon ET

Map Synthesis Core (MAP-Core, monthly) — MAP-Core works to build interactive, modular, continually updated visualizations of nerve-organ anatomy and function.

• Last Tuesday of each month, alternating between:

Image Data and Segmentation (MBF) from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. ET

• Scaffolds and Flatmaps (ABI) from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. ET

Modeling and Simulation Core (SIM-Core, monthly) — SIM-Core works to ​​develop an online framework capable of hosting and connecting simulations to create predictive, multiscale, multiphysics models spanning from modulation sources acting at feasible access points through to organ functional responses.

• Last Thursday of each month from 11 a.m. to noon ET

DRC Open Office Hours Current SPARC members can check #sparc-announcements in Slack for the meeting information. We would like to hear from you! To request specific questions and topics of interest for these sessions, please complete this form.

SPARC Presentations

The North American Neuromodulation Society (NANS) 25th Annual Meeting took place in Orlando Jan. 13-15, 2022. At the meeting, the DRC (represented by SIM-Core) presented how the o²S²PARC platform can help personalize treatments for spinal cord stimulation.

SPARC Webinars

To support SPARC’s mission to transform our understanding of nerve-organ interactions, we recently launched the SPARC Connectivity Knowledge Base of the Autonomic Nervous System (SCKAN). SCKAN is a central location to discover and query ANS connectivity knowledge over multiple scales and species. Watch the latest webinar, The SPARC Connectivity Knowledge Base of Autonomic Circuitry, which demonstrates how detailed connectivity information in a machine readable form lays the foundation for powerful visualization and query tools.

JupyterLabs on o²S²PARC with FEniCS, Chaste and C++ Support webinar introduces SIM-Core's JupyterLab FEniCS which uses the FEniCS Python interface for solving partial differential equations. FEniCS provides a comprehensive Python interface to translate scientific models into finite element code while our JupyterLab allows for viewing its computational results in 3D right from a Jupyter Notebook.

The newest JupyterLab Chaste is also showcased and features the Chaste modeling framework as well as C++ support. Chaste is a C++ based modeling framework for computational biology and physiology originally. Our JupyterLab has this framework pre-installed and also features the xeus-cling C++ kernel which allows for interactive coding in C++. While C++ must generally be compiled before running, xeus-cling enables users to directly script in C++.

Action Potential

We are always looking for autonomic neuroscience and bioelectronic medicine researchers who are willing to provide input on how the SPARC Portal can better meet your needs. We seek input from everyone who uses the Portal, from Ph.D.s to PIs, and in all ways, from basic research to data modeling and device development. Email [email protected] if you'd be interested in upcoming participation opportunities.

SPARC bioRxiv Channel

Keep up to date with the latest SPARC research pre-prints by visiting the SPARC bioRxiv channel.

Follow SPARC on Social Media

To stay informed, see our weekly Tweets and YouTube channel.