AIBS SPARS and IT Work on Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder / Traumatic Brain Injury Research
Through its publications, meetings, and programs in support of research as well as education, AIBS has a long and distinguished history of serving the greater public good. One part of this service of which we are especially proud is the Scientific Peer Advisory and Review Services division (AIBS SPARS), established in the 1960s to provide contracted peer review and related scientific services to external grantmaking bodies. We believe it is crucial that decision makers and policy leaders in society have access to the most reliable scientific information and advice available, and we act on this belief by serving as an independent, impartial peer review and scientific support organization.
Occupying about 10,000 square feet of office space in Reston, Virginia, on the way to Dulles Airport, the 20 or more staff of AIBS SPARS work with AIBS IT staff to convene peer review panels of outside experts and provide scientific management/program review, meeting facilitation, and IT services to a diverse client base, including agencies of the U.S. government, private foundations, and non-profit organizations. With decades of activities that have covered virtually every aspect of the biological sciences, AIBS SPARS's recent projects include work for the National Council for Science and the Environment, for the H. John Heinz III Center for Science, Economics and the Environment, for the Kansas University Medical Research Institute, and for the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation.
Among its largest projects at the moment, AIBS SPARS is tasked by the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command to provide independent peer review of proposals submitted to the Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder/Traumatic Brain Injury Research Program in Fall 2007. The PTSD/TBI Research Program was established in FY07 to promote research that will advance the prevention, detection, diagnosis, and treatment of military-relevant PTSD and TBI. The Program focuses its funding on innovative projects that have the potential to make a significant impact on improving the function, wellness, and overall quality of life for military Service members as well as their caregivers, families, and the American Public.
The FY07 PTSD/TBI Research Program challenges the scientific community to design innovative research that will foster new directions for, address neglected issues in, and bring new investigators into the fields of military-relevant PTSD- and TBI-focused research. Proposals from investigators within the military Services and proposals involving multidisciplinary collaborations among academia, industry, the military Services, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and other Federal Government agencies are highly encouraged. Though the Program supports groundbreaking research, all projects must demonstrate solid judgment and rationale.
The FY07 TBI appropriation is $150M. The TBI Concept Award mechanism is being offered for the first time in FY07.
For this PTSD/TBI Program, AIBS SPARS is managing the review of more than 1,000 research proposals, including convening at least 24 peer review panels this fall/winter in the DC Metropolitan area, as well as conducting numerous reviews using a custom online application developed by the AIBS IT Department. For more information, contact the SPARS Director, Scott Glisson, sglisson@aibs.org