Recent findings suggest that adipose function and signaling may be linked to the development of an array of diabetic complications. Given this emerging concept, the DiaComp consortium announces a funding opportunity that will support the creation of multidisciplinary teams that will develop a human fat biomimetic or human "fat chip". Teams will initiate the assembly of an in vitro system that closely mimics the normal physiology of a functional fat depot by integrating stem cell biology, adipocyte biology, and tissue engineering. Human fat depots of interest include: 1) white adipose tissue, including visceral fat [visceral white adipose tissue (VAT)] that is associated with insulin resistance, low grade inflammation, dyslipidemia, and cardiometabolic risk, as well as, subcutaneous white fat [subcutaneous white adipose tissue (SAT)], which has important beneficial characteristics including storage of lipid, secretion of adipokines, positive metabolic effects such as lipid oxidation, energy utilization, enhanced insulin action, and an anti-inflammatory role, 2) brown adipose tissue, specialized to burn fuels and perform thermogenesis, including, classical brown adipocytes and brown adipocyte-like cells, also called beige/brite cells, which arise in white adipose tissue in response to cold and hormonal stimuli, and 3) marrow adipose tissue (MAT), which is functionally distinct from both white and brown adipose tissue, and can contribute to systemic and skeletal metabolism.

In building a human fat chip, teams should consider starting with a renewable human pluripotent cell source, combining multiple cell types, 3D cytoarchitecture, and specific requirements for the niche, including vasculature, ECM, and innervation. The bioengineered fat biomimetic must be accompanied by the development of sensitive, quantitative assays to monitor adult adipose function within the device. Once a human adipose biomimetic system is created, it should serve as an important research tool for studying many aspects of normal human adipose physiology and pathophysiology. In the future, as multiple tissue/organ chips are generated through related programs such as the NIH Tissue Chip Program (http://www.ncats.nih.gov/tissuechip) or Consortium on Human Islet Biomimetics (http://hirnetwork.org/consortium/consortium-on-human-islet-biomimetics), the next challenge will be to develop an integrated microsystem platform that can incorporate several different modular biomimetic systems. These integrated microsystems should recapitulate aspects of the complex physiology and biology of the human body, and enable future studies of tissue cross-talk, metabolism and human disease modeling. Awards are expected to enable the applicant (s) to submit a future project (e.g. NIH RC2 or future FOA). Applications may request up to $750,000 Total Costs to support a 2 year project period. Proposals are due September 30, 2015 for a November 30, 2015 start date.

Budget requests should be commensurate with project needs over a two year project period. International institutions and organizations are eligible for support.

Submit a "Building a Human Adipose Depot" Pilot Program Funding Program Application Here Applications for the Collaborative Funding Program will only be accepted beginning July 1st through September 30^th for the 2026 calendar year.

Applicants may request up to $750,000 Total Costs (direct + indirect costs) to support a project period of up to 2 years. A narrative justification should be provided only for any major equipment (cost greater than $5,000) deemed to be necessary for the proposed project. The number of awards will depend upon the number, quality, duration, and cost of the applications received.

Awards will be made as subcontracts from the DiaComp Coordinating and Bioinformatics Unit (CBU) at Augusta University and not directly by the NIH.

Peer Review
Each submitted proposal will be assigned to multiple reviewers who are external scientists with expertise in the area(s) of the proposal. Scientists from institutions submitting a proposal are in conflict and excluded from review. After second-level review, final funding decisions will be made by the NIH.

Timetable for "Building a Human Adipose Depot" Collaborative Funding Project

July 1, 2015	Announcement posted on the DiaComp website and other related websites, and notification of the postings is sent to all US academic and research institutions.
September 30, 2015	Grants Submitted to CBU
November 30, 2015	Projected start date for Adipose Depot Pilot Project Funding

Policies: A summary of progress of funded projects is due two months prior to the completion of the first year of the funding period.

Awardees must follow NIH and HHS policies regarding the sharing of data and resources with the scientific community (http://grants.nih.gov/grants/sharing.htm)

Proprietary data and resources will be excluded from sharing consistent with NIH and HHS policies (http://grants.nih.gov/grants/sharing.htm).

Financial acknowledgment of award: Please acknowledge all posters, manuscripts or scientific materials that were generated in part or whole using funds from the Diabetic Complications Consortium (DiaComp) using the following text: 'Financial support for this work provided by the NIDDK Diabetic Complications Consortium (RRID:SCR_001415, www.diacomp.org), grants DK076169 and DK115255'.

For presentations and slides, please use the PowerPoint slide with the funding source logo found in the zip file here - https://www.diacomp.org/images/diacomp-logos.zip - to indicate that DiaComp is a funding sources for your presentation.

For instructions on how to submit a Collaborative Funding Program Application to the DiaComp web portal please click the following link: Funding Program Application Submission Basic Training (PDF)