1999 — 2004 |
Sternberg, Robert Grigorenko, Elena |
N/AActivity Code Description: No activity code was retrieved: click on the grant title for more information |
An Evaluation of Teacher Training For Triarchic Instruction and Assessment
This research project concerns the investigation of whether teacher training in triarchic (analytic, creative, practical) teaching results in improved student performance in grades 1-4. The study will involve rural, suburban, and urban schools drawing populations from low, medium, and high socioeconomic levels. For each of the 6 settings there will be 3 experimental and 6 control schools. There will be at least 216 teachers involved in the study with an expectation that up to 324 teachers will participate.
All conditions will cover the same basic skills. The duration of the intervention will be the same for each condition. The conditions will differ in the methods teachers are given for teaching skills. These are triarchic instruction (experimental), critical thinking or analytic instruction (control), and convention (memory based) instruction (control). The success of the intervention will be measured using multiple dependent variables including conventional evaluations by teachers and students, performance evaluations of teachers and students, and affective evaluations of teachers and students. It will be possible to compare gain scores in the experimental versus the control groups as will as in the two control groups compared to one another. The instructional intervention is in teacher training which will be for 40 hours (5 working days) and 10 hours of inservice instruction and monitoring of their implementation of learned materials.
|
0.915 |
2003 — 2005 |
Grigorenko, Elena L |
R21Activity Code Description: To encourage the development of new research activities in categorical program areas. (Support generally is restricted in level of support and in time.) |
Epidemiological Survey of Learning Disabilities in Zambia
DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The proposed study has the following objectives: (1) To establish and solidify a network of Zambian and international researchers qualified to design and carry out a comprehensive study of prevalence and etiology of non-specific and specific learning disabilities in Zambia. Specifically, the current proposal capitalizes on already-established collaborative relationships between various members of the team on this proposal and further extends the existing team to ensure that areas of expertise required for the conductance of the future large-scale epidemiological study of learning disabilities are represented on the emerging international group of researchers. (2) To demonstrate feasibility of conducting such a comprehensive epidemiological study of learning disabilities in Zambia. Specifically, we propose a set of 5 small-scale studies: (a) an assessment development and validation study; (b) a pilot epidemiological study of non-specific and specific learning disabilities among children attending schools in Eastern Province; (c) a pilot study of non-specific and specific learning disabilities among out-of-school children living in Eastern Province; (d) a pilot study of nonspecific and specific learning disabilities among street children-orphans of HIV/AIDS epidemic; (e) a pilot study of etiology of non-specific and specific learning disabilities in Eastern Province. (3) To design a large-scale study designed to assess the magnitude and the nature of basic and applied issues related to non-specific and specific learning disabilities in Zambian school-aged children. (4) To integrate the tasks of capacity building, research training, and research conductance on the issues of non-specific and specific learning disabilities within one project aimed at estimating the prevalence and gaining an insight into epidemiology and the etiology of learning disabilities in Zambia.
|
1 |
2005 — 2007 |
Sternberg, Robert Grigorenko, Elena Stemler, Steven |
N/AActivity Code Description: No activity code was retrieved: click on the grant title for more information |
Using the Theory of Successful Intelligence as a Framework For Developing Assessments in Ap Physics and Biology
The aim of the proposed research is to create a set of augmented, theory-driven examinations that expand the range of cognitive skills assessed and to examine the impact of this approach on student achievement. The PIs will use the College Board's Advanced Placement (AP) programs in Physics and Biology as a testing ground for the project. The augmented exams will be based explicitly on Sternberg's theory of cognitive processing skills. Augmented AP Exams in Biology and Physics would be developed to test students' ability to utilize different cognitive skills (analytical, practical, creative) as well as their content knowledge. Tests would be developed by teams of AP high school teachers working with professors of physics and biology. In Study 1, the PIs will gather content-related validity evidence for the Augmented exams, establishing the extent to which items tap the intended content domains and cognitive-processing skills. In Study 2, the PIs will conduct a psychometric study of the Augmented AP exams, seeking to establish the internal validity of the cognitive subscales. This research has the potential to bring theoretical notions of intelligence and cognitive ability to bear on widely used high-stakes tests.
|
0.915 |
2006 — 2010 |
Grigorenko, Elena L |
P50Activity Code Description: To support any part of the full range of research and development from very basic to clinical; may involve ancillary supportive activities such as protracted patient care necessary to the primary research or R&D effort. The spectrum of activities comprises a multidisciplinary attack on a specific disease entity or biomedical problem area. These grants differ from program project grants in that they are usually developed in response to an announcement of the programmatic needs of an Institute or Division and subsequently receive continuous attention from its staff. Centers may also serve as regional or national resources for special research purposes. |
Molecular Genetic and Behavioral Studies of Profoundly Impaired Readers @ Florida State University
In this application, we propose to study behavioral profiles and genetic bases of severe reading impairment.[unreadable] Specifically, we will establish a unique sample of 500 severely affected elementary schools children[unreadable] ascertained through the PMRN database and will then recruit at least two first-degree relatives of the[unreadable] probands for a sample of approximately 1,500 individuals. We will administer a comprehensive behavioral assessment to[unreadable] all elementary school children and collect DNA samples from all participants. The behavioral phenotypes will[unreadable] be comprehensively studied, both cross-sectionally and longitudinally. In addition, we propose to conduct a[unreadable] relatively narrowly targeted, but in-depth, molecular-genetic study of Specific Reading Disability (SRD).[unreadable] Specifically, we aim to evaluate, in the newly collected PMRN database samples, the association between[unreadable] specific candidate genes and SRD. We propose to begin this work with a gene currently under examination,[unreadable] KIAA0319, and anticipate that during the life of this project there will be other candidate genes put forward[unreadable] through the efforts of different research groups around the world. In investigating these associations, we[unreadable] propose to crystallize a data-analytic approach that permits simultaneous analyses of multivariate[unreadable] phenotypes and multiple QTLs both cross-sectionally and longitudinally. In addition, although relatively small[unreadable] in magnitude, this study will offer a unique prospective on the contribution of each of the candidate genes by[unreadable] considering identified risk and/or protective alleles and risk and/or protective haplotypes in global genetic[unreadable] variation and evolutionary contexts. Specifically, the candidate genes will be investigated for ancestral alleles[unreadable] and haplotypes and global variation of allele and haplotype frequencies in samples from 38 world[unreadable] populations and a number of primate species. This in-depth analysis will permit evaluation of the frequency[unreadable] and structure of the candidate genes' haplotype around the world and, therefore, will increase the[unreadable] generalizability of results indicating the presence of association. In summary, we propose to combine[unreadable] behavior analyses and statistical, molecular, and population genetics in an attempt to understand[unreadable] associations between specific candidate genes and multiple facets of SRD in a unique, phenotypically[unreadable] informative, large sample of trios of first-degree relatives ascertained through probands whose severity of[unreadable] reading impairment puts their performance below the 3rd percentile on indicators of single-word processing.[unreadable]
|
0.97 |
2006 — 2010 |
Grigorenko, Elena L. |
R01Activity Code Description: To support a discrete, specified, circumscribed project to be performed by the named investigator(s) in an area representing his or her specific interest and competencies. |
Genetic Bases of Developmental Language Disorders
Disorders of spoken and written language (DSWLs) are the most prevalent group of disorders in children. A number of them, although partially remediated, persist in adulthood. We intend to investigate genetic bases of DSWLs in affected children in an isolated population in a remote area of Northern Russia (hereafter referred to as OSH) and a large extended pedigree ascertained through a subgroup of affected child probands. Because of its complexity and size, the pedigree essentially represents the majority of the isolate. Established in the 10th and 11 th centuries, OSH has a history of relative isolation. Currently, it includes -850 individuals, -200 of whom are children under age 18. Probands were previously identified by Russian collaborators on the project, using Russian diagnostic schemes for speech and language impairments in an evaluation of all children 18 and younger. Of 130 assessed children and adolescents (aged 7-18), 95 (-73%) were diagnosed clinically with a variety of DSWLs. In addition, although not clinically diagnosed, many children had deficits in speech and language-related domains (e.g., pronunciation, reading, writing, phonological processing). Of 25 young children (aged 2-6) assessed, 17 had difficulties in pronunciation and exhibited language delays and/or impairments. Of the 60 evaluated adults related to the diagnosed children, 45 demonstrated various deficiencies related to DSWLs. Genealogical and ethnographical suggest that OSH was founded by 5-7 individuals, and that approximately 80% of the people there are relatives of various degrees. The population is genetically homogeneous and inbred, but is characterized by a high degree of genetic variation across the genome, making it suitable for genetic analyses. Our Russian collaborators have been collecting DNA samples from OSH residents. Currently, 404 cell lines have been established, 487 DMAs extracted from whole blood specimens without an available cell line, and 47 DMAs extracted from buccal swabs. We here propose to (1) carefully characterize the phenotypes transmitted in the OSH pedigree;(2) carry out complex multivariate analyses to understand the transmission patterns of DSWL;and (3) conduct whole-genome sampling analyses on selected nuclear branches of the OSH pedigree that contain multiple affected individuals in at least three generations.
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1 |
2008 — 2012 |
Grigorenko, Elena L. |
P50Activity Code Description: To support any part of the full range of research and development from very basic to clinical; may involve ancillary supportive activities such as protracted patient care necessary to the primary research or R&D effort. The spectrum of activities comprises a multidisciplinary attack on a specific disease entity or biomedical problem area. These grants differ from program project grants in that they are usually developed in response to an announcement of the programmatic needs of an Institute or Division and subsequently receive continuous attention from its staff. Centers may also serve as regional or national resources for special research purposes. |
Data Management and Analysis Core
The Data Management and Analysis (DMA) Core (Core C) will provide a source of data management and data analysis expertise in the proposed multi-component program project. Primarily, the DMA Core supports Projects Mil, which are aimed at understanding the precursors and early manifestations of ASDs in infants and toddlers. In addition, the expertise of the DMA personnel will be applied to the work proposed in Projects IV and V. The broad objectives of the DMA Core are to (1) support the efforts of the Assessment Core (AC) in the collection of Center-shared data for Projects I-V; (2) support the efforts of Projects I-V, especially Projects Mil, in the collection of project-specific data; (3) further develop, in collaboration with AC, tools and procedures for ensuring and monitoring the accuracy and confidentiality of all collected data; (4) provide expert advice on issues related to study design, sample construction, and power considerations; (5) facilitate communication and the sharing of data among investigators by capitalizing on the computer networking and computing facilities available through the DMA and associated facilities; (6) provide statistical support, analytical expertise, and software support to investigators in the evaluation of project-specific hypotheses; and (7) investigate novel and exploratory statistical approaches, including joint analyses across Projects Mil and data mining. The DMA will benefit from a pool of extraordinary expertise under the leadership of Dr. Grigorenko (whose areas of active research cross the disciplines of population and molecular genetics, psychology, methodology, and learning and developmental disabilities) and Dr. Chang (Chairman of the Statistics Department at Yale). They are longtime collaborators in joint projects and publications, and have been involved in all of the preparation meetings for the Yale ACE. They also participated in individual project area design and data analytic strategies. On the basis of these reviews, Drs. Grigorenko and Chang recruited personnel with specific expertise likely to benefit individual projects, both within Yale (Drs. Cicchetti, Emerson and Leeb) and nationally (Drs. Linda Collins, Jack McArdle, and Bengt Muthen).
|
1 |
2008 |
Grigorenko, Elena L |
P50Activity Code Description: To support any part of the full range of research and development from very basic to clinical; may involve ancillary supportive activities such as protracted patient care necessary to the primary research or R&D effort. The spectrum of activities comprises a multidisciplinary attack on a specific disease entity or biomedical problem area. These grants differ from program project grants in that they are usually developed in response to an announcement of the programmatic needs of an Institute or Division and subsequently receive continuous attention from its staff. Centers may also serve as regional or national resources for special research purposes. |
Molecular Genetic and Behavioral Studies of Profoundly Imparied Reading @ Florida State University
0-11 years old; Address; Affect; Alleles; Allelomorphs; Architecture; Behavior; Behavior assessment; Behavioral; Behavioral Genetics; Candidate Disease Gene; Candidate Gene; Child; Child Youth; Children (0-21); Collection; Complex; Condition; DNA; Data; Data Banks; Data Bases; Databank, Electronic; Databanks; Database, Electronic; Databases; Deep; Deoxyribonucleic Acid; Depth; Development; Engineering / Architecture; Environment; Environmental Factor; Environmental Risk Factor; Ethnic group; Evaluation; Family; Family member; First Degree Relative; Florida; Frequencies (time pattern); Frequency; Gene variant; Genes; Genetic; Genetic Determinants of Behavior; Genetic Diversity; Genetic Research; Genetic Variation; Genetics, Behavioral; Genetics, Population; Haplotypes; Heritability; Heterogeneity, Population; Hispanic Populations; Hispanics; Hispanics or Latinos; Human, Child; Impairment; Incidence; Individual; Investigation; Knowledge; Language; Latino Population; Learning Disabilities; Learning disability; Life; Light; Linkage Disequilibrium; Linkage Disequilibriums; Location; Mammals, Primates; Measures; Molecular; Molecular Genetic; Molecular Genetics; Monitor; Multivariate Analyses; Multivariate Analysis; Nature; Non-Hispanic; Not Hispanic or Latino; Nucleic Acid Regulatory Sequences; Numbers; Oral; Other Minority; Parents; Participant; Pattern; Performance; Phenotype; Photoradiation; Polymorphism, Single Base; Population; Population Genetics; Population Heterogeneity; Primates; Process; Racial Segregation; Rate; Reader; Reading; Reading Disabilities; Reading Disorder; Reading disability; Records; Recruitment Activity; Recurrence; Recurrent; Regulator Regions, Nucleic Acid; Regulatory Regions; Regulatory Regions, Nucleic Acid (Genetics); Regulatory Sequences, Nucleic Acid; Relative; Relative (related person); Relative Risks; Reporting; Research; Risk; Risk Factors; Risks, Relative; SNP; SNPs; Sampling; School-Age Population; Schools; Screening procedure; Services; Severities; Siblings; Single Nucleotide Polymorphism; Spanish Origin; Structure; Texture; Variant; Variation; Variation (Genetics); Word Processing; Word Processings; Work; Writing; age dependent; age related; allelic variant; base; behavior genetics; behavioral assessment; children; clinical data repository; clinical data warehouse; data repository; disability; diverse populations; elementary school; environmental risk; ethnic minority; ethnic minority population; experience; genetic profiling; genetic regulatory element; genetic risk factor; heterogeneous population; hispanic community; inherited factor; member; new approaches; novel approaches; novel strategies; novel strategy; phonological; phonology; proband; prospective; psychologic; psychological; recruit; relational database; sample collection; school age; screening; screenings; segregation; specimen collection; youngster
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0.97 |
2008 — 2014 |
Grigorenko, Elena L |
R01Activity Code Description: To support a discrete, specified, circumscribed project to be performed by the named investigator(s) in an area representing his or her specific interest and competencies. |
Reading Disabilities in Zambian Children
DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The proposed work is a collaboration between research teams on three continents: Africa (the University of Zambia (UNZA) and Macha Mission Hospital ([MMH], Zambia), North America (Yale University, Tufts University, U.S.), and Europe (Leeds Metropolitan University, UK, and University of Jyv[unreadable]skyl[unreadable], Finland). It builds on the existing Yale-UNZA R21 TW006764, which was funded in 2003 and constituted the foundation for forming a team, developing collaborative relationships, transferring expertise, developing assessment instruments, conducting field research, and collecting preliminary data. Building on this foundation, in this application, we propose to (1) identify, using the assessment instruments developed/validated in our R21, two groups of probands: students with Specific Reading Disability (+SRD, n=400) and students without SRD (- SRD, n=400). Only children with at least an average level of intellectual functioning and with at least one sibling in the age range of 6-21 years will be considered as probands in this grouping. Given our pilot data, we anticipate that screening 3,000 children will provide us with an opportunity to ascertain these two samples of probands and recruit at least 2 family members of these probands. Having constructed these two samples of +/-SRD probands and their families, we will be able to investigated manifestation, epidemiology, and etiology of SRD in Zambia. Specifically, we will (1) characterize SRD in the Nyanja, Tongo, and English languages in Zambia using cognitive models of relative componential processes whose deficits form SRD's foundation;(2) describe the home, school, and community social environment and experience of children with SRD in Zambia;and (3) investigate etiological bases of SRD by considering both environmental (e.g., poverty, orphanhood, environmental toxicity) and genetic factors. All research activities in this application will contribute to strengthening collaborative relationships between the team members and providing training and capacity building for relevant skills at the UNZA and MHH institutional, faculty, and graduate student levels.
|
1 |
2009 — 2010 |
Gerstein, Mark Bender (co-PI) [⬀] Grigorenko, Elena L Vaccarino, Flora M [⬀] Weissman, Sherman Morton (co-PI) [⬀] |
R01Activity Code Description: To support a discrete, specified, circumscribed project to be performed by the named investigator(s) in an area representing his or her specific interest and competencies. |
Biological Correlates of Altered Brain Growth in Autism
DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): A consistently replicated biological phenotype in autism spectrum disorders (ASD) is a larger head circumference (HC) in the first years of life. We hypothesize that increased brain size in ASD is attributable to altered dynamics of cell proliferation and/or differentiation due to genetic changes intrinsic to neural cells. In this application, we will derive induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) from skin fibroblasts in individuals with ASD and typically developing children with macrocephaly. Whole genome studies examining structural genetic variation in DNA isolated from iPSC as compared to lymphocytes of the same individuals will ensure genetic stability of the reprogrammed cells. In Specific Aim 1, iPSC lines obtained from 23 participants with ASD and 11 typically developing individuals with macrocephaly will be characterized with respect to cell proliferation, cell survival and genome wide structural variation such as copy number variations (CNVs) by paired end mapping (PEM) and array capture and sequencing. In Specific Aim 2, genome wide CNV as well as sequence variation datasets will be obtained in blood lymphocyte DNA taken from the same 23 participants with ASD and 11 typically developing individuals, plus a limited number of their family members. This will involve (1) PEM (2) array capture for exons and promoter regions with sequencing, and (3) genome-wide mapping of retroelement patterns. Genetic regions potentially important for ASD that will emerge from this study will be validated by targeted resequencing in two larger, independent cohorts of ASD probands and their family members, each comprising about 500 individuals. The immediate goal of our project is to create a new resource and analytical tool. The genetic studies comparing DNA sequence variation in iPSC and blood samples are essential to establish that the iPSC genomic structure corresponds to that identified in the patients. In future studies, iPSC lines generated in this project will be specifically differentiated along the neural lineage and further analyzed with respect their proliferation, differentiation and survival, allowing us to test whether increased brain size in ASD is attributable to altered dynamics of cell proliferation and/or differentiation. These neural cells derived from iPSC lines will be characterized at the transcript and epigenetic levels, for which the basic characterization proposed in this project will provide a necessary platform. Our ultimate goal is to link neurobiological phenotypes and changes in gene expression during the neural differentiation process, with the underlying genetic structure of the individuals to elucidate disease pathogenesis. Therefore, the proposed project will provide a resource for correlating, in future studies, genomic sequence, regulation and intensity of gene expression, cellular (biological) consequences, and patient behavior. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: This project will develop lines of pluripotent cells (iPSC) from individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) with macrocephaly and typically developing children, using cells obtained by a skin biopsy. We will produce several iPSC lines per individual and characterize them with respect to their biology and their structural genetic variation. The aim is create a resource and analytical tool, which will allow us to examine neuronal differentiation in autism spectrum disorders.
|
1 |
2009 — 2011 |
Grigorenko, Elena L |
P50Activity Code Description: To support any part of the full range of research and development from very basic to clinical; may involve ancillary supportive activities such as protracted patient care necessary to the primary research or R&D effort. The spectrum of activities comprises a multidisciplinary attack on a specific disease entity or biomedical problem area. These grants differ from program project grants in that they are usually developed in response to an announcement of the programmatic needs of an Institute or Division and subsequently receive continuous attention from its staff. Centers may also serve as regional or national resources for special research purposes. |
Molecular Genetic and Behavioral Studies of Profoundly Impaired Reading @ Florida State University
In this application, we propose to study behavioral profiles and genetic bases of severe reading impairment. Specifically, we will establish a unique sample of 500 severely affected elementary schools children ascertained through the PMRN database and will then recruit at least two first-degree relatives of the probands for a sample of ~1,500 individuals. We will administer a comprehensive behavioral assessment to all elementary school children and collect DNA samples from all participants. The behavioral phenotypes will be comprehensively studied, both cross-sectionally and longitudinally. In addition, we propose to conduct a relatively narrowly targeted, but in-depth, molecular-genetic study of Specific Reading Disability (SRD). Specifically, we aim to evaluate, in the newly collected PMRN database samples, the association between specific candidate genes and SRD. We propose to begin this work with a gene currently under examination, KIAA0319, and anticipate that during the life of this project there will be other candidate genes put forward through the efforts of different research groups around the world. In investigating these associations, we propose to crystallize a data-analytic approach that permits simultaneous analyses of multivariate phenotypes and multiple QTLs both cross-sectionally and longitudinally. In addition, although relatively small in magnitude, this study will offer a unique prospective on the contribution of each of the candidate genes by considering identified risk and/or protective alleles and risk and/or protective haplotypes in global genetic variation and evolutionary contexts. Specifically, the candidate genes will be investigated for ancestral alleles and haplotypes and global variation of allele and haplotype frequencies in samples from 38 world populations and a number of primate species. This in-depth analysis will permit evaluation of the frequency and structure of the candidate genes'haplotype around the world and, therefore, will increase the generalizability of results indicating the presence of association. In summary, we propose to combine behavior analyses and statistical, molecular, and population genetics in an attempt to understand associations between specific candidate genes and multiple facets of SRD in a unique, phenotypically informative, large sample of trios of first-degree relatives ascertained through probands whose severity of reading impairment puts their performance below the 3rd percentile on indicators of single-word processing.
|
0.97 |
2011 — 2012 |
Grigorenko, Elena L |
R21Activity Code Description: To encourage the development of new research activities in categorical program areas. (Support generally is restricted in level of support and in time.) |
The Genetic Bases of Reading and Related Processes in Russian
DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This project is aimed at enhancing our knowledge and understanding of the genetic bases of reading and related processes. It has long been known that reading, whether qualified as ability or disabilities, along with reading-related processes, are heritable, but it has been rather difficult for the field to converge on specific gene candidates for this (dis)ability. The field has identified a number of reasons for such a lack of convergence among the molecular-genetic findings. These reasons include lack of power, inconsistencies in phenotypic evaluations, and, perhaps, the focus on English, which is a particular outlier among world languages. In this application, we attempt to overcome some of the limitations of previous studies by working with large samples of Russian-speaking siblings (n = 400 pairs) and discrepant singletons (n = 1,500), whose performance on reading and reading-related assessments is carefully sampled through an assessment battery embedded in a particular theoretical framework. We will capitalize on preliminary findings obtained through a whole-genome short-tandem-repeat-polymorphism (STRP) linkage study (WGLS) of Russian sib pairs and propose to complete a single-nucleotide-polymorphism (SNP)-based investigation of the regions of interest identified in the WGLS using ~4,500 targeted SNPs genotyped on the DNA from these 2300 individuals (sib pairs and singletons) and multivariate reading-related phenotypes. The proposed combination of samples, skills, and technologies provides a rather appealing opportunity, both scientifically and methodologically. This R21 will generate pilot data to (1) establish the feasibility of constructing a large epidemiologically-based sample of Russian children with specific reading disability (SRD);(2) investigate the usability of combining STRP and SNP data obtained on the same sample;and (3) estimate the sizes of genetic effects, if confirmed, and design subsequent studies utilizing more definitive and funding-demanding technologies (e.g., sequencing). PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Difficulties in reading acquisition and performance are common and observed at the prevalence of 5-7% in all studied countries, regardless of the characteristics of the writing system within a given country. Years of research into the manifestation and etiology of these difficulties have established that it is a life-long condition unfolding at high cost to an individual, associated with lost years of education, diminished career success, and often negative mental health outcomes. Understanding the etiology of reading difficulties is crucial for developing adequate methods for its prevention and remediation.
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1 |
2013 — 2016 |
Grigorenko, Elena L. |
P50Activity Code Description: To support any part of the full range of research and development from very basic to clinical; may involve ancillary supportive activities such as protracted patient care necessary to the primary research or R&D effort. The spectrum of activities comprises a multidisciplinary attack on a specific disease entity or biomedical problem area. These grants differ from program project grants in that they are usually developed in response to an announcement of the programmatic needs of an Institute or Division and subsequently receive continuous attention from its staff. Centers may also serve as regional or national resources for special research purposes. |
Genomic Sequence Pattern Analysis in African-American Families With Severe Srd @ Florida State University
The overarching aim of the proposed work is to merge, in our investigation of the genetic bases of SRD, the two prevalent hypotheses used to study genetic foundations of complex common traits/disorders-the common disorder-common variant (CDCV) and the common disorder-rare variant (CDRV) hypotheses. To achieve this merge. Project VI is designed as a two-stage study. The first stage will focus on sequencing DNA from 60 study participants (30 SRD+ and 30 SRD-individuals of African descent). The overarching objective of this effort will be to identify group-specific patterns of variation in the genomic DNA sequence. This identification will be carried out by means of whole-genome paired-end sequencing, performed in a staggered fashion, so that informative analyses of multiple freezes are possible. The second stage will verify and clarify the results ofthe first stage. Specifically, the expected result ofthe first-stage analyses will be the identification of groups of candidate genes or candidate functional elements for SRD, which will be further investigated in subsequent analyses of large, independent samples of SRD probands and their families (total n~3,000). Through both stages of the investigation, we will attempt to correlate the genomotype of SRD with the SRD diagnosis itself and its componential facets.
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0.97 |
2015 — 2019 |
Grigorenko, Elena L |
R01Activity Code Description: To support a discrete, specified, circumscribed project to be performed by the named investigator(s) in an area representing his or her specific interest and competencies. |
A Community-Based Evaluation of Interventions For Orphans and Vulnerable Children
? DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Sub-Saharan Africa is characterized by high absolute rates of HIV/AIDS infection and high rates of new infections. There are approximately 16.6 million AIDS orphans (children who have lost one or both parents to HIV/AIDS), 14.8 million of whom live in sub-Saharan Africa1. These orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) are the focus of the proposed work. Specifically, we intend to work in Zambia, a sub-Saharan country with high rates of infection and as many as 600,000 children orphaned by HIV/AIDS and another 150,000 (ages 0-14) living with HIV/AIDS. Rather than focusing on specific OVC interventions, we will focus on all interventions administered within a 25km radius of a well-established regional hospital, Macha Mission Hospital (MMH), to assess their effects on the OVC in the area. We will do this in two steps. First, we will construct a representative sample of ~1,000 OVC, ages 7-17, and characterize them using an array of well-defined indicators that focus on their health, well-being, and cognitive, academic, and adaptive functioning. This characterization will be longitudinal, with at least 3 time points for each individual. Second, we will identify and characterize all interventions that are delivered to these OVC, first via information from the OVC themselves and their caregivers, then by surveying the providing organizations. Using a mixed-method design, we will assemble qualitative and quantitative evidence, describing key components of the existing programs to differentiate, at least preliminarily, the effectiveness of the present interventions. We hypothesize that interventions with a strong component aimed at safeguarding OVC access to continuous schooling of adequate quality will stand out as most promising with respect to ensuring OVC's developmental potential.
|
1 |
2017 — 2021 |
Grigorenko, Elena L |
P50Activity Code Description: To support any part of the full range of research and development from very basic to clinical; may involve ancillary supportive activities such as protracted patient care necessary to the primary research or R&D effort. The spectrum of activities comprises a multidisciplinary attack on a specific disease entity or biomedical problem area. These grants differ from program project grants in that they are usually developed in response to an announcement of the programmatic needs of an Institute or Division and subsequently receive continuous attention from its staff. Centers may also serve as regional or national resources for special research purposes. |
Project Vi: Imaging Genetics in Srd: Mega- and Meta-Analyses @ Florida State University
ABSTRACT Project 6 Project VI of the Florida LDRC, titled Imaging genetics in SRD: Mega- and meta-analyses, is designed in response to the RFA-HD-17-006's stipulation to obtain converging evidence through the utilization of multiple methodologies?neuroimaging and genetic in the case of Project VI?in order to both discover and highlight the most robust and replicable facets of the genome-brain connection in Specific Reading Disabilities (SRD). Project VI is contextualized by the overall premise of the P50 to reflect on the status of science in the field of learning disabilities (LD) in general and SRD in particular and, therefore, is framed to generate such a reflection in the subfield of imaging genetics of SRD. With that in mind, we propose a set of imaging-genetic meta-analytic studies. Specifically, we are proposing to establish a merged data set that combines behavior, neuroimaging, and genetic (GWAS) data generated by a group of USA and European investigators. Specific Aim 1 (SA1) of Project VI is committed to the construction of such a database; it establishes the procedures for data merging, quality control, deposition, and manipulation. At the time of submission, we have a firm commitment from contributing investigators to generate a dataset of 1,202 individuals. We have secured three more tentative commitments that have the potential to substantially increase the dataset. Moreover, we have a set of additional investigators who have expressed interest, but with whom we have not yet followed up to appraise the general compatibility of both the brain and genetic data (i.e., the recruitment, collection, and analyses parameters). SA2 is a continuation and extension of the activities of Project VI over two previous cycles of funding. This aim will provide an opportunity to interrogate the genetic findings assembled in Project VI so far for their robustness, replicability, and generalizability using these merged data. Thus, SA2 assures the continuity of the work carried out by Project VI throughout the two generations of the Florida LDRC. In contrast, SA3 is exploratory and innovative, both to the field of SRD and to Project VI. It proposes a reversed GWAS (or set of GWASes) that capitalizes on the availability of multiple neuroimaging phenotypes in the large merged dataset that we will assemble in SA1. Importantly, to maintain the spirit and the scope of the proposed work, we will utilize behavioral data only for the purpose of grouping or controlling for level of performance in SA2 and SA3. In summary, this iteration of Project VI corresponds to the general theme of the third-generation Florida LDRC: it capitalizes on its own trajectory developed throughout the two previous cycles of funding, proposes a set of mega- and meta-analytic studies, and creates an opportunity to utilize and further develop a curated communal resource that has the potential to become a platform for reproducibility tests in the field of SRD.
|
0.97 |
2017 — 2021 |
Grigorenko, Elena L |
P50Activity Code Description: To support any part of the full range of research and development from very basic to clinical; may involve ancillary supportive activities such as protracted patient care necessary to the primary research or R&D effort. The spectrum of activities comprises a multidisciplinary attack on a specific disease entity or biomedical problem area. These grants differ from program project grants in that they are usually developed in response to an announcement of the programmatic needs of an Institute or Division and subsequently receive continuous attention from its staff. Centers may also serve as regional or national resources for special research purposes. |
Response to Intervention and Dna Methylation: a Study of Dynamic Association
Project 5 (Epigenetics) is a new, but integral part of the Texas Center for Learning Disabilities, which now moves into the field of genetics. As such is highly responsive to the RFA-HD-17-006 in that it focuses on adolescents with severe reading problems in Grades 7-8 who are English learners (Els), i.e., an understudied and underserved subpopulation of US adolescents. It has been designated a high-risk?high-reward project because it offers a novel line of research attempting to investigate the correlations between the dynamics of response to intervention (RTI) and DNA methylation across 21 months, sampling behavior, the brain, and the methylome at three time points (prior to the beginning, in the middle, and upon completion of a high-quality intensive reading intervention). Project 5 offers a set of objectives and hypotheses formulated around this opportunity (SA1). In addition to content contributions that will be generated while achieving SA1, Project 5 offers two methodological aims (SA2 and SA3) to address issues concerning the specificity and generality of the characteristics of the methylome when ascertained from different populations of cells. These issues are central to and remain unresolved in the bourgeoning field of behavioral epigenetics. To achieve its Specific Aims, Project 5 will recruit a sample of 672 adolescents stratified into three groups: typically developing students (recruited from Project 2, Attention) and Els with persistent reading difficulties (recruited from Project 3, Intervention), who are further subdivided into treated and untreated (business as usual) students. Capitalizing on the conceptualizations of learning disabilities and of RTI developed in Project 1 (Integration), Project 5 aims to investigate both categorical (group) and continuous (dimensional) indicators of reading performance and related processes cross-sectionally, as well as longitudinally at multiple levels of analyses? the epigenome, the brain, and behavior, seeking to understand individual differences in instructional response. It is hypothesized, in general, that both categorical and dimensional approaches to reading difficulties will be marked by specific characteristics of the DNA methylation profile, captured by indicators of hyper- and hypomethylation. We hypothesize that through the analyses of these characteristics, it will be possible to identify genes and gene networks that substantiate learning in general and learning to read in particular.
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