OpportunityTitle: Study to Explore Early Development (SEED) Follow up Studies
AdditionalInformationOnEligibility: For an application to be considered for Component A, the application must be responsive to these Special Eligibility Requirements. If your application is incomplete or non-responsive to the special eligibility requirements listed in this section, it will not enter into the review process.Component A: Access to SEED 1-3 ParticipantsAll applicants must document that they will have access to SEED participant&amp;rsquo;s individual contact and eligibility data (i.e., status on completion of the maternal interview and clinic visit, and consent for follow-up) for all cohorts they propose to include in their recruitment pool (1, 2, and/or 3) to ensure successful completion of the SEED follow-up studies outlined in Component A of the NOFO.Data for SEED 1-3 were collected under a Certificate of Confidentiality in accordance with section 301(d) of the Public Health Service Act. SEED 1-3 participants were provided assurances that only those entities that originally collected their personal information would use this information to contact them for future studies.Therefore, applicants must either:1) be the original entities that collected the original SEED data on children 2-5 years of age and their parents, and therefore have the information needed to reach these individuals for the follow-up studies;OR2) have established collaborative agreements to work with the entities that originally collected contact information from SEED participants (i.e., former SEED awardees) so that they can reach the SEED participants for the follow-up studies as outlined in this NOFO.The following entities have been funded by CDC to collect data for SEED: 1) JFK Partners and University of Colorado School of Medicine, Anschutz Medical Campus (SEED 1-3); 2) Johns Hopkins University and Kennedy Krieger Institute (SEED 1-3); 3) Washington University (SEED 3); 4) University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (SEED 1-3); 5) The Board of Regents at the University of Wisconsin System (SEED 3); 6) Kaiser Permanente Division of Research and the California Department of Health Services (SEED 1-2); and 7) University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing and The Children&amp;rsquo;s Hospital of Pennsylvania (SEED 1-2).To be funded for Component B, C, D, or E, applicants must apply and be funded for Component A.
Description: The purpose of this NOFO is to gain knowledge about autism spectrum disorder (ASD), including risk factors for ASD and the expression of ASD, from childhood through early adulthood, and to obtain information that can be used to improve the health and functioning of individuals with ASD as they mature. This will be completed through 1) analysis of existing data and biospecimens from preschool-aged children and their families who participated in the CDC funded study known as the Study to Explore Early Development (SEED), a multi-phase, multi-site, case-control study of children identified at age 2-5 years with ASD, other developmental disabilities (DD), and from the general population (POP); and 2) longitudinal follow-up of and research on previous SEED participants to obtain information through early adulthood on their health and functioning, service use and needs, and the impact of ASD on their families.These activities will be accomplished through five components (A-E):Component A: Enhanced Epidemiologic Research Using Existing SEED Data Follow-up Surveys of Existing SEED ParticipantsTo conduct analyses of existing SEED data and follow-up surveys of participants from SEED Phases 1, 2, and 3 (referred to as SEED 1-3) to:Address current research gaps, and publish findings related to risk factors for ASD and the characteristics and needs of children with ASD; andSupport the implementation of follow-up surveys in collaboration with CDC from an existing list of SEED participants in SEED 1-3.Component B: In-Person Assessment of Intellectual Abilities of SEED Participants To conduct follow-up assessments of intellectual abilities on a subset of children and adolescents (aged &#8805; 8 years), who were initially identified as having ASD or another DD in SEED 1-3 and who completed the follow-up surveys implemented through Component A of this NOFO. To be funded for Component B, applicants must apply and be funded for Component A.Component C: Maternal Auto-Antibody Testing To conduct assays of maternal autoantibodies reactive to proteins in the fetal brain using stored SEED 1 and 2 samples and to conduct analyses of the association between these maternal autoantibodies and ASD. To be funded for Component C, applicants must apply and be funded for Component A.Component D: Genetic Analyses To identify analytic priorities for generating and analyzing SEED genetic data; to develop and implement methods for combining existing SEED 1 genetic data and newly generated SEED 2 and 3 genetic data for use by SEED investigators and contribution to data repositories; and to support SEED investigators conducting analyses to increase understanding of the genetic risk factors for ASD and their interaction with environmental risk factors. To be funded for Component D, applicants must apply and be funded for Component A.Component E: Biorepository To maintain a repository of biospecimens previously collected from SEED 1-3 participants. To be funded for Component E, applicants must apply and be funded for Component A.Applicants should clearly indicate the components for which they are applying and should include, at the beginning of the title, the respective component under which the application should be considered (i.e., Component A, B, C, D, and/or E). A separate application is required for each component.
GrantorContactEmailDescription: Grants Policy
GrantorContactText: Natalie Darling&lt;br/&gt;NDH6@cdc.gov
CloseDateExplanation: Electronically submitted applications must be submitted no later than 5:00 p.m., ET, on the listed application due date.