The Integrative Neural Immune Program is an intramural, NIH-wide multi-institute research program in neuroscience and immunology designed to foster interdisciplinary research in the field of neural-immune interactions, the biological basis of the so-called "mind-body" connection.
The program is structured to facilitate interinstitute, interagency, university, and private-sector partnering and to address cutting-edge multidisciplinary research questions, while consolidating investments in permanent staff, highly specialized methodologies, physical space, and equipment.
Key components of the program are:
Steering committee, including representatives from each of the eight participating
institutes—NIMH, NINDS, NIA, NIAID, NCI, NEI, NIDCR, and NIDA
Scientific exchanges through a lecture series, conferences, and workshops
designed to highlight cutting-edge topics in this field
An active Listserve and developing website to disseminate information
on program activities.
An Intramural Research Awards program to support collaborative
research in neuroscience and immunology through jointly sponsored postdoctoral
IRTA positions and associated research funds.
Awards are shared between collaborating laboratories of partnering institutes to provide formal training in integrative neuroscience and immunology research.
Research areas include molecular, cellular, and neuroanatomical mechanisms of neural immune interactions and systems-level analysis of communications between the central nervous, endocrine, and immune systems.
These explorations shed light on the role of the immune system in neuronal cell death and repair, neuronal development, and plasticity and the role of the nervous and neuroendocrine systems in susceptibility and resistance to autoimmune/inflammatory, infectious, and allergic diseases.
Basic research in this area has important clinical implications for understanding the pathogenesis and treatment of diseases such as multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease, neuro-AIDS, stroke, and nerve trauma.
This research will enhance our understanding of the relationship between depression and immune diseases, and the effects of stress and belief on immune-mediated diseases, such as arthritis and allergic and infectious diseases.
Knowledge of these interactions also has relevance to neural and neuroendocrine factors in shock and tissue damage, and has therapeutic implications for biodefense.
Through partnership with the Intramural Program on Research in Women’s Health, the scope of related research extends as well to sex and gender factors in health and disease.
—Esther M. Sternberg, INIP director
Craig Smith, INIP program manager