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e-ASIA Joint Research Program for Urgent Call for COVID-19 Proposals

The Cagayan Valley Health Research and Development Consortium (CVHRDC) supports the Philippine Council for Health Research and Development (DOST-PCHRD) invitation to interested Filipino researchers to submit proposals for COVID-19 under the e-ASIA Joint Research Program (e-ASIA JRP).

Possible research fields identified by the e-ASIA Joint Research Program include but are not limited to:

Public health and epidemiology
Drug discovery
Vaccines
Inspection and diagnostic technology
Fundamental technology of inspection, prevention and medical treatment
1. Bio-nanotechnology
2. Chemical biology
3. Biomaterial sensor
4. Information and Communications Technology (ICT)
5. Model organisms
Immunology (Immunology of coronavirus infection)

Characterize:

Disease Immunopathogenesis
Immunological Predictors of Disease Severity
Immunological Host Response to Infection

Develop and/or Improve:

Diagnostic + Immunological Assays
Immunotherapies for Prevention and Early Treatment

Evolutionary biology of SARS- CoV2, including phylogenetics and mechanisms of emergence (e.g., animal-human interface)
Clinical Characterization / Management of Disease Caused by the Virus

PCHRD as one of the Member Organizations of –e-ASIA JRP will select two (2) COVID-19 proposals.
Review Procedures Approval of proposals for research grants will be based on a multi-level review process:

In-house screening and evaluation in terms of alignment to the research priorities, duplication, and completeness of requirements.
Technical review and scoring by external consultants (Technical Panel) based on the following criteria:

Relevance & Sensitivity

Alignment to national S&T priorities, strategic relevance to national development and sensitivity to Philippine political context, culture, tradition and gender and development.

Technical/Scientific

Merit Sound scientific basis to generate new knowledge or apply existing knowledge in an innovative manner.

Financial Feasibility

Financial viability of the undertaking with proponent’s and institutional capacity to manage R&D funds vis-à-vis the proposed work plan and budget Proponent’s / Institutional Capacity Good track record or CV with proven competence to implement and complete the R&D program/project within the approved duration and budget.

Program Contribution

How much the proposal will contribute to the overall achievement of the program? Other potential socio-economic, environmental, and health impacts.

Final approval by the PCHRD Governing Council or the PCHRD Executive Director depending on the recommended total budgetary requirement of the proposal.
In each stage of the review process, the proponent may need to revise the proposal on the basis of the recommendations of the reviewers. The review process will take 40 working days or less provided that all the requirements had been submitted.

Who may apply for the grant?

Filipinos with at least a Master’s Degree in a relevant field, have proven research competence/track record, and employed in universities/colleges, research agencies/institutes, hospitals, and other health-related agencies are eligible to apply for the research grant.

How to apply:

The Filipino research proponent who has his/her research project endorsed by e-ASIA for further evaluation should submit the following requirements online through the PCHRD Project Management System (http://www.projects.pchrd.dost.gov.ph/) from 23 -28 October 2020:

Project Proposal following the PCHRD Detailed Proposal Form (downloadable from the DOST-PCHRD website)
Work plan Schedule (Gantt Chart of Activities)
Proposed Line-Item Budget (LIB) (DOST-GIA LIB Form)
Counterpart Funding of Implementing Agency
Informed Consent Form
Case Report Form, if applicable
Endorsement of Agency Head
Curriculum Vitae of Proponent(s)
Duties and Responsibilities of each Project Personnel

DOST-PCHRD will also require the proponent to submit the following documents before the start of project implementation:

Biosafety Clearance, if applicable
Institutional Animal Care and Use Clearance, if applicable
Bureau of Animal Industry Clearance, if applicable
Ethics Clearance (for studies involving human subjects)

The DOST-PCHRD will allocate up to 200,000 USD for each research project for a duration of 1 year and can be extended following DOST Grants-in-Aid Guidelines. In-kind modality will be an option. This Call shall be subject to rules and regulations set by the DOST Grants-in-Aid Guidelines.
For further information on eASIA COVID 19 Call, you may visit the eASIA website: https://www.the-easia.org/jrp/ .

Source: http://www.pchrd.dost.gov.ph/index.php/news/6604-e-asia-joint-research-program-for-urgent-call-for-covid-19-proposals

MENTAL HEALTH, PSYCHOSOCIAL SUPPORT SHOULD BE CORE COMPONENTS OF ANY PUBLIC HEALTH RESPONSE – NRCP STUDY

Photo source: The Hofstra Chronicles

Mental health is one of the most neglected areas in public health.*

Through the recent mapping study by the Department of Science and Technology – National Research Council of the Philippines (DOST-NRCP) on the Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Services (MHPSS) in the Philippines in the time of COVID-19 pandemic, it was found that mental health and psychosocial support should be core components of any public health response.

According to Dr. Elizabeth P. De Castro, NRCP member and Professor (Retired), Department of Psychology, University of the Philippines, Diliman who conducted the study, “mental health and psychosocial support interventions should be carried out within the general health services, including primary healthcare, and other pre-existing structures in the community such as schools, community centers and youth and senior citizen centers”.

Also, with the vital role of mental health, in health and well-being of Filipinos, the mapping initiative of the DOST-NRCP reveals the type of MHPSS services available. This allows for identification of gaps for a well-planned and responsive MHPSS services through science-based policy recommendations. It will also directly benefit the community at large in accessing available Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Services.

With the service providers spread nationwide (Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao), access for mental health and psychosocial support are within reach, although a larger portion are based in Metro Manila, followed by Central Visayas. But, as Dr. De Castro says, “no worries as many of these support services are also available online”. The Facebook Messenger, Zoom, and Viber being the top three online platforms for the MHPSS service providers.

Meanwhile, the most frequently provided specific services/ activities are: Basic counseling for individuals, information, education and communication (IEC) materials on the current situation, relief efforts and available services, Psychological First Aid, psychological support for staff/volunteers/front liners, and case management, referrals and linking vulnerable individuals to resources.

Snip from Tableau: The photo shows the interactive MHPSS mapping results by Locations and the List of Service Provides.

The project also looked into the most frequent target beneficiaries, and they are the general public, vulnerable groups (e.g. persons with disabilities, children, elderly, pregnant women, persons with pre-existing mental health conditions), families, relatives and friends affected by COVID-19, medical front liners (e.g. doctors, nurses and other allied medical professions), and individuals directly affected by COVID 19.

It was also found that most services across different MHPSS categories are catering to those 18 years and above and children 18 years and below. It was noted that there’s no significant difference between gender MHPSS services as it was almost equally open and available to both males and females.

Recognizing the long-term negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of the population, there is a need to plan for appropriate and relevant services beyond the pandemic.

Knowing what MHPSS services are currently available and sustainable will help in developing strategic plans, policies and guidelines that are more responsive to MHPSS needs of the community.

Interactive map shows mental health and psychosocial services available in the Philippines

Got mental health problems, but don’t know where to get help?

The DOST-NRCP produced an interactive map of mental health and psychosocial services available in the Philippines.

The diverse roster of MHPSS available during COVID-19 can be accessed anywhere. Everyone with internet can now type their needed services to view mental health and psychosocial services available in their area at https://tinyurl.com/MHPSSResults and https://tinyurl.com/MHPSSresults-DOH

Snip from Tableau: The photo shows the interactive MHPSS mapping results by Specific Services.

The Tableau (version 2020.2) was used to create the online interactive results and to visualize and analyze the data.

The actual data gathering ran from June to July 2020 with 109 actual respondents (48 individuals and 61 organizations) with a 64.5% overall response rate.

The current study only mapped the MHPSS services available during the pandemic with a minimum number of respondents and the team sees the need for further national baseline study and assessment of the mental health situation of the large majority of Filipinos in the new normal.

In photo (from top to bottom): Dr. Elizabeth P. De Castro, NRCP member, Dr. Marieta Bañez Sumagaysay, DOST-NRCP Executive Director, and Prof. Fortunato T. de la Peña, DOST Secretary during the DOST-NRCP KTOP-COVID (Kapakanan ng Tao sa Oras ng Pandemya – COVID) webinar, on October 13, 2020 via Zoom.

This project led by Dr. Elizabeth P. De Castro, NRCP member was presented during the DOST-NRCP KTOP-COVID (Kapakanan ng Tao sa Oras ng Pandemya – COVID) 5th of a series of webinars, on October 13, 2020 via Zoom. The study was also in collaboration with the Psychosocial Support and Children’s Rights Resource Center and Ateneo De Manila University School of Medicine, Center for Research and Innovation.

The interactive map on mental health and psychosocial services, together with the gender-sensitive’ COVID-19 online dashboard by Dr. Jomar F. Rabajante, NRCP Governing Board, will soon be available in the NRCP website.

*(WHO.int/news/item/27-08-2020-world-mental-health-day-an-opportunity-to-kick-start-a-massive-scale-up-in-investment-in-mental-health)

Source:http://www.nrcp.dost.gov.ph/latest-news/646-mental-health-psychosocial-support-should-be-core-components-of-any-public-health-response-nrcp-study?fbclid=IwAR30MfnRj8AKcMj9hTq15QV1VTE2XU-kwxtGFzKi7vmHIPYEsRCRlwkJZIk

UN names PH health research council Director Jaime Montoya as one of 15 scientists to author 2023 Global SDG Report

UN Secretary-General António Guterres appointed Dr. Jaime C. Montoya, Executive Director of the Department of Science and Technology - Philippine Council for Health Research and Development (DOST-PCHRD) as one of the 15 eminent scientists to draft the 2023 Global Sustainable Development Report (GSDR) in a UN official announcement yesterday in New York City.

Produced once every four years, the SDG report aims to employ the scientific perspective in guiding policymakers on the state of global sustainable development and serve as a ‘strong evidence-based instrument’ in eradicating poverty. The said report will also feed the ‘high-level global review” of the 2030 Agenda at the United Nations in September 2030.

The designation of the independent group followed an extensive consultation process that involved nominations from UN member states which concluded in December 2019. The 15 scientists were selected by UN Sec-Gen Guterres to author the GSDR and conduct a follow-up and review of the 2030 Agenda for SDGs.

“We are honored to be selected as part of the distinguished experts to author a very significant report on the global SDGs. Being a health research scientist in the Philippines, a developing country enables us to contribute unique and substantial information that is relevant to sustainable development. It is without a doubt that I assure our UN member states and our fellow Filipinos that our efforts will always be directed towards the benefit of all through science and technology,” said Dr. Montoya.

The “diverse group,” according to the UN, represents a wide range of disciplines and are composed of the following scientists: John Agard (Trinidad and Tobago), Kaltham Ali Al-Ghanim (Qatar), Sergey N. Bobylev (Russian Federation), Opha Pauline Dube, (Botswana), Ibrahima Hathie (Senegal), Norichika Kanie (Japan), Nyovani Janet Madise (Malawi), Shirin Malekpour (Australia), J. Jaime Miranda (Peru), Jaime C Montoya (Philippines), Jiahua Pan (China), Åsa Persson (Sweden), Ambuj D Sagar (India), Imme Scholz (Germany), Nancy Shackell (Canada).

Led by Dr. Agard and Dr. Scholz, the independent group will author the second report of its kind. The first GSDR has been released in September of 2019 entitled “The Future is Now: Science for Achieving Sustainable Development.”

As the country’s lead coordinator for health research and development initiatives, PCHRD supports Filipino researchers in health research innovation, policy recommendations, and technology commercialization, provides scholarships to Filipino students in the field of health and medicine, and establishes information and communication systems to disseminate health research information both for local and international stakeholders. PCHRD is also at the forefront of the country’s fight against the current COVID-19 pandemic. (Written by Christine Jane Gonzalez)

Source: http://www.pchrd.dost.gov.ph/index.php/news/6603-un-names-ph-health-research-council-director-jaime-montoya-as-one-of-15-scientists-to-author-2023-global-sdg-report

Fear and anxiety share same bases in brain

Anxiety, the most common family of mental illnesses in the U.S., has been pushed to epic new heights by the COVID-19 pandemic, with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimating that nearly 1 in 3 U.S. adults and a staggering 41% of people ages 18-29 experienced clinically significant anxiety symptoms in late August. Now, the findings of a recent UMD-led study indicate that some long-accepted thinking about the basic neuroscience of anxiety is wrong.

The report by an international team of researchers led by Alexander Shackman, an associate professor of psychology at UMD, and Juyoen Hur, an assistant professor of psychology at Yonsei University in Seoul, South Korea, provides new evidence that fear and anxiety reflect overlapping brain circuits. The findings run counter to popular scientific accounts, highlighting the need for a major theoretical reckoning. The study was published last week in the Journal of Neuroscience.

"The conceptual distinction between 'fear' and 'anxiety' dates back to the time of Freud, if not the Greek philosophers of antiquity," said Shackman, a core faculty member of UMD's Neuroscience and Cognitive Science Program, and 2018 recipient of a seed grant award from UMD's Brain and Behavior Initiative, "In recent years, brain imagers and clinicians have extended this distinction, arguing that fear and anxiety are orchestrated by distinct neural networks.

However, Shackman says their new study adds to a rapidly growing body of new evidence suggesting that this old mode is wrong. "If anything, fear, and anxiety seem to be constructed in the brain using a massively overlapping set of neural building blocks," he said.

The prevailing scientific theory holds that fear and anxiety are distinct, with different triggers and strictly segregated brain circuits. Fear -- a fleeting reaction to certain danger -- is thought to be controlled by the amygdala, a small almond-shaped region buried beneath the wrinkled convolutions of the cerebral cortex. By contrast, anxiety -- a persistent state of heightened apprehension and arousal elicited when threat is uncertain -- is thought to be orchestrated by the neighboring bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST). But new evidence from Shackman and his colleagues suggest that both of these brain regions are equally sensitive to certain and uncertain kinds of threats.

Leveraging cutting-edge neuroimaging techniques available at the Maryland Neuroimaging Center, their research team used fMRI to quantify neural activity while participants anticipated receiving a painful shock paired with an unpleasant image and sound -- a new task that the researchers dubbed the "Maryland Threat Countdown."

The timing of this "threat" was signaled either by a conventional countdown timer -- i.e. "3, 2, 1..." -- or by a random string of numbers -- e.g. "16, 21, 8." In both conditions, threat anticipation recruited a remarkably similar network of brain regions, including the amygdala and the BNST. Across a range of head-to-head comparisons, the two showed statistically indistinguishable responses.

The team examined the neural circuits engaged while waiting for certain and uncertain threats (i.e. "fear" and "anxiety"). Results demonstrated that both kinds of threat anticipation recruited a common network of core brain regions, including the amygdala and BNST.

These observations raise important questions about the Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) framework that currently guides the U.S. National Institute of Mental Health's quest to discover the brain circuitry underlying anxiety disorders, depression, and other common mental illnesses. "As it is currently written, RDoC embodies the idea that certain and uncertain threats are processed by circuits centered on the amygdala and BNST, respectively. It's very black-and-white thinking," Shackman noted, emphasizing that RDoC's "strict-segregation" model is based on data collected at the turn of the century.

"It's time to update the RDoC so that it reflects the actual state of the science. It's not just our study; in fact, a whole slew of mechanistic studies in rodents and monkeys, and new meta-analyses of the published human imaging literature are all coalescing around the same fundamental scientific lesson: certain and uncertain threat are processed by a shared network of brain regions, a common core," he said.

As the crown jewel of NIMH's strategic plan for psychiatric research in the U.S., the RDoC framework influences a wide range of biomedical stakeholders, from researchers and drug companies to private philanthropic foundations and foreign funding agencies. Shackman noted that the RDoC has an outsized impact on how fear and anxiety research is designed, interpreted, peer-reviewed, and funded here in the U.S. and abroad.

"Anxiety disorders impose a substantial and growing burden on global public health and the economy," Shackman said, "While we have made tremendous scientific progress, existing treatments are far from curative for many patients. Our hope is that research like this study can help set the stage for better models of emotion and, ultimately, hasten the development of more effective intervention strategies for the many millions of children and adults around the world who struggle with debilitating anxiety and depression."

This work was supported by the National Institute of Mental Health and University of Maryland, College Park.

Story Source:

Materials provided by University of Maryland. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/10/201019164939.htm

Journal Reference:

Juyoen Hur, Jason F. Smith, Kathryn A. DeYoung, Allegra S. Anderson, Jinyi Kuang, Hyung Cho Kim, Rachael M. Tillman, Manuel Kuhn, Andrew S. Fox, Alexander J. Shackman. Anxiety and the Neurobiology of Temporally Uncertain Threat Anticipation. The Journal of Neuroscience, 2020; 40 (41): 7949 DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0704-20.2020

Coronavirus Infects Eyes as Well as Lungs

COVID-19 is primarily a respiratory infection, but experts have suspected the virus can also infiltrate the eyes. Now, scientists have more direct evidence of it.

The findings are based on a patient in China who developed an acute glaucoma attack soon after recovering from COVID-19. Her doctors had to perform surgery to treat the condition, and tests of her eye tissue showed evidence of SARS-CoV-2.

The case offers proof that "SARS-CoV-2 can also infect ocular tissues in addition to the respiratory system," the doctors reported in the Oct. 8 online edition of the journal JAMA Ophthalmology.

"It's been suspected that the eyes can be a source of both 'in' and 'out'" for the novel coronavirus, said Dr. Aaron Glatt, a spokesman for the Infectious Diseases Society of America.

That's why health care workers protect their eyes with goggles or face shields, he noted.

It's not possible to say whether the patient in this case contracted SARS-CoV-2 via her eyes, according to Glatt. But that is a possibility -- whether through viral particles in the air or by touching her eyes with a virus-contaminated hand, he said.

Another big unknown is whether any lingering virus in patients' eye tissue will cause problems.

According to Dr. Grace Richter, an ophthalmologist at the University of Southern California's Roski Eye Institute in Los Angeles, "It's too early to know what having this virus floating around in the eye means for ocular health."

At this point, Richter said, limited eye problems have been seen with COVID-19: A small number of patients develop conjunctivitis ("pink eye"), where the white part of the eye and inside of the eyelid become swollen, red and itchy.

The patient in this case suffered acute angle-closure glaucoma -- a serious condition in which pressure in the eyes suddenly rises due to fluid buildup. It requires prompt treatment to relieve the pressure, sometimes with surgery to restore the eye's normal fluid movement.

Richter was doubtful the coronavirus directly caused the eye complication. In general, certain anatomical features of the eye make some people vulnerable to acute angle-closure glaucoma, and it can be triggered by medications, she explained.

Richter speculated that since the patient was hospitalized and likely received various drugs, that might have been the cause.

That is possible, agreed Dr. Sonal Tuli, a clinical spokeswoman for the American Academy of Ophthalmology and chairwoman of ophthalmology at the University of Florida College of Medicine, in Gainesville.

Tuli said the patient's case is "interesting," but leaves open a number of questions. One is whether the virus present in the eye tissue is actually infectious.

The patient was a 64-year-old woman who was hospitalized for COVID-19 on Jan. 31. Eighteen days later, her symptoms had fully resolved, and throat swabs turned up negative for SARS-CoV-2.

About a week later, though, she developed pain and vision loss in one eye, and then in her other eye a few days afterward, according to the report by Dr. Ying Yan and colleagues at the General Hospital of the Central Theater Command in Wuhan, China.

The patient landed in the hospital again, where she was diagnosed with acute angle-closure glaucoma and cataract. Medication failed to bring down her eye pressure, so her doctors performed surgery -- taking tissue samples in the process.

Tests of those samples turned up evidence that SARS-CoV-2 had invaded the eye tissues, Yan's team reported.

While it's not clear how the virus got into the patient's eyes, the experts agreed the case underscores the importance of eye protection. For health care providers, that means goggles and face shields; for the average person, it's regular hand-washing and keeping the hands away from the eyes.

"I think people don't realize how often they touch their eyes," Tuli said.

That advice will reduce the chance of any virus, including cold and flu bugs, from coming into contact with the eyes, she noted.

While that may be enough in most cases, people caring for someone with COVID-19 at home may want to be extra cautious, Tuli suggested. Wearing eye protection in addition to a mask is a "good idea," she said. (By Amy Norton, HealthDay Reporter)

Source: https://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=247625