NEA and NIH co-host live webinar on new funding opportunity on culture and health

On Thursday, October 4, 2012, Noon – 1:00 pm Arizona time, you are invited to a live, public webinar.
How does culture affect health-related beliefs and practices? Artists and arts organizations may help answer this question through a new funding opportunity from the National Institutes of Health. This Request for Applications (RFA) will support research projects that bring together teams of social and behavioral researchers and arts and cultural experts to gain new insights into the relationships between culture and health. NEA co-hosts this webinar with the Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR) at the National Institutes of Health. Bill Elwood of OBSSR will present this grant announcement from the NIH Basic Behavioral and Social Science Opportunity Network  (OppNet), a trans-NIH initiative that funds activities to build the collective body of knowledge about the nature of behavior and social systems.  Also joining the webinar are several NIH program directors who serve as scientific contacts for the OppNET RFA. This is the first-time the NIH has embedded the arts into an OppNet RFA on the social sciences. 
For more than a year, the NEA Interagency Task Force on the Arts and Human Development has brought together federal agencies – including the NIH – to promote more and better research on how the arts help people reach their full potential at all stages of life. This OppNet RFA aligns with the NEA Task force goals.
The NEA and the Interagency Task Force periodically host public webinars to share compelling research, practices, and/or funding opportunities for research in the arts and human development. Task Force members include representatives from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Department of Education, and other agencies and departments.  More information on the Task Force can be found at http://www.nea.gov/research/convenings.html 
Guests and speakers
Sunil Iyengar, Director of Research & Analysis, NEA, will moderate the webinar
Bill Elwood, Coordinator, NIH Basic Behavioral and Social Science Opportunity Network (OppNet)
Eva Caldera, Assistant Chairman for Partnership and Strategic Initiatives, National Endowment for the Humanities
Dorothy Castille, the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD), invited
Richard Jenkins, National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
Lana Shekim, The National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD)
Alan VanBiervliet, National Library of Medicine (NLM)
 
How to join the webinar 
The webinar is free and open to the public.  No registration is required.
To join the webinar, go to http://artsgov.adobeconnect.com/artsdev5/  and check the "Enter as Guest" radio button. Type in your name and click hit "Enter Room" to join.  
You may listen using your computer's speakers or dial-in to 1-877-685-5350 and use participant code: 739587. Attendees will be muted but able to type in questions and comments through a text Q&A box.
Follow the conversation on Twitter @NEAarts with the hashtag #NEAtaskforce.
An archive of the webinar will be available on Monday, October 8, 2012 at http://www.arts.gov/research/convenings/
More information
Media may RSVP to Sally Gifford, NEA Public Affairs Specialist at 202-682-5606 or giffords@arts.gov.
BEHAVIORAL AND SOCIAL SCIENCES RESEARCH GUIDE TO NIH GRANTS http://obssr.od.nih.gov/funding_opportunities/BSSR_guide_to_grants_at_t…. Relevant to Behavioral and Social Science Research Compiled and Distributed by the Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research Office of the Director National Institutes of Health (U.S.A.) http://obssr.od.nih.gov/ Questions or Comments to Sonja Preston .