The National Institutes of Health has set aside up to $3.8 million in funding for its 2007 fiscal year for projects that use metabolomics technologies in studying biological pathways.

In a request for applications released Friday and available here, NIH said that it will award between 7 and 10 projects under the program, called "Using Metabolomics to Investigate Biological Pathways and Networks."

The program "seeks to encourage the use of innovative metabolomics technologies to establish methods and model systems for advancing the understanding of biological pathways and networks; their temporal and spatial resolution; and their regulation in health and disease states," NIH said in the RFA.

Ideally, NIH said, "applications will study more complete views of pathways and networks defined by changes in metabolite concentrations including their sources, destinations, and activating or inhibiting feedback effects on pathway or network regulation."

Letters of intent are due Sept. 22 and applications are due Oct. 20.