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Participating Organization
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National Institutes of Health (NIH)
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National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
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Funding Opportunity Title
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Immune Mechanisms of Virus Control (U19)
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Activity Code
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U19
Research Program – Cooperative Agreements
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Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) Number
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RFA-AI-12-048
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Funding Opportunity Purpose
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The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
(NIAID) invites multi-project applications to be part of a network of
synergistic research teams focused on the immunological parameters of virus
infection and vaccination that are important for understanding the key
molecular and cellular immune mechanisms involved in the natural control of
infection, the induction of protective immunity by vaccination, or the
immune-mediated processes that cause pathology after virus infection or
vaccination. Studies involving multiple viruses are encouraged to
foster discovery of novel immune mechanisms and generalizable principles of
anti-viral immunity. The viruses of interest to the Immune Mechanisms
of Virus Control (IMVC) program are listed as part of the NIAID Emerging and
Re-emerging Infectious Diseases (http://www.niaid.nih.gov/topics/emerging/Pages/list.aspx).
The ultimate goal of this program is to discover and define novel basic
immune mechanisms for controlling virus infections that will lead to new
potential targets for developing future vaccines and therapeutics.
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Foreign Institutions
Key Dates
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Letter of Intent Due Date
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March 15, 2013
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Application Due Date
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April 16, 2013
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Scientific Merit Review
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September, 2013
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Advisory Council Review
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January, 2014
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Earliest Start Date
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May, 2014
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Award Information
Funding Instrument
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Cooperative Agreement: A support mechanism used when there will be substantial Federal scientific or programmatic involvement. Substantial involvement means that, after award, NIH staff will assist, guide, coordinate, or participate in project activities.
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Application Types Allowed
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New
Renewal |
Funds Available and Anticipated Number of Awards
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NIAID intends to commit approximately $15 Million in FY 2014 to fund 5-7 U19 awards.
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Award Budget
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Application budgets are limited to $1.5 million direct costs per year, but need to reflect actual needs of the proposed project.
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Award Project Period
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Scope of the proposed project should determine the project period. The maximum period is five years.
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Purpose
This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) represents the third phase of the NIAID Immune Mechanisms of Virus Control Program (IMVC). The first phase was awarded as exploratory R21 grants in fiscal year 2007 (RFA-AI-07-008) and the second phase as either U01 or U19 cooperative agreements in fiscal year 2009 (RFA-AI-08-013). All qualified investigators are invited to apply to this FOA; prior funding under the first or second phases or through NIAID or NIH is NOT required.
The lack of effective vaccines and drug treatments for many viruses presents a health concern of significant proportions. Host defenses against viruses involve both innate and adaptive immune mechanisms, but the basic processes and the interactions of these two arms of the immune response in anti-virus defense are not completely understood, especially in humans. This FOA will continue to support basic immunological research focused on the parameters underlying the immune response to either virus infection or vaccination. Studies involving multiple viruses are encouraged to foster discovery of generalizable principles of anti-viral immunity. The goal of this program is to discover and define novel basic immune mechanisms that provide a more sophisticated understanding of the immune response to virus infection, and provide potential new targets for future vaccine and therapeutic drug development. It is NOT the purpose of this program to apply currently accepted immunological concepts to the development of improved anti-virus vaccines or therapies. For example, conventional antibody measurements used to test new vaccine candidates would not be considered responsive in the absence of studies on immune mechanisms of antibody protection.
Specific Areas of Research Interest
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases invites multi-project applications to be part of a network of synergistic research teams focused on the immunological parameters of virus infection and vaccination that are important for understanding the key molecular and cellular mechanisms involved in the natural control of infection, the induction of protective immunity by vaccination, or the immune-mediated processes that cause pathology after virus infection or vaccination.
The emphasis of research proposed in response to this FOA should be in defining novel cellular and molecular immune mechanisms involved in immunity to virus infection or vaccination. Viruses of interest to this program are included as part of Groups I – III in the NIAID Emerging and Re-Emerging Diseases, listed at http://www.niaid.nih.gov/topics/emerging/pages/list.aspx. It is anticipated that proposed studies will be relevant to multiple viruses, therefore studies including multiple viruses are encouraged. Studies involving viruses other than those on the NIAID Emerging and Re-Emerging list may be included as long as the chosen viruses pose serious threats to human health and at least one of the projects within the U19 is solely dedicated to one or more viruses from the NIAID Emerging and Re-Emerging list. HIV studies are EXCLUDED from this FOA.
Topics of interest include, but are not limited to those listed below:
- Understanding the interaction of innate immune pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) with viruses and the subsequent signaling pathways in immune cells.
- Profiling the responses of innate immune cells after viral infection or vaccination.
- Understanding the role of the innate immune system and the mechanisms used to direct specific adaptive immune responses to viral infections or anti-viral vaccines.
- Understanding the unique features of innate and adaptive immunity to virus infection or vaccination in specific mucosal sites and associated cells and tissues.
- Defining the influence of the microenvironment of different organs on immune cell function during virus infection or vaccination.
- Determining how different T and B cell subsets are generated and maintained during virus infection or vaccination against viruses.
- Characterizing the role of survival/apoptosis of immune cells, antigen persistence, cell turnover kinetics, and cytokines necessary for T and B cell memory to viruses.
- Understanding the immune mechanisms that lead to immunopathology versus a protective immune response during virus infection.
- Defining the relationship between lymphatic function (e.g., flow/cell trafficking) and the immune response to virus infection or vaccination.
- Characterizing sex differences in the immune response to virus infection or vaccination.
- Defining the impact of microbial co-infection on the immune response to virus infection.
- Defining the role of protective antibodies in the immune response during acute and/or chronic virus infection.
Research in Animal Models: If animal studies are proposed, they must be well justified in terms of their relevance to human infection with or vaccination against emerging or re-emerging viruses. Additionally, it is highly encouraged that validation studies be proposed in human cells where possible, but is not required.
In Vitro Work: in vitro work using human or other mammalian tissues, cells or molecules is permitted.
The following research areas will be considered non-responsive and applications proposing studies in the following areas will not be reviewed:
- Studies on AIDS, HIV, or SIV.
- Projects that: 1) simply apply existing immunological tools to the study of viruses; or 2) focus on non-immune mechanisms of pathogenesis.
- Clinical trials (clinical studies that test novel interventions in humans); the NIH definition of clinical trials is available at http://grants.nih.gov/grants/policy/hs/glossary.htm/. For the purpose of this announcement, clinical trials are not allowed; however, the use of samples obtained from human subjects in clinical trials funded through other mechanisms is allowed, as is the use of samples obtained from human subjects treated with licensed vaccines or drugs for the FDA approved purpose.
- Projects that focus primarily on technology, reagent, or animal model development. However, these may be included as necessary parts of the project if well justified by the research aims and preliminary data.
- Projects that use non-mammalian systems.
- Virus challenge studies in humans
For more details, see:
http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-AI-12-048.html#_Section_II._Award_1
and/or
contact the Office of Research Services, on tel. 1332
