Integrated Preclinical/Clinical AIDS Vaccine Development Program (IPCAVD) (U19) (PAR-15-330)

NIAID recently announced a request for applications for an Integrated Preclinical/Clinical AIDS Vaccine program (PAR-15-330)

Purpose:

The goal of the Integrated Preclinical/Clinical AIDS Vaccine Development Program (IPCAVD) Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is to facilitate the translation of sufficiently advanced, innovative and promising vaccine candidates into early clinical testing. The IPCAVD program is designed to enable a multi-disciplinary team of investigators to complete all steps necessary from down-selection of a vaccine candidate through CGMP manufacture/testing/product release and into clinical trials.

The award will provide support for:

(1) All stages of vaccine platform research and development through facilitation of Non-Human Primate (NHP) proof-of concept studies and down-selection of the final lead candidate

(2) All product development stages including processes development, CGMP manufacturing and formulation; and

(3) Support  for all IND-enabling studies and regulatory submissions. 

The IPCAVD will not support clinical trials. However, investigators are expected to begin clinical studies under other funding mechanisms no later than year five of this award.  Applications consisting of preclinical research alone without a direct pathway to clinical testing will not be supported.

Dates:

Letter of  Intent Due Date: 8 February 2016

Application Due Date: 9 March 2016

Earliest Project Start Date: December 2016

Award Budget:

Application budgets are not limited but need to reflect the actual needs of the proposed project. As a guideline, the approximate range of funding in direct costs is expected to be $1.5 to $2.5 million per year.

The maximum project period is 5 years.

To read the full RFA, click on the following link: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-15-330.html

If you are interested in applying to this grant, please contact Paul (paul.ada@mahidol.ac.th) or Glad (gladgeorge.rot@mahidol.edu) at the Office of Research Services.

Fogarty Emerging Global Leader Award (K43, PAR-15-292)

NIH has announced a call for applications for the Fogarty Emerging Global Leader Award (K43, PAR-15-292) grant, open for young researchers who are citizens of a Low or Middle Income Country (LMIC).

The grant provides research support and time to a research scientist from  a LMIC who holds and academic junior faculty position, or research scientist appointment at an LMIC academic or research institution. Applications are invited from any health-related discipline who propose both critically needed career development activities and a research project that is highly relevant to the health priorities of their country.

Dates:

• Application Due Date: 16 December 2015
• Earliest start date: July 2016

Duration: Project should be minimum 3 years, maximum 5 years

Budget:

• A salary of up to 75,000 USD (for a minimum of 75% effort or 30h/week)
• Research and development costs: Up to 30,000 USD per year toward the research development costs of the recipient (supplies, equipment, technical personnel, tuition/registrations)

For the full Request For Applications, and more details, go to the RFA homepage: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-15-292.html

If you are interested in applying to this grant, or have any questions, please contact Paul or Glad at the Office of Research Services.

FY15 DOD PRMRP Program Announcements and SOCOM Broad Agency Announcement

The US Department of Defense has announced the funding opportunities for the Fiscal Year 2015, which include the Peer Reviewed Medical Research Program (PRMRP), consisting of the following awards:

Mechanism	Deadline
Clinical Trial Award	Pre-application: June 18, 2015 Application: October 22, 2015
Discovery Award	Pre-application: June 25, 2015 Application: July 9, 2015
Focused Program Award	Pre-application: June 18, 2015 Application: October 28, 2015
Investigator-initiated Research Award	Pre-application: June 11, 2015 Application: October 15, 2015
Technology/Therapeutic Development Award	Pre-application: June 11, 2015 Application, October 15, 2015

For full details about the different award mechanisms can be found at the DOD homepage, http://cdmrp.army.mil/funding/prmrp.shtml

Submission is a two-step process requiring both (1) pre-application submission through the electronic Biomedical Research Application Portal (eBRAP) (https://eBRAP.org/) and (2) application submission through Grants.gov (http://www.grants.gov/). If you are interested in applying to this funding opportunity, please contact Paul Adams (paul.ada@mahidol.ac.th) or Glad Rotaru (gladgeorge.rot@mahidol.edu) at the Office of Research Services.

TDR Call for applications: Research on innovative approaches for safety monitoring of preventive chemotherapy interventions for the control of Neglected Tropical Diseases

Research teams are invited to submit letters of interest for research on piloting innovative approaches for safety monitoring in the context of preventive chemotherapy and mass drug administration implemented for the control of neglected tropical diseases. Under this call, one or two research teams are expected to be selected for funding for a maximum amount of US$ 100 000 each. 

Background and rationale 

Preventive chemotherapy programmes for the control of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) are being expanded in many countries. These programmes often target very large but vulnerable populations (e.g. children) and use non-medical staff (e.g. teachers or community health workers) for drug distribution at the community level. Adequate safety monitoring should be ensured where such programmes are carried out, and guidance has been issued by the World Health Organization (WHO) to help programme managers establish a safety surveillance system (1, 2). However, many low and middle income countries lack a robust system and tools at the community level for collecting in an efficient and reliable manner information on safety for these mass treatment interventions. New tools, in particular m-health tools, have been proposed as a way of improving reporting of safety information, but little evidence has been gathered on the field. Implementation research is needed to determine effective and sustainable methods for monitoring the safety in MDA, as part of a broader system of pharmacovigilance in health programmes. This call fits within TDR’s focus to help low- and middle-income countries develop innovative tools and strategies targeting neglected tropical diseases. 

Objectives 

The overall objective of the call is to support one or two research teams from Africa, Asia or Latin America and the Caribbean to pilot innovative approaches to improve safety monitoring in the context of preventive chemotherapy and mass drug administration (MDA) put in place for the control of NTDs. The expected outcome is data that would aid evidence-based decisions for recommendations on methodologies to be implemented for safety monitoring in preventive chemotherapy and MDA programmes. 

 Application 

Applications should be submitted online. A 6-10 page letter of interest should provide a brief outline of the technical and operational feasibility for the proposed project (see below). A one-page summary CV of the principal investigator and a supporting letter from the institution’s director should also be attached. 

Deadline for submission: 10 April 2015

For full details about this grant and the application procedures, please click on the following link: http://www.who.int/tdr/grants/en/

If you are interested in applying to this opportunity, or have any questions, please contact Paul (paul.ada@mahidol.ac.th) or Glad (gladgeorge.rot@mahidol.edu) at the Office of Research Services

Saving Lives at Birth: A Grand Challenge for Development

REMINDER: SAVING LIVES AT BIRTH ROUND 5

The Saving Lives at Birth: A Grand Challenge for Development partners invite global problem solvers to answer their fifth call for groundbreaking prevention and treatment approaches to better support for pregnant women and newborns in poor, hard-to-reach communities around the time of childbirth.  The Challenge seeks to identify and develop transformative approaches that integrate forward thinking science and technologies, better service delivery models and improved "demand side" innovations that empower pregnant women and their families to practice healthy behaviors and access health care during pregnancy, childbirth and the early postnatal period, especially the first two days after birth. This year, in addition to the seed and transition awards used in previous rounds, the partners introduced a third funding stream.  'Validation' funds will be used to introduce and validate the effectiveness of innovations to reach proof-of-concept. Round 5 will also place an increased focus on advancing the most successful and transformational innovations in their transition to scale. The number of awards in each category varies.    The Challenge will be accepting applications until Friday March 27, 2015 (closes at 2:00 p.m. ET). For more information and to apply online, visit the Saving Lives at Birth  website.   Saving Lives at Birth: A Grand Challenge for Development partnership, launched in 2011, includes the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the Government of Norway, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Grand Challenges Canada (funded by the Government of Canada), and the U.K’s Department for International Development (DFID).

Joint Health Research Call: MRC - TRF - NSTDA - Newton Fund

• Status: Open
• Open date: 09/03/2015
• Closing date: Tuesday 02 June 2015 16:00
• Type: Calls
• Categories: Infections and immunity, Molecular and cellular medicine, Global health

       

• Objectives and scope
• Infectious disease
• Cancer
• Research activities
• Funding available
• The Newton Fund
• Assessment process
• Decision making process
• How to apply
• Contacts

Objectives and scope

“NATIONAL STRATEGIC DISEASES OF THAILAND”

Thailand is presently in a period of epidemiological transition, reflected in key changes in the morbidity and mortality. Today, the major and rising causes of death among Thai citizens are non-communicable diseases. The number one cause of death is cancer. The prevalence rate of communicable (infectious) diseases, which used to be significant health problems have been declining, however drug-resistant and re-emerging infectious diseases are a growing challenge for disease control and prevention in Thailand. For further details please refer to the Thailand’s Health Profile prepared by Bureau of Policy and Strategy, Ministry of Public Healthopens in new window.

To tackle these important, evolving health priorities, key research funding partners in Thailand and the UK have worked together to support this new joint funding initiative, as part of the Newton Fund.

The MRC is working with NSTDA and TRF to support research within the remits of both Thai funders to tackle disease areas of critical importance to the Thai population.

The following areas have been identified by UK and Thai partners as highlight areas and eligible diseases for this call.

The research proposed must be specifically relevant to the Thai population. For example, this may include understanding the cause of disease or epidemiology in the Thai population, or development or implementation of interventions for resource-poor communities.

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Infectious Diseases (to be supported by the MRC and NSTDA)

• Dengue:   basic research related to dengue vaccine development
• Malaria:    research and development related to drug resistant parasites (in particular artemisinin), detection, diagnostic kits, etc.
• Outbreak prediction systems using mathematical models and novel data management systems (IT): particularly to inform emerging infectious disease outbreaks
• New solutions for important emerging infectious diseases (EIDs) of pandemic threats / endemic infectious diseases: basic research, diagnostic kits, etc.

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Cancer, particularly those outlined below which are major causes of death in Thailand (to be supported by the MRC and TRF)

• Lung cancer: basic research to understand the disease mechanisms, and research and development related to biological markers for disease detection, monitoring and treatment
• Cholangiocarcinoma: basic research on early diagnostic markers, and potential new more effective therapies
• Oesophageal cancer: basic research related to disease development mechanism, and biological marker for treatment

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Research activities

The funders, MRC NSTDA and TRF, welcome proposals for research in these diseases across the spectrum of research activities, from basic discovery research, understanding the mechanisms of disease, novel detection and diagnosis to development of novel preventatives (vaccines) and therapeutics

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Funding available

Funding will be provided by a partnership consisting of:

• The National Science Technology Development Agency (NSTDA)
• Thailand Research Fund (TRF)
• Medical Research Council

The Medical Research Council will lead administration of this call in the UK. Funding from the Medical Research Council has been secured through the Newton Fundopens in new window.

NSTDA, MRC and TRF have earmarked up to £2,889,000 for this call.

NSTDA area:

• MRC – GBP 1million (in support to the successful UK applicants)
• NSTDA – GBP 556k (THB 30 million) in support to the successful Thai applicants

TRF area:

• MRC – GBP 1million (in support to the successful UK applicants)
• TRF – GBP 333k (THB 18 million) in support to the successful Thai applicants

It is expected that this funding will support up to 4 joint projects at a level of up to GBP 389k per project for infectious diseases, and 3 joint projects at a level of up to GBP 444k per project for non-communicable diseases.

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The Newton Fund

The UK contribution will be channeled from the Newton Fund. The Newton Fund is an initiative intended to strengthen research and innovation partnerships between the UK and emerging knowledge economies. It was launched by the Chancellor in April 2014, and will deliver £375 million of funding over the course of five years.

The Fund forms part of the UK’s Official Development Assistance (ODA) commitment which is monitored by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). ODA funded activity focuses on outcomes that promote the long-term sustainable growth of countries on the OECD Development Assistance Committee list. Newton Fund countries represent a sub-set of this list. For more information please visit the MRC Newton Fund pageopens in new window.

The Newton Fund requires that the funding be awarded in a manner that fits with Official Development Assistance (ODA) guidelinesopens in new window. All applications under this call must therefore be compliant with these guidelines. 

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Assessment Process

To be funded, proposals must be internationally competitive and at a standard equivalent to that normally expected to be supported by each funding organisation.

Key assessment criteria for the submissions will be:

• Significance and Impact of the research
• Scientific Rationale: novelty, importance and timeliness of the research;
• Design and Feasibility of the Project Plan
• Partnership: including strength and clarity of collaborations and opportunities provided, quality of the project management structure proposed;
• Quality and suitability of the research environment and of the facilities;
• Value for money for Thai and UK science;
• Ethical considerations and governance arrangements.

Applications received and comments from all peer-reviewers will be assessed by MRC and TRF and NSTDA Review Panels in September. 

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Decision making process

Researchers planning to submit to this scheme are asked to submit an Expression of Interest including the names of the leading UK and Thai investigators and a preliminary project title, by Friday 1 May. The deadline for full applications is Tuesday 2 June

Full applications must be submitted by UK PI’s to MRC via the Je-S application system by 4pm, Tuesday 2 June 2015.

Funding decisions will be made through a joint process. This will include:

1. Joint Expression of Interest emailed to international@headoffice.mrc.ac.uk by Friday 1 May 
2. Joint application from  the UK and Thai researchers by Tuesday 2 June via Je-S
3. Joint panel meetings of academic experts for MRC, TRF and NSTDA 
4. Joint peer review process including UK and Thai academic reviews (plus other international reviewers as appropriate);
5. Joint panel meetings of academic experts for MRC, TRF and NSTDA
6. Funds released

The panel’s decision shall be final and will not be open to appeal

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How to apply

UK applications will be submitted to and processed by MRC. Please see guidance (PDF, 331KB)for further information.

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Contacts

For further information, UK applicants should contact:

• Melanie.bundhoo@headoffice.mrc.ac.uk

For further information, Thai applicants should contact:  

• monta@nstda.or.th   (for infectious diseases)
• saengpetch@trf.or.th  (for non-communicable diseases)