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This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) invites applications from researchers with broad expertise to study the consequences of alcohol consumption on immune function with a goal toward improving the outcome of patients who abuse alcohol. Alcohol abuse has long been associated with increased susceptibility to opportunistic infections. This association has led to extensive research demonstrating that alcohol abuse has a profound and negative impact on immune cell number and function and development of immune defense against pathogens. This pattern of drinking differentially affects the outcome of alcohol abuse: binge alcohol consumption suppresses host innate immune defense; chronic alcohol consumption suppresses most immune functions including phagocytic activity of macrophages and development of adaptive immune defense, yet paradoxically activates chronic inflammation. Cumulative evidence now also supports a role for alcohol-induced immune alterations, in particular inflammation, in a wide range of alcohol related illnesses involving organ or tissue injury. In some cases, interventions against such alcohol-induced immune dysfunctions, such as anti-oxidant supplements and probiotics, are found to be effective in improving the clinical outcome. A comprehensive understanding of alcohol-induced immune dysfunctions and the underlying mechanisms is critical for developing effective diagnostic, preventive, and treatment approaches.

Alcohol abuse has long been associated with increased susceptibility to opportunistic infections. This association has led to extensive research demonstrating that alcohol abuse has a profound and negative impact on immune cell number and function and development of immune defense against pathogens. This pattern of drinking differentially affects the outcome of alcohol abuse: binge alcohol consumption suppresses host innate immune defense; chronic alcohol consumption suppresses most immune functions including phagocytic activity of macrophages and development of adaptive immune defense, yet paradoxically activates chronic inflammation.  Cumulative evidence now also supports a role for alcohol-induced immune alterations, in particular inflammation, in a wide range of alcohol related illnesses involving organ or tissue injury. In some cases, interventions against such alcohol-induced immune dysfunctions, such as anti-oxidant supplements and probiotics, are found to be effective in improving the clinical outcome. A comprehensive understanding of alcohol-induced immune dysfunctions and the underlying mechanisms is critical for developing effective diagnostic, preventive, and treatment approaches.  

The purpose of this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is to support the use of Collaborative Cross (CC) mouse lines to advance understanding of the host genetics involved in immune regulation and function and to further develop CC mouse lines that more faithfully reproduce human immune responses. Applicants may include CC, CC derivatives with reproducible genomes and/or CC-RIX mice to accomplish these goals. Research areas supported by this FOA include immune system development, function or regulation; mechanisms governing immune response to infectious pathogens, vaccines or adjuvants; host susceptibility factors and mechanisms of pathogen-induced immunopathology; and immune mechanisms involved in the development and progression of immune-mediated diseases, such as allergy/asthma, autoimmunity, primary immunodeficiency, inflammation, and cell/organ/tissue transplant rejection or tolerance.

This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) solicits research projects that study the mechanisms of oral immune system plasticity relevant to chronic HIV infection and oral coinfections.In this context, we encourage studies on reversal of immune activation, residual inflammation, immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (IRIS), and microbial and by-product translocation.These conditions occur in persons chronically infected with HIV who are treated with combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) and who also experience oral opportunistic infections.The ultimate goals of this FOA are: 1) to gain knowledge regarding the pathogenesis and persistence of these oral conditions; and 2) to guide the development of novel oral immune modulatory therapies that will aid in re-building the oral immune system to reverse these diseases, mitigate their progression, prevent their occurrence, and eliminate persistence of residual HIV and other oral pathogens in reservoirs.

This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) solicits research projects that study the mechanisms of oral immune system plasticity relevant to chronic HIV infection and oral coinfections. In this context, we encourage studies on reversal of immune activation, residual inflammation, immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (IRIS), and microbial and by-product translocation. These conditions occur in persons chronically infected with HIV who are treated with combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) and who also experience oral opportunistic infections. The ultimate goals of this FOA are: 1) to gain knowledge regarding the pathogenesis and persistence of these oral conditions; and 2) to guide the development of novel oral immune modulatory therapies that will aid in re-building the oral immune system to reverse these diseases, mitigate their progression, prevent their occurrence, and eliminate persistence of residual HIV and other oral pathogens in reservoirs.

This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) solicits research projects that study the mechanisms of oral immune system plasticity relevant to chronic HIV infection and oral coinfections.  In this context, we encourage studies on reversal of immune activation, residual inflammation, immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (IRIS), and microbial and by-product translocation.  These conditions occur in persons chronically infected with HIV who are treated with combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) and who also experience oral opportunistic infections.  The ultimate goals of this FOA are: 1) to gain knowledge regarding the pathogenesis and persistence of these oral conditions; and 2) to guide the development of novel oral immune modulatory therapies that will aid in re-building the oral immune system to reverse these diseases, mitigate their progression, prevent their occurrence, and eliminate persistence of residual HIV and other oral pathogens in reservoirs.

This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) solicits applications from single institutions, or consortia of institutions, to participate in a network of research groups developing computational models of immunity to infectious diseases other than HIV/AIDS. Applications are sought to develop, refine and validate computational models of immune responses (1) during or following infection, and/or (2) before and after vaccination against an infectious disease, through an iterative approach involving computational studies and immunological experimentation. The main goal of this FOA is to advance our understanding of the complex immune mechanisms triggered by infection and/or vaccination through the development and application of computational models of immunity, coupled with immunological experimentation to validate and improve the utility and robustness of the computational models.Another goal of this FOA is to make the computational models and data developed under this initiative readily available to the broader research community for further refinement or direct use in biological experimentation. This program will also support pilot projects, workshops, and symposia to foster the use of computational models of immunity by the broader research community.

This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) solicits applications from single institutions, or consortia of institutions, to participate in a network of research groups developing computational models of immunity to infectious diseases other than HIV/AIDS. Applications are sought to develop, refine and validate computational models of immune responses (1) during or following infection, and/or (2) before and after vaccination against an infectious disease, through an iterative approach involving computational studies and immunological experimentation. The main goal of this FOA is to advance our understanding of the complex immune mechanisms triggered by infection and/or vaccination through the development and application of computational models of immunity, coupled with immunological experimentation to validate and improve the utility and robustness of the computational models.  Another goal of this FOA is to make the computational models and data developed under this initiative readily available to the broader research community for further refinement or direct use in biological experimentation. This program will also support pilot projects, workshops, and symposia to foster the use of computational models of immunity by the broader research community.  

he U.S. Congress provides funds to CDC for programmatic support and procurement of vaccines critical to the success of the global initiatives for polio eradication and measles mortality reduction. The purpose of the program is to support the US Government-endorsed Global Polio Eradication Initiative, Global Measles Initiative, and the Global Immunization Vision and Strategy (GIVS) of which UNICEF is a key partner. Other key partners include CDC, World Health Organization (WHO), the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), Rotary International, American Red Cross, and the UN Foundation. UNICEF, in conjunction with CDC, will provide programmatic assistance and vaccines for supplemental immunization activities (SIAs) in priority countries as well as strengthening of routine immunization delivery systems and capacities in developing countries to achieve globally agreed goals for disease eradication, elimination and reduction. Additionally this agreement may be used to support activities to address other global health priorities in line with CDC goals. Under this agreement, UNICEF will collaborate with CDC, World Health Organization (WHO), Rotary International, other partner agencies and national governments, for implementation of strategies to achieve the globally agreed goals of polio eradication, measles mortality reduction and elimination, and control of other vaccine preventable diseases (VPD), including identification and prioritization of country vaccine and programmatic assistance needs.

he U.S. Congress provides funds to CDC for programmatic support and procurement of vaccines critical to the success of the global initiatives for polio eradication and measles mortality reduction. The purpose of the program is to support the US Government-endorsed Global Polio Eradication Initiative, Global Measles Initiative, and the Global Immunization Vision and Strategy (GIVS) of which UNICEF is a key partner. Other key partners include CDC, World Health Organization (WHO), the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), Rotary International, American Red Cross, and the UN Foundation. UNICEF, in conjunction with CDC, will provide programmatic assistance and vaccines for supplemental immunization activities (SIAs) in priority countries as well as strengthening of routine immunization delivery systems and capacities in developing countries to achieve globally agreed goals for disease eradication, elimination and reduction. Additionally this agreement may be used to support activities to address other global health priorities in line with CDC goals. Under this agreement, UNICEF will collaborate with CDC, World Health Organization (WHO), Rotary International, other partner agencies and national governments, for implementation of strategies to achieve the globally agreed goals of polio eradication, measles mortality reduction and elimination, and control of other vaccine preventable diseases (VPD), including identification and prioritization of country vaccine and programmatic assistance needs. 

The purpose of this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is to solicit applications to continue the Cooperative Centers on Human Immunology (CCHI) program to support studies that will advance understanding of the mechanisms regulating human immune responses. The immediate objective of CCHI is to support mechanistic and hypothesis-testing studies to understand human immunity applicable to the biodefense effort; i.e. innate, adaptive and mucosal immune responses to infection, vaccination and adjuvants. Studies on immune-mediated diseases (e.g. airway allergy, food allergy, autoimmunity, organ transplant rejection) are also of interest, as these data will provide a more comprehensive understanding of the human immune system. The program will also support the centralized infrastructure needed to promote and coordinate multi-disciplinary research in human immunology. Additional objectives are to promote public access to CCHI-supported data and metadata through public portals such as ImmPort, and to develop new technologies to support human immunology research.

The purpose of this funding opportunity is to conduct activities to promote and support vaccination services within the pharmacy setting. Activities include, but are not limited to: - Education/Outreach to pharmacists about current pediatric, adolescent, and adult immunization recommendations and proper vaccine administration - Facilitation of communication and exchange of information between pharmacists and providers and public health programs -Quality Improvement efforts -Improved immunization documentation through use of immunization information systems and data sharing -Coordination with public health preparedness and immunization programs to establish formalized agreements for pandemic vaccine program readiness and response By the end of the project, the awardee is expected to disseminate and promote best practices/successes to a national audience of healthcare providers, including both pharmacists and other healthcare providers.

This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) solicits applications developing computational models of immunity that advance understanding of the mechanisms required to induce and/or maintain protective immunity to infectious pathogens, other than HIV, and/or vaccines against such pathogens. The main goal of this FOA is to advance development and application of computational models of immunity that are refined through iterative immunological experimentation to validate and improve the utility and robustness of the computational models. Another goal of this FOA is to make the computational models and data developed under this initiative readily available to the broader research community for further refinement or direct use in biological experimentation. This program will also support workshops and symposia to foster the use of computational models of immunity by the broader research community.

The goal of this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is to improve understanding of how durable protective immunity is achieved by supporting studies that define components and mechanisms of the immune system. Applications proposing human cells/tissue response studies will help determine the human responses elicited by immunization, however, animal studies may also be used to extend the findings from human tissues to more mechanistic studies not easily accomplished in humans.

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), National Institutes of Health (NIH), of the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) supports research related to the basic understanding of microbiology and immunology leading to the development of vaccines, therapeutics, and medical diagnostics for the prevention, treatment, and diagnosis of infectious and immune-mediated diseases. NIAID will solicit proposals to identify novel adjuvant candidates that can be used to augment the efficacy of human vaccines. Research solicited will contribute to the pipeline of new adjuvant leads that either: (a) exploit the natural capacity of the innate immune system to initiate and sustain effective T and B cell responses and to induce long term immune memory, or (b) act directly on cells of the adaptive immune system to enhance their response to pathogen-derived antigens

The goal of this reissued Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is to expand understanding of age-related changes that occur in immune function during the aging process that influence responses to pathogens and/or vaccines, as well as oral and craniofacial health. Human studies are required, and inclusion of relevant animal studies is permitted for mechanistic understanding. This FOA solicits applications that will determine the mechanisms required for induction and maintenance of protective immunity in the elderly in response to infections and/or vaccinations, including the effects of chronic inflammation on those responses, and applications that will assess changes in immune processes in dental, oral and craniofacial tissues in the elderly.

The primary purpose of this solicitation is to support highly interactive, multi-disciplinary teams, whose research efforts are focused on large-scale discovery of T cell immune epitopes associated with infectious or autoimmune diseases, and rejection of, or tolerance to, transplanted cells/organs/tissues. The discovery of epitopes associated with T cell responses to commensals and how they may be altered by the inflammatory state will also be supported by this solicitation. Validation of these epitopes and defining their role in immune protection or immune-mediated pathogenesis in humans is required. Investigators may include development/refinement of T cell epitope prediction tools as part of their research plan. It is anticipated that the multi-disciplinary teams will minimally include immunologists with the appropriate expertise in epitope identification and validation, and either microbiologists and/or virologists with expertise in the target pathogen(s), clinicians with expertise in the target autoimmune diseases, or clinicians with expertise in transplantation, as appropriate. This program will not support studies related to HIV/AIDS, or allergen epitopes, including those which are infection-related.

The purpose of this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is to solicit applications for the Immune Tolerance Network. The major goal of this Network is to develop tolerogenic approaches for the treatment and prevention of disease in three clinical areas: asthma and allergic diseases; autoimmune diseases; and immune-mediated consequences of allotransplantation. The scope of research to be carried out includes: 1) the design and conduct of clinical trials at all phases to evaluate the safety and efficacy of investigational products and approaches for the induction and maintenance of immune tolerance in humans; 2) the design and conduct of mechanistic studies and the development of tolerance assays as integral components of the clinical trials undertaken, including establishing and directing a consortium of laboratories; and one or more biospecimen repositories, and 3) the provision of bioinformatics, data collection, validation and analysis resources. In addition, on a limited basis, the Network may support focused product development and nonclinical studies (e.g., toxicology, pharmacology, pharmacokinetics, etc.) essential for the subsequent evaluation of promising tolerance induction approaches in humans.

The purpose of this FOA is to solicit applications for the Immune Tolerance Network. The major objective of the Network is to develop tolerogenic approaches for the treatment of disease in three clinical areas: asthma and allergic diseases; autoimmune diseases; and immune-mediated consequences of allotransplantation. The scope of research to be carried out by the Network includes: 1) the design and conduct of clinical trials at all phases to evaluate the safety and efficacy of investigational products and approaches for the induction and maintenance of immune tolerance in humans; 2) the design and conduct of mechanistic studies and the development of tolerance assays as integral components of the clinical trials undertaken; and establishment of biospecimen repositories 3) the provision of services on data management in collaboration with other resources provided by NIAID, bioinformatics analysis, and data sharing in a secure computing environment to support clinical trials and mechanistic studies. The Network may also support limited product development and nonclinical studies (e.g., toxicology, pharmacology, pharmacokinetics, etc.) essential for the subsequent evaluation of promising tolerance induction approaches in humans.

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), National Institutes of Health (NIH), of the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) supports research related to the basic understanding of microbiology and immunology leading to the development of vaccines, therapeutics, and medical diagnostics for the prevention, treatment, and diagnosis of infectious and immune-mediated diseases. Through this solicitation, the NIAID Division of Allergy, Immunology and Transplantation plans to support the early stage discovery and initial characterization of novel adjuvant candidates. Thus, research solicited under this acquisition will contribute to the pipeline of new adjuvant leads that either (a) exploit the natural capacity of the innate immune system to initiate and sustain effective T and B cell responses and to induce long term immune memory or (b) act directly on lymphocytes to enhance their response to pathogen-derived antigens.

This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) invites submission of investigator-initiated Program Project (P01) applications. The proposed programs may address scientific areas relevant to the NIAID mission including the biology, pathogenesis, and host response to microbes, including HIV; the mechanisms of normal immune function and immune dysfunction resulting in autoimmunity, immunodeficiency, allergy, asthma, and transplant rejection; and translational research to develop vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics to prevent and treat infectious, immune-mediated, and allergic diseases. Each P01 application submitted to this FOA must include at least two related research projects that share a common central theme, focus, and/or overall objective.