Group items tagged

This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) issued by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM), builds upon the National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System (NARMS) which was initiated in 1996 as one of the key activities in a national action plan to combat antibiotic resistance threats. The purpose of this FOA is to protect and promote public health by enhancing, strengthening and sustaining antibiotic resistance surveillance in retail food specimens within the NARMS program. The NARMS cooperative agreements will improve the detection of antibiotic resistance among enteric bacteria in food commodities, as well as potentially develop new sites as part of the program. Measurable outcomes of the program will be in alignment with the NARMS Objectives.

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the leading viral cause of lower respiratory tract infection including bronchiolitis and pneumonia in infants and children worldwide. The annual rate of RSV hospitalizations for children less than 2 years of age in the US is 5.2 per 1,000, but substantially higher among Native Americans. There are currently approximately 40 vaccines or antibody products in development designed to prevent RSV infections. With potential licensure of these products on the horizon, it will be important to establish baseline estimates of the burden of RSV infections in high-risk populations, like Native Americans, and to maintain surveillance post-licensure in order to evaluate impact. Native Americans are also at higher risk for severe respiratory infections associated with human metapneumovirus (HMPV) and other viruses, which will also be monitored through this system.

This FOA, issued by the Office of Medical Policy (OMP), Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, Food and Drug Administration, solicits grant applications from neutral, independent institutions and/or organizations to support meetings (e.g., conferences, workgroups, roundtables) that convene a broad range of multiple stakeholders, including those with relevant expertise, to explore and address issues related to medical products, policy, and surveillance methods and systems. Support includes but is not limited to preliminary research of identified topics, the design, planning, execution, synthesis, summary, and communication of findings from these forums to a broad range of organizations and individuals.

The purpose of this cooperative agreement is: To conduct and monitor epidemiologic, clinical, and laboratory-based projects, surveillance, and research of important diseases in Liberia. To incorporate the results of research activities into operational disease detection, prevention, and response or control programs in Liberia and ensure the strengthening of local workforce capacity and dissemination of findings across the region, with partners, and globally.

COPY OF Rapid Response to Ebola Viral Disease in West Africa through Strengthening of Surveillance Systems and Disruption of Chain of Transmission Interventions

The purpose of the Tanzania Malaria Surveillance and Monitoring (TMSM) Cooperative Agreement is to support the Government of Tanzania to reduce the burden of malaria and to move towards the long-term goal of malaria elimination.

The objectives of the Molecular Signatures program are to identify and characterize critical molecular signatures relevant to Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) and Human Performance; to develop sensors for the detection of these signatures utilizing molecular, genomic, and nano-bio sensing elements; and to develop and employ data analysis tools for processing, exploitation, and dissemination of detected signatures for informed and efficient decision making.

This announcement encourages exploratory research applications aimed at investigating the role environmental exposures play in the development and/or the exacerbation of autoimmune disease. Applicants may propose to use in vitro studies or animal models to explore possible mechanisms in which environmental exposures associated with human autoimmune endpoints are involved in the induction of an autoimmune response or an autoimmune disease. Of particular interest are projects that will identify and characterize critical windows of exposure susceptibility, projects that explore mechanisms responsible for gender differences in response and development of autoimmune disease, and studies that can produce potential biomarkers for use in subsequent human surveillance studies.

This announcement solicits applications for Early Detection of Vision Problems in Young Children. The purpose of this grant program is to increase the detection and diagnosis of visual impairment in children aged five (5) years and younger in five (5) States by enhancing the capacity of the State public health agencies to use and apply quality improvement principles and practices to implement universal vision screening for preschool-aged children. Funds will be provided to a single entity to convene a learning collaborative comprised of five States to work together jointly to identify challenges, interventions, implementation, and measurement related to implementing universal vision screening for preschool-aged children. To facilitate collaborative learning and quality improvement efforts, the awardee may ask each of the five participating States to consider forming a vision screening quality improvement team. The optimal team would include representatives from the State Title V program, State early childhood and education programs, State health surveillance and information systems (e.g., immunization registry), community health centers, pediatric primary and vision specialty care, and family organizations. The awardee may convene the State teams to apply rapid test cycles to increase coordination among the relevant State agencies, providers, and community organizations to support the tracking, disseminating, and spreading of innovative and promising practices necessary to achieve the program purpose. Program Aim: By 2018, increase by 20 percent over 2011-2012 levels, the proportion of children aged five (5) years and younger who receive vision screening and diagnosis in five (5) States according to the National Survey of Children¿s Health measure. http://www.childhealthdata.org/learn/NSCH To accomplish the program purpose and aim, it is expected the awardee will: · Establish a multidisciplinary project advisory group made up of stakeholders includin

The purpose of this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is to establish a coordinated network of Emerging Infectious Disease Research Centers (EIDRCs) in regions around the globe where emerging and re-emerging infectious disease outbreaks are likely to occur. Multidisciplinary teams of investigators will conduct pathogen/host surveillance, study pathogen transmission, pathogenesis and immunologic responses in the host, and will develop reagents and diagnostic assays for improved detection for important emerging pathogens and their vectors.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) proposes to allocate funds to implement Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) PS18-1807, “Promoting Adolescent Health through School-Based HIV/STD Prevention.” The project period will be 5 years, with a 12-month budget period and an anticipated award date of August 1, 2018. This NOFO will provide support for education agencies and NGOs to help school districts and schools develop and implement sustainable program activities to: 1) Reduce HIV infection and other STDs among adolescents; and 2) Reduce disparities in risk for HIV infection and other STD infection. Throughout the 5-year cooperative agreement, awardees will conduct activities demonstrated to improve the health of middle school and high school students by collection and use of quality surveillance data, the implementation of effective prevention practices, and demonstration and evaluation of innovative strategies within their jurisdictions.

South Africa's has been making steady progress towards 90-90-90 targets, but these targets are unlikely to be attained without additional support and resources. The South African Department of Health developed an HIV Treatment and Retention Acceleration Plan (TRAP) in September 2017 to aggressively improve performance in the ART Program. CDC has been partnering with National Department of Health (NDoH) for several years through three consecutive cooperative agreements, 2003 to 2009, 2009 to 2014 and currently 2014 to 2019. This follow-on NOFO will allow CDC South Africa to continue to support and engage with the National Department of Health in developing and reviewing guidance and policy documents on HIV and TB, support surveys and surveillance activities to correctly characterize and describe the epidemic, provide guidance on evidence-based program implementation and coordinate monitoring and evaluation activities and other health systems interventions to assess effectiveness of interventions and program performance and ensure that health delivery systems are functional and structurally conducive to optimal HIV and TB service delivery.

The 2017 CDC STD Surveillance Report documented continued steep and sustained increases in the three reportable STDs - gonorrhea, chlamydia and syphilis. Congenital syphilis rates reached a 20-year high in 2017. Healthcare providers and health systems remain at the forefront of the battle against STDs. Provider education, technical assistance, and clinical capacity building are critical pieces for a foundation of comprehensive STD clinical prevention in healthcare settings. A dynamic and complex healthcare landscape demands innovative methods to reach both clinicians and healthcare settings from a variety of sectors throughout the U.S in order to meet the goal of optimal STD clinical prevention implementation in the clinical care setting. The purpose of this NOFO is to support The National Network of Sexually Transmitted Diseases Clinical Prevention Training Centers (NNPTC). This network is charged with improving the capacity of healthcare professionals, clinical sites and healthcare systems to employ state-of-the-art knowledge to diagnose, manage, treat and counsel individuals with and at-risk for STDs in order to reduce STD morbidity and improve sexual health on an individual, local and national level. This NOFO supports the following broad strategies : Component A Regional Centers: A1 (Core) - assess training needs and service gaps to inform the development and delivery of comprehensive STD clinical prevention T/TA for providers serving priority populations; A2 (Focus Activity) - pr

This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is a part of an initiative designed to establish a Liver Cancer Consortium to advance translational research focused on early detection of liver cancer. The Consortium will consist of several Translational Research Centers (TRCs, to be supported by this U01 FOA) and a Data Management and Coordinating Center (DMCC, to be supported a companion U24 FOA, RFA-CA-17-028). The TRCs will conduct studies to improve the surveillance of liver cancer in members of high-risk populations, increase the fraction of liver cancer detected at an early stage, and better stratify patients at risk of developing liver cancer. Research to be conducted by TRCs must be based on appropriate range of biospecimens from cohorts that are focused on cirrhotic patients. A major collaborative effort of the TRCs will be the establishment of a well annotated repository of biospecimens. Biospecimens (blood, other body fluids, and, when feasible, liver tissue) may be already available and/or may be prospectively collected.

Timely and reliable laboratory data are an essential component of a well-functioning national health system. This FOA will support strengthening the quality, accessibility, and sustainability of the NHLS across a six-tiered network, i.e., at the national, zonal, regional, district, health center, and dispensary levels. Technical assistance will focus on improving the quality assurance of HIV rapid testing, TB microscopy and GeneXpert; Early Infant Diagnosis (EID) and Viral Load (VL) testing; establishment and maintenance of efficient sample referral system and transport networks; implementation of laboratory Quality Management Systems; implementation of Laboratory Information Management Systems; scale up of EID and VL monitoring programs; quantification and forecasting of laboratory commodities; HIV Drug Resistance Surveillance; and, effective use of laboratory data for program management.

This NOFO will support achievement of national targets for 2018 antiretroviral therapy (ART) scale-up towards the UNAIDS Fast Track Targets in Ukraine. The recipient will implement innovative and effective recruitment and case management models for persons who inject drugs (PWID) and men who have sex with men (MSM) at the community level. These innovative changes will increase uptake of HIV community based testing and increase ART initiation for these populations. The recipient will pilot risk network-based testing using point-of-care recency assays to link recently infected PWID to care. The project will focus on the six regions with the highest HIV burden (Dnipropetrovsk, Mykolayiv, Odesa, government controlled areas (GCA) of Donetsk, Kyiv City, and Kherson) and continue to work in six additional medium burden oblasts (Cherkasy, Poltava, Chernihiv, Zaporizhzhya, Kirovohrad, and Kyiv). The recipient will also increase the capacity of the Government of Ukraine’s Center for Public Health (CPH) and regional monitoring and evaluation (M&E) centers specialists to conduct data analysis using statistical software and build institutional capacity to conduct economic evaluations of HIV interventions. Illustrative strategic information (SI) activities include development of trainings to support the Ministry of Health (MOH) and the newly established CPH in using statistical software, routine analysis of surveillance data, study design, and research protocol development.

This NOFO will support achievement of national targets for 2018 antiretroviral therapy (ART) scale-up towards the UNAIDS Fast Track Targets in Ukraine. The recipient will implement innovative and effective recruitment and case management models for persons who inject drugs (PWID) and men who have sex with men (MSM) at the community level. These innovative changes will increase uptake of HIV community based testing and increase ART initiation for these populations. The recipient will pilot risk network-based testing using point-of-care recency assays to link recently infected PWID to care. The project will focus on the six regions with the highest HIV burden (Dnipropetrovsk, Mykolayiv, Odesa, government controlled areas (GCA) of Donetsk, Kyiv City, and Kherson) and continue to work in six additional medium burden oblasts (Cherkasy, Poltava, Chernihiv, Zaporizhzhya, Kirovohrad, and Kyiv). The recipient will also increase the capacity of the Government of Ukraine’s Center for Public Health (CPH) and regional monitoring and evaluation (M&E) centers specialists to conduct data analysis using statistical software and build institutional capacity to conduct economic evaluations of HIV interventions. Illustrative strategic information (SI) activities include development of trainings to support the Ministry of Health (MOH) and the newly established CPH in using statistical software, routine analysis of surveillance data, study design, and research protocol development.

This is a notice of intent to award a single source grant agreement to University of Wisconsin-La Crosse without competition under justification 505DM 2.14.B.4. Competition for the award is not practical as a faculty member with University of Wisconsin-La Crosse is an expert in zooplankton ecology and the university's proximity to study sites near La Crosse- Wisconsin is optimal for the efficient pursuit of the intended research program. Competition for this award is impractical because other researchers lack the faculty member's unique expertise and/or would require additional funding for travel to complete the proposed research program.