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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.  

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 cooperative agreement is to provide support for the dissemination of immunization information using electronic and/or digital formats to enhance the effectiveness of disease prevention programs that reduce the annual burden of vaccine preventable diseases. This program addresses the "Healthy People 2020" focus areas of Health Communications and Immunization and Infectious Diseases. Measurable outcomes of the program will be in alignment with one (or more) of the following performance goal for CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD): Improve infant, child, adolescent and adult immunization programs by: - Increasing coverage of recommended vaccines while eliminating disparities (e.g. racial/ethnic or financial), - Strengthening systems toassure adolescent and adult immunization, and - Improving efectiveness and efficiencies of state immunization programs This announcement is oly for -non-research activities supported by CDC. If research is proposed, the application will not be reviewed. For the definition of research, please see the CDC Web site at the following Internet address: http:/www.cdc.gov/od/science/integrity/docs/cdc-policy-distinguishing-public-health-research-nonresearch.pdf.

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.

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 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.

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 purpose of this NOFO is to support a mechanism to obtain timely input from nationally representative samples of (a) healthcare providers and (b) the public on critical immunization issues of importance. The objectives of this research are (1) for each year of the project, to conduct multiple surveys of providers and the public to collect immunization-related data using scientifically sound methods with adequate response rates that produce generalizable results, and (2) to disseminate those results broadly to assist in (a) informing recommendations for new vaccines, (b) developing strategies to improve immunization coverage, and (c) instituting contingency plans to address urgent problems (e.g., vaccine supply shortages). Surveyed providers should include pediatricians, family physicians, obstetrician/gynecologists, general internists, or some combination of these physician specialties. Surveyed members of the public should be ≥18 years old and should include subpopulations of special interest for consideration of immunization-related issues such as pregnant women, parents of children aged 0 to 5 years, and persons with chronic medical conditions.

Polio is a crippling and potentially fatal infectious disease and is considered by the World Health Organization (WHO) to be a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) with a target of eradication by 2015 and polio free certification date of 2018. There is no cure, but there are safe and effective vaccines. CDC Director Thomas Frieden, MD, MPH, has designated polio eradication an agency-wide priority through activation of the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) for the last 32 months for global polio response activities. The US congress has included a significant increase in polio funding for fiscal year 2014 with a mandate to work with all government and non-government partners to eradicate polio (Congressional committee records, 2013). CDC is one of five spearheading partners in the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) providing technical and financial support to implement polio eradication activities globally. GPEI has four strategies to meet this target for polio eradication: routine immunization, supplementary immunization, acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) surveillance, and targeted “mop-up” campaigns. Although the entire African region is at risk, polio remains endemic in Nigeria and ongoing outbreaks have occurred in central and east African countries. Until polio transmission is interrupted in these countries, polio will remain a risk throughout the region and the world. This program will support the US Government endorsed GPEI and the Global Immunization Vision and Strategy, 2006-2015. As evidenced by recent outbreaks and WHO/CDC risk assessments (‘Assessing the Risks for Poliovirus Outbreaks’, MMWR, September 2013), public health workers at the local and national level in polio endemic Nigeria, polio outbreak countries in east and central African countries and other at-risk countries in the African region do not have the adequate expertise to conduct polio activities effectively for urgent and sustained polio eradic

Significant advances in the understanding of the pathophysiology and molecular biology of multiple myeloma have identified numerous molecular targets for therapeutic intervention. Immunotherapeutic approaches (e.g., Daratumumab and Elotuzumab) have established themselves in the armamentarium for multiple myeloma, and ongoing adoptive cell therapy trials provide encouraging signs of clinical activity. As immune-based therapeutic agents continue to advance their way through the clinic, there is a critical need for increased understanding of the role that the immune system plays in myeloma disease biology, disease progression, and therapeutic response and resistance. The knowledge developed through this RFP will be critical to fully developing precision immunotherapy for the treatment of myeloma. To that end, MMRF is seeking applications for its MMRF Research Fellows Awards. Through the program, the foundation will support research projects focused on the immune biology of multiple myeloma and precursor disease; rational immune therapy and the immunological basis of response and resistance; next generation adoptive cell therapies; and next generation liquid biopsies and diagnostics.

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 purpose of this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is to promote the development of in vitro platforms that recapitulate components of the human immune system. Applications that qualify for this funding will focus on engineering 3-D in vitro microphysiological immune system tissues, adding immune system responsiveness to existing in vitro platforms, and/or in vitro modeling autoimmune diseases and inflammation.

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.

This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA), issued by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), invites applications for investigator-initiated Resource-Related Research Projects (R24). The proposed resource must provide a significant benefit to currently funded high priority projects in need of further coordination and support in the areas specified. Under rare circumstances, this mechanism may be used to support development of a new resource to the broader scientific community of the NIAID. It is anticipated that the request for resource support through the R24 activity code will occur on an infrequent basis and only in circumstances where other mechanisms of support from the NIAID are not appropriate. The proposed resources should be relevant to the scientific areas of 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.    

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 system development and 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.