OD provides policy guidance, program development, and evaluation, and overall operational and administrative coordination for the Institute. OD is the focal point of relationships with the Director of the National Institues of Health (NIH) as well as with other parts of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, other federal agencies, Congress, professional societies, voluntary health organizations, and other public groups. The activities of OD also include advising and guiding NIAID's key leaders on the principles, practices, laws, regulations, and policies of the federal equal employment, affirmative action, civil rights, and minority programs. Offices within OD provide critical management and administrative support to the Institute.
The Division of Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (DAIDS) was formed in 1986 to develop and implement the national research agenda to address the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Specifically, the mission of DAIDS is to help ensure an end to the HIV/AIDS epidemic by increasing basic knowledge of the pathogenesis and transmission of HIV, supporting the development of therapies for HIV infection and its complications and co-infections, and supporting the development of vaccines and other prevention strategies.
DAIT is responsible for national and international extramural research programs in basic immunology, and in the etiology, treatment, and prevention of immune-mediated diseases, including rejection of transplanted organs, tissues, and cells; autoimmune diseases; asthma and allergic diseases; and primary immune deficiency diseases. Capitalizing on major advances in understanding the mechanisms underlying these diseases, DAIT supports preclinical and clinical development of new tolerogenic and immunomodulatory approaches for the treatment and prevention of many immune-mediated diseases, and is the lead NIH component for research on transplantation.
DCR plays an integral role in facilitating the efficient and effective performance of NIAID research programs on both domestic and international levels. This is accomplished through a multi-faceted approach to the provision and support of services vital to the research infrastructure, including oversight and management of intramural clinical research, program planning and management, regulatory monitoring and compliance, statistical consultation and research methodology, and clinical research capacity building.
DEA serves NIAID's extramural research community and the Institute in several key areas: overseeing policy and management for grants and contracts, managing NIAID's research training and international programs, and conducting initial peer review for funding mechanisms with Institute-specific needs. In addition to providing broad policy guidance to Institute management, DEA oversees all of NIAID's chartered committees, including the National Advisory Allergy and Infectious Diseases Council; disseminates information to its extramural community through its large Internet site; and develops extramural staff training and communications through the NIAID intranet.
Scientists in DIR conduct laboratory and clinical research covering a wide range of biomedical disciplines related to infectious diseases, immunology, and allergy. Much of DIR research involves investigating the multitude of interacting cells, antibodies, receptors, proteins, and chemicals that make up the immune system.
DMID supports extramural research to control and prevent diseases caused by virtually all human infectious agents, except HIV, by providing a range of funding opportunities and a comprehensive set of services for researchers. In this way, DMID makes available research tools and technologies, supports a wide variety of projects spanning the spectrum from basic research through applied research, and provides critical information needed to move promising diagnostics, vaccines, and therapeutics through the product development pathway.
VRC is dedicated to translating the latest knowledge of disease pathogenesis and immunology into new vaccine strategies, thereby providing safe and effective means to prevent and control human diseases. The primary focus of VRC is to conduct research to develop an effective HIV vaccine. VRC has a unique setting that allows the process of moving vaccine concepts through preclinical development and into initial clinical trials.
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