Explore Avenues to Broad Protection Against Group A Streptococcus Infections

Presently, there is no primary prevention strategy for Group A Streptococcus (GAS) diseases suitable to global disease control. To address unmet research gaps and obstacles, NIAID will fund research projects to promote and expand basic and translational research to advance promising GAS vaccine candidate discovery and evaluation using the funding opportunity announcement (FOA) Advancing Group A Streptococcus Vaccine Discovery (R01, Clinical Trial Not Allowed).

NIAID is most interested in high-risk/high-impact, cutting-edge strategies for GAS vaccine design and evaluation that incorporate novel technologies and broad coverage against multiple GAS strains. Consider proposing research activities that include:

• Innovative antigen discovery strategies and platforms that provide broad coverage and their evaluation
• Evaluating novel antigen or vaccine candidates in appropriate preclinical models with potency and immunologic assessments in vitro and in vivo
• Studies to identify correlates of protection in appropriate preclinical models
• Research to advance animal models that represent human GAS infection and immune response for vaccine testing
• Novel technologies to elicit durable cellular immunity against GAS
• Immune responses to GAS infection using human specimens

If your application includes proof-of-principle studies of candidate antigens or vaccines, include an assessment of immunogenicity and preliminary efficacy in a relevant animal model.

Do not propose any of the following research topics, or we will consider your application nonresponsive and not review it:

• Therapeutic GAS vaccines
• Investigational new drug studies including current good manufacturing practice production
• NIH-defined clinical trials
• Studies without in vitro or in vivo evaluation
• Studies developing vaccines for pathogens other than GAS

Lastly, we highly encourage applications from investigators new to the GAS vaccine field, as well as cross-disciplinary collaborations.

Application Requirements

While the scope of your proposed research should determine the project period, the maximum project period is five years. Application budgets are capped at $500,000 in annual direct costs, though again the scope of your proposed research should determine the actual amount of your budget request.

The deadline to apply is February 18, 2022, at 5 p.m. local time of the applicant organization. The earliest submission date is January 18, 2022.

Note that your application will use the new FORMS-G application package, not FORMS-F. Key aspects of the FORMS-G form set are described at G.120—Significant Changes.

If you have questions, reach out to Xin-Xing Gu, NIAID’s scientific/research contact listed for this initiative, at 240-627-3265 or xin-xing.gu@nih.gov. The peer review contact is Dr. Caitlin Brennan, whom you can reach at 301-761-7792 or caitlin.brennan2@nih.gov.