Funding News Edition: March 17, 2021 See more articles in this edition
NIAID invites applications for tuberculosis (TB) vaccine candidates that use innovative approaches with the goal of advancing into preclinical animal model testing through the new funding opportunity announcement (FOA) Innovation for Tuberculosis Vaccine Discovery (ITVD) (R61/R33, Clinical Trial Not Allowed).
Current TB vaccine approaches incorporate a limited set of platforms in combination with only a few Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) immunogens/antigens. NIAID hopes to harness the current energy and innovation of COVID-19 vaccine research and development to apply to TB vaccine research. Therefore, the goal of the ITVD is to discover and evaluate multiple novel vaccine candidates and diversify the current TB vaccine pipeline.
Research Objectives
ITVD is in alignment with the NIAID Strategic Plan for TB Research that aims to support an expanded pipeline of TB vaccine candidates.
Research Interests
NIAID is interested in high-risk/high-impact, cutting-edge strategies for TB vaccine design that incorporate novel technologies and Mtb immunogens to expand the current global TB vaccine portfolio.
Below is a list of research topics of interest:
- Novel platforms to induce protective mucosal immunity, including adaptive and innate immune responses
- Novel technologies to elicit durable cellular immunity against Mtb
- TB vaccine approaches incorporating innovative antigen design strategies
- Developing novel vaccine delivery platforms, adjuvant, or vaccine formulations
Keep in mind that the FOA lists several research areas that NIAID considers nonresponsive, and if you include any in your application, NIAID will not review it.
The FOA encourages applications from investigators new to the TB vaccine field and cross-disciplinary collaborations.
Phased Awards
This FOA supports milestone-driven, exploratory phased research. NIAID will provide support for up to three years for the R61 phase and up to two additional years of support may follow for the R33 phase based on successful completion of milestones.
The Transition Milestones are essential components of the application and will serve as objective metrics of success in the R61 phase and can guide the potential transition to the R33 phase.
NIH program staff will decide R33 transitions based on the grantee’s R33 transition package, including successful milestone completion, program priorities, and availability of funds.
Budgets are limited to $300,000 annual direct costs for the R61 phase and $600,000 annual direct costs in the R33 phase. The requested budgets should reflect the actual needs of the proposed project.
For more information about phased awards, see the Phased Award SOP on the NIAID website.
Due Date and Contact Information
All applications are due June 30, 2021, by 5 p.m. local time of the applicant organization.
Send your questions to Dr. Katrin Eichelberg, NIAID’s research contact for this FOA.