Funding News Edition: May 19, 2021 See more articles in this edition
To reflect new evidence and emerging scientific knowledge gaps during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, NIAID updated the NIAID Strategic Plan for COVID-19 Research to inform investigators and the public on key scientific areas of interest. The plan is built around four strategic research priorities:
- Advance basic research on SARS-CoV-2 biology, pathogenesis, and transmission to further evaluate the biology of SARS-CoV-2 and better understand its transmission, epidemiology, pathogenesis, and immunopathogenesis, including the immunologic and clinical markers associated with disease severity. Pursue research to identify and characterize emerging viral variants to understand their epidemiological or clinical considerations and their potential impact on vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics.
- Identify and test promising COVID-19 therapeutics, including the discovery and development of novel antivirals, including SARS-CoV-2–specific and broad-spectrum antivirals; virus-targeted antibody-based therapies (including monoclonal and polyclonal antibody products); and host-directed strategies to treat COVID-19, such as immunomodulators.
- Develop and test next-generation COVID-19 and pan-coronavirus vaccine candidates to provide broad and durable protection against SARS-CoV-2 and other coronaviruses with pandemic potential. These include variant-specific vaccine candidates and novel approaches that are designed to increase the breadth or durability of immunity, be given in one dose, or be rapidly scaled up to address the global need.
- Characterize, prevent, and treat post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC), including characterizing the pathophysiology and clinical manifestations of disease and developing treatment and prevention approaches.
If you’re planning an investigator-initiated application related to COVID-19 research, take time to understand NIAID’s scientific priorities at the outset. Find other helpful instructions and resources at Coronaviruses: Information for Researchers.