By Jeanne Marrazzo, M.D., M.P.H., NIAID Director
Now that I have spent the last six months learning about NIAID and getting to know the people and history that make NIAID special, I am even more excited and energized to plan for our next several years. In the years since NIAID prepared its last strategic plan, the institute—like the scientific community and the world at large—witnessed many changes. Of course, the COVID-19 pandemic profoundly highlighted the risk of infectious diseases to the health of Americans and people worldwide, but equally notable were the global movements for social justice that have moved the discussion of ongoing health disparities in public discourse. These changes have altered how the scientific community collaborates and engages. In addition, scientific and technological advances have hastened the pace and trajectory of infectious, immunologic, and allergic disease research. Periods of transition like these create an opportunity, and we want to be prepared for it. A new NIAID Strategic Plan enables us to reflect on these and other changes, and to plan for the institute’s next five years—and how we can make our biggest contributions ever.
In this plan, we want to incorporate many perspectives, so we are inviting public comments and feedback on our new Request for Information (RFI), which is now open and available for comment through May 27, 2024. I hope to hear from all of you: members of the scientific community, students and trainees, academic institutions, associations and professional organizations, advocates, patients, the private sector, and other community members.
Specifically, we invite feedback on the following NIAID research priorities:
Priority 1: Advance foundational research on the immune system, host-pathogen interactions, and pathogen biology.
Priority 2: Apply foundational knowledge of the complex interactions between microbes and the immune system to develop and test medical countermeasures against known infectious diseases (non-HIV/AIDS).
Priority 3: Apply knowledge of HIV/AIDS to reduce HIV incidence through the development of safe and effective prevention, treatment, and cure strategies.
Priority 4: Apply knowledge of basic immunology to develop and enhance intervention strategies for asthma, allergic and immune-mediated diseases, and transplantation.
Priority 5: Support innovative research efforts to prepare for and respond to nationally or internationally significant biological incidents affecting public health.
In addition to these research priorities, we are looking for input on cross-cutting themes such as diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA); women’s health; health disparities; research inclusivity; and global health. Other topics of considerable interest include infrastructure and research facilities, data science and sharing, and ensuring that we have a trained workforce to execute our vision.
Feedback from the RFI will be addressed either within the plan or in an appendix to the plan. Please submit responses to NIAIDStrategicPlanRFI@niaid.nih.gov by May 27, 2024.
I very much look forward to your input. It will be essential to shaping our vision for the next several years of NIAID’s contribution and impact. Please share this RFI opportunity with your colleagues and other interested community members.