Summary of Past and Present NIAID-Funded Research
For over 35 years, NIAID has had robust collaborative research relationships with institutions in China in the areas of allergy, immunology, and infectious diseases including HIV/AIDS, other sexually transmitted diseases, coronaviruses, parasitic diseases (e.g., malaria and schistosomiasis), dengue fever virus, tuberculosis (TB), and influenza.
U.S.-China Program for Biomedical Research Cooperation Success
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) have jointly funded collaborative, high-priority research projects through the U.S.- China Program for Biomedical Research Cooperation. This bilateral program provides unique opportunities to advance the understanding of communicable and non-communicable human diseases of importance utilizing unique and outstanding scientific resources. It is critically valuable to have collaborative research that will help prevent, detect, and respond to future emerging threats. The program fosters collaboration between U.S. and Chinese researchers to study diseases of mutual interest and foster the career development of researchers. In addition, the program has fostered government-to-government interface on research policies and procedures – including those related to application review, data and material sharing, monitoring and oversight, along with adherence to international norms and standards related to the responsible conduct of biomedical research.
Highlights
Collaborative Vaccine Studies to Save Children and the Elderly
U.S. and Chinese scientists worked together to develop a vaccine against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), which can cause severe illness, particularly in infants and older adults. Research findings describing the pre-F structure and vaccine design resulted from this collaboration. U.S. and Chinese investigators have continued their collaboration on vaccine research to prevent RSV, influenza, and other viral pathogens of global health importance.
NIH-China Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) Technical Exchanges
Since September 2020, a series of video conferences have been convened to exchange information about SARS-CoV-2 and other infectious diseases including TB research between NIH and the China Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST). The meetings aim to share fundamental knowledge about SARS-CoV-2 and identify ways to apply that knowledge to enhance global public health.