Proposals are accepted either as Collaborative Study projects or as Technology Development/enhancement projects. Collaborative studies aim to leverage cutting-edge technologies and expertise currently available in the CHI to enable systems-level characterization of immune phenotypes. Proposals with focus on Technology Development/enhancement seek to develop innovative technologies, or adapting approaches originally developed in an NIH investigator’s laboratory that can benefit the broader NIH community and accelerate insights into the human immune system.
Proposals will first be screened for technical feasibility by the NIH Center for Human Immunology, Inflammation, and Autoimmunity (CHI) team, for which ad hoc experts may be solicited. A second round of review will be performed by the CHI Scientific Advisory Board comprising current members Drs. Iyadh Douagi (chair), James M. Cherry, Robert Seder, Pamela Guerrerio, Luigi Notarangelo and Frank DeLeo. A report will be provided to justify decisions and all funded projects will be listed on the CHI website. In some cases, the CHI will fund pilot studies to insure feasibility for larger studies (more details below). If the application is approved, the CHI scientists will work with primary investigators (PIs) to work out the logistics and establish a timeline, and then schedule the study.
Key Dates
- The CHI’s most recent call for proposals closed Dec 13, 2024.
- Decision notices were sent to PIs in late Feb 2025.
- Check back soon or contact us for details on the next CHI call for proposals
Application Process
Prior to Proposal Preparation
Investigators should schedule a brief Proposal Consultation Meeting (PCM) prior to developing their submission. The PCM should occur no later than 5 business days prior to the submission deadline. During the PCM, the PI will identify CHI technologies of interest and initially discuss proposed strategies and project feasibility with CHI Leadership. To schedule a PCM, please email CHI_Projects@niaid.nih.gov.
Pilot Projects
The CHI accepts a small number of pilot projects each year. A pilot projects test a small number of samples and often allow the CHI to establish their capabilities prior to the full submission of a project and the results will have a broad impact. Pilot projects have clearly defined aims, contingencies, and milestones. Additionally, there is a defined follow-up experiment based on various outcomes. The CHI bares the financial responsibility for the pilot project. Once completed, Investigators must generate a new proposal application. To have your project considered as a pilot, please mark the applicable box on the CHI Project Proposal cover page.
How to Format Your Application
- Download the CHI Project Proposal cover page.
- Complete the CHI cover page providing PI contact information, sample availability date, consultation meeting date, 300-word project summary, and a project cost estimate.
- Create proposal submission document. All text should be in an 11 pt, sans-serif font, preferably Arial, and not compressed vertically or horizontally. Include the following:
- Maximum of two specific aims to be addressed by comprehensive immune profiling
- Background and preliminary data, including any existing high-dimensional analyses
- Study design, including the number of subjects in each group to be compared. Power calculations are recommended using resources available through the RTBs Integrated Data Sciences Section (IDSS https://www.niaid.nih.gov/research/research-technologies-branch-integrated-data-sciences).
- Assay plan, including the number of samples to be analyzed in each assay at the CHI
- Analysis plan, including the outcomes to be used when analyzing phenotypes
- Sample information, including availability timeline (if not directly available, specify date for completed sample collection), the type of material and its handling characteristics. Specify whether sample collection is dependent on CHI expertise and best practices for sample collection in relevant platforms.
- Statement from PI confirming compliance to the 2023 NIH Data Management and Sharing Policy
- Biosketch of PI(s) and collaborators
- References
- Applications should be combined in a single PDF file, 4 pages maximum (Biosketch and references not included in total page count), including cover page. File name should be same as project title from cover sheet (YEAR-IC-LastName).
Approximate Reagent Costs for Assays at the CHI in FY24
| Assay | Estimated Cost of Reagents |
|---|---|
| Bulk-RNA-seq | $300/sample |
| Single cell RNA-seq | $3,100/sample |
| Immunophenotyping (36-color cytometry) | $400/sample |
| Phospho-protein Assay (T-cell stimulation) | $400/condition/sample |
| SomaLogic SomaScan (11k analytes) | $500/sample* |
| CITE-seq | $3,300/sample |
| ATAC-seq | $2,600/sample |
*SomaScan customers pay for 81 samples/plate even if n<81. Partial plates are not available at this time.
Funding
Funding is based on two tiers determined by whether an investigator is from an institute that is contributing standing funding for the CHI operation. For institutes contributing standing funding, investigators will only be expected to fund the cost of scientific reagents.
For institutes not contributing standing funding, investigators will be expected to provide the full cost of scientific reagents and 40% of the cost of labor for CHI scientists.
Computational analysis may involve technical contribution from the RTB’s Integrated Data Science Section (IDSS). These costs will be determined using the same criteria.
After project reviews and selection, a formal funding agreement will be established based on estimated reagent and labor costs. Investigators are asked to provide 50% of the total estimate prior to the start of the project. The remaining funds will be collected once the project is complete.
How to Submit Your Application
The CHI is open to receive proposal submissions through Dec 13, 2024. To submit your proposal, please visit the CHI Proposal Submission System (NIH VPN Required).
For submissions, principal investigator(s) must be NIH investigators. CHI does not exclude collaborations with extramural organizations however they must partner with an NIH investigator.
Additional Information
Examples of Publications Arising From Collaborations With the CHI
- Acute and persistent responses after H5N1 vaccination in humans. Cell Rep. (2024) 4;43(9):114706
- Time-resolved systems immunology reveals a late juncture linked to fatal COVID-19.
Liu C, Martins AJ, Lau WW, et al. Cell. 2021 Feb 10:S0092-8674(21)00168-9. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2021.02.018. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 33713619; PMCID: PMC7874909. - Broadly effective metabolic and immune recovery with C5 inhibition in CHAPLE disease.
Ozen A, Kasap N, Vujkovic-Cvijin I, et al. Nat Immunol. 2021 Feb;22(2):128-139. doi: 10.1038/s41590-020-00830-z. Epub 2021 Jan 4. PMID: 33398182; PMCID: PMC7856263. - Broad immune activation underlies shared set point signatures for vaccine responsiveness in healthy individuals and disease activity in patients with lupus.
Kotliarov Y, Sparks R, Martins AJ, Mulè MP, Lu Y, Goswami M, Kardava L, Banchereau R, Pascual V, Biancotto A, Chen J, Schwartzberg PL, Bansal N, Liu CC, Cheung F, Moir S, Tsang JS (2020). Nat Med 26, 618-629.
Sample Requirements
Assays are typically run when all samples for a cohort have been collected, and are well established for peripheral blood, requiring viable PBMC, PAXgene or serum/plasma. As sample processing can introduce variation not compatible with high parameter phenotyping, test samples may be requested to confirm samples are compatible with CHI assays. We are interested in applying these assays to tissue samples and other sample types, for which we are developing experience.
Additional Considerations
- Data generated will be shared between the PI and the CHI, and it is expected that the CHI scientists and PIs will be co-authors on future publications derived from the collaborative research.
- Continuation of projects with the CHI beyond the successful completion of the stated aims will require a new proposal.
- Information and data submitted to the CHI will be reviewed by select CHI Staff and the CHI SAB but will not be shared outside of this application.
- Submitted information should not include any patient personally identifiable information (PII).
CHI Contact Information
Rachel Tracy, Executive Assistant