Simian Vaccine Evaluation Units (SVEUs)

The SVEU provides the nonhuman primates for studies to evaluate candidate SIV or HIV vaccines. The SVEU contractor will immunize nonhuman primates with the candidate vaccine and, together with the Nonhuman Primate (NHP) Immunology Laboratories, can evaluate humoral and cellular immune responses that the NHPs generate in response to the vaccines. The SVEU can also challenge the animals with SIV or SHIV virus, and with the Nonhuman Primate Virology Laboratory, can determine the levels of replicating virus post-challenge, and will evaluate disease outcomes.

Main Areas of Focus

  • To evaluate promising SIV and HIV vaccines in nonhuman primates in support of HIV vaccine development

Support Services

  • Preliminary studies on new vaccine candidates
  • Efficacy studies with vaccines that have already demonstrated promise
  • Studies with passively administered products
  • In vivo titration of virus challenge stocks
  • Evaluation of the immunogenicity and efficacy of candidate HIV vaccines or SIV vaccines (that parallel HIV vaccines in approach) in support of Phase I human clinical trials
  • Comparative studies on vaccines and/or adjuvants from multiple sources

Collaboration Opportunities

  • Proposals from investigators for vaccine studies are evaluated by NIAID and approved studies are conducted at one of the three SVEU contract sites. The NIAID NHP Immunology and NHP Virology Laboratory contracts will collaborate to conduct assays in support of the SVEU studies, so that approval to conduct a SVEU study is automatically accompanied by approval for access to the assay laboratories’ support.

Who Can Use This Resource

  • Investigators must be conducting preclinical AIDS vaccine research.
  • Investigators must have preliminary data on the immunogenicity of their candidate vaccine and must be able to provide information on the relevant properties of their candidate vaccine, including details of the vaccine content/construction, the level of expression of HIV and/or SIV immunogens (for DNA, RNA, vector-base vaccines), purity (for protein immunogens), the dose and route of delivery proposed, and other relevant data.

How To Get Started

  • Request a proposal application form
  • Email the completed request form for a SVEU study to Dr. Nancy Miller.
  • Contact directly to obtain additional information

Proposals from investigators for vaccine studies are evaluated by NIAID and approved studies are conducted at one of the three SVEU contract sites.  SVEUs conduct collaborative studies in which the vaccine investigator works together with the SVEU Principal Investigator (PI) and the SVEU Project Officer on the study design and data evaluation.

The NIAID NHP Immunology and NHP Virology Laboratory contracts will collaborate to conduct assays in support of the SVEU studies, so that approval to conduct a SVEU study is automatically accompanied by approval for access to the assay laboratories’ support.

Assurance to Requestors

  • Investigators are assured that they will be collaborators in the conduct of the studies conducted by the SVEU contractor, that data from their study will be treated in a confidential manner, and that they will be responsible for ensuring presentation and publication of the study results take place in a timely manner.

Contact Information

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