The Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria Interdisciplinary Research Units (CARBIRUs) (P01, Clinical Trial Not Allowed) notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) aims to support multidisciplinary, collaborative research programs focused on discovery to early development research to inform new approaches to prevent, diagnose, and treat antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections. 

Research Scope and Objectives 

This NOFO solicits applications to continue the Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria Interdisciplinary Research Unit (CARBIRU) program, established in 2021. It is expected that each CARBIRU will conduct highly innovative and synergistic research activities centered on a unifying theme or set of hypotheses to address important gaps in our current knowledge.  

Themes could include, but are not limited to: 

• Identification of novel strategies to prevent, diagnose, or treat antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections. 
• Elucidation of mechanisms of antibiotic resistance and strategies to prevent the emergence of resistance. 
• Understanding antibiotic treatment failure, including the contribution of non-traditional mechanisms of resistance. 
• Understanding the role of the microbiome and antibiotic-mediated dysbiosis in the development of resistant bacterial infections. 

CARBIRU projects contributing to a unifying theme could include, but are not limited to: 

• Discovery and functional characterization of bacterial and host factors that are important for infection and antibacterial resistance. 
• Studies to improve our understanding of genotypic and phenotypic mechanisms of antibiotic resistance and the role they play in resistant infections. 
• Discovery and validation of novel drug targets and early drug screening. 
• Characterization and validation of novel antibiotics and non-antibiotic products including, but not limited to, bacteriophage and live microbiome-based products. 
• Discovery research to enable development of rapid, sensitive, and accurate diagnostics. 
• Studies to improve our understanding of the host response to eliminate infection and how organisms evade the immune response. 
• Discovery research and identification of correlates of immune protection to inform vaccines or immunotherapeutics. 
• Studies on human-associated microbial communities and the role they play in susceptibility or resistance to resistant infections. 
• Systems-level approaches to identify host and bacterial molecular interactions important for infection and antibacterial resistance. 

Program themes must target one or more of the bacterial pathogens listed below: 

• Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales
• Extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Enterobacterales
• Carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii
• Multidrug-resistant (MDR) Pseudomonas aeruginosa
• Drug-resistant Neisseria gonorrhoeae
• Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) 
• Vancomycin-resistant Enterococci (VRE)
• Drug-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae
• Clostridioides difficile

Applications that do not propose one or more of those bacterial pathogens, or applications with the following proposed studies, will be considered nonresponsive and will not be reviewed: 

• Targeting mycobacteria or drug-resistant tuberculosis since they are supported by other NIAID programs. 
• Targeting fungal or viral pathogens. 

Overall CARBIRU Structure 

Each CARBIRU will consist of the following components organized around a common theme or set of hypotheses: an Administrative Core, responsible for conducting program oversight and coordination, monitoring overall progress, and supervising the entire range of the program’s research and administrative responsibilities; a minimum of two and a maximum of four Research Projects organized around a common theme or set of hypotheses; one or a maximum of three Scientific Core(s), which must support the activities of at least two Research Projects; Annual Programmatic Meetings to facilitate communication and collaboration between funded CARBIRUs. 

Application Requirements 

NIAID will fund four to five awards in fiscal year 2026. Application budgets are not expected to exceed $1.5 million in direct costs per year. Project periods are capped at 5 years. 

Applications are due March 26, 2025, by 5:00 p.m. local time of the applicant organization. 

For scientific or research questions, contact Dr. Nancy Lewis Ernst at nancy.ernst@nih.gov or 240-669-5076. Direct questions about peer review to Dr. Marci Scidmore at marci.scidmore@nih.gov, 240-627-3255 or Dr. Mairi Noverr at mairi.noverr@nih.gov, 240-987-1668.

Help advance phage therapy research to fight antibiotic resistance (AR) by applying to the Centers for Accelerating Phage (Bacteriophage) Therapy to Combat ESKAPE Pathogens (CAPT-CEP) (P01, Clinical Trial Not Allowed) notice of funding opportunity (NOFO). Specifically, the aim of this research is to combat ESKAPE pathogens—Enterococcus faecium, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Enterobacter spp.—that are among the top ten pathogens attributed to AR deaths. This initiative aims to fill the gaps in phage therapeutics research and development (R&D), and thus contribute to the fight against AR. 

Research Objectives and Scope 

The objective of this NOFO is to establish collaborative, multidisciplinary research groups that will implement phage therapeutic research and facilitate interactions within and among teams of researchers from diverse scientific fields. The major goals of the CAPT-CEPs will be to 1) develop novel, high-throughput, and cutting-edge assays, tools, and models for phage therapy that can be applied to other phage R&D studies and 2) perform essential studies to understand pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics (PKs/PDs) and evaluate optimal delivery systems and dosages of phages, which can be used in designing future clinical trials to combat ESKAPE pathogens. 

Applications must focus on the preclinical development of phage therapies that target at least one of the ESKAPE pathogens listed above. Academic institutions are encouraged to include a substantive investment and participation in the project by an industry participant to facilitate appropriate and validated product development activities. 

Overarching themes could include, but are not limited to: 

• Developing assays, tools, and models, including in silico, in vitro, and in vivo, to help standardize phage therapy R&D.
• Generating suitable in vitro and in vivo models for phage research against ESKAPE pathogens. 
• Understanding PK/PD relationships for phages. 
• Determining (poly)valency, delivery routes, and dosages of different phage products. 

Refer to the NOFO for a list of multidisciplinary research projects that could contribute to those unifying themes. 

Keep in mind, NIAID will consider applications proposing research in the areas listed below to be nonresponsive and not review them:  

• Projects that do not target at least one ESKAPE pathogen—Enterococcus faecium, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Enterobacter.
• Basic science that does not support development of phage therapeutics.
• Decolonization-focused studies. 
• Wound infection studies.
• Mycobacteria or drug-resistant tuberculosis. 
• Clinical trials as defined by the NIH; however, the use of existing clinical samples is permitted. 

Overall CAPT-CEP Structure 

The CAPT-CEP should be organized around a common research theme to establish a multidisciplinary team. The required components are an Administrative Core and a minimum of two, but no more than three, synergistic Research Projects organized around the common theme; up to two Scientific Cores are optional. 

Application Requirements 

NIAID will fund two or three Centers in fiscal year 2026. 

Application budgets are not expected to exceed $1.2 million in annual direct costs. The scope of the project should determine the project period, with a maximum project period of 5 years.  

Applications are due January 28, 2025, by 5 p.m. local time of the applicant organization. 

Direct any scientific/research questions to Dr. Kyung Moon at kyung.moon@nih.gov  or 240-669-5515. For questions about peer review, contact Dr. Soheyla Saadi at saadisoh@nih.gov or 240-669-5178.