U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; National Institutes Of Health; National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID); NIAID Online Update - April 25, 2008

WHAT: The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), is seeking broad input to spur new ideas and approaches in the areas of vaccine discovery research and HIV prevention research through two new "Requests for Information" - a comment-gathering tool used by NIH to create defined, funded initiatives in targeted areas of research.

One of the RFIs, created to build upon input received at NIAID's March 25 HIV Vaccine Summit, is designed to solicit ideas from the scientific community - especially junior researchers and new faculty - healthcare professionals, patient advocates and the general public about the areas of basic research on which NIAID should focus to overcome the scientific obstacles in designing an effective HIV vaccine. Additionally, the RFI asks how best to address these research areas and attract new investigators and ideas from within and outside the HIV vaccine field.

In the second RFI, NIAID is asking the scientific community for novel research ideas for developing highly innovative strategies to prevent HIV transmission. The "HIT-IT" initiative, as it is called, will attempt to stimulate the discovery, design and early preclinical testing of cutting-edge approaches that could provide a variety of populations with tools for long-term protection from HIV infection. NIAID is asking for comment on the types of new HIV studies that could lead to the development of new ways to prevent HIV acquisition and the types of prevention approaches that have already been sufficiently explored and, therefore, should not be considered in connection with this new initiative.

NIAID is accepting input on both RFIs until May 20, 2008.

WHERE: Details concerning the basic vaccine discovery research RFI may be viewed at:

http://grants1.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-AI-08-048.html

The HIT-IT RFI is available at:

http://grants1.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-AI-08-049.html

CONTACT:

For more information concerning the basic vaccine discovery research RFI, please contact Jorge Flores, M.D., of NIAID's Division of AIDS at (301) 435-3758, jflores@niaid.nih.gov. For information concerning the "HIT-IT" RFI, please contact Geetha Bansal, Ph.D., of NIAID's Division of AIDS at (301) 496-5042, gbansal@niaid.nih.gov.

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