In response to threats presented by bioterrorism and emerging infectious diseases, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID) Division of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (DMID) has announced a research funding opportunity to facilitate development of countermeasures for certain pathogens and toxins.
NIAID invites research applications for projects focused on preclinical development of lead candidate therapeutics or medical diagnostics that address one or more NIAID Category A, B, or C priority pathogens to submit proposals under RFA-AI-12-017.
The focus of this effort is translation of basic research to product development, with an emphasis on development of countermeasures that are effective against multiple pathogens or toxins, development of technologies that can be widely applied to improve classes of products, and developing platforms that can reduce the time and cost of creating new products. This broad spectrum approach recognizes the expanding range of biological threats and the limited resources available to address each individual threat.
NIAID intends to commit $9.3 million in total costs in FY2013 to fund 10 to 15 applications in response to this announcement. Budgets for direct costs of up to $750,000 per year may be requested by each applicant. Additionally, applicants may request up to a total of $300,000 for major equipment in the first year of the award to ensure that research aims can be met and biohazards can be contained.
Organizations eligible for funding under this effort include academic, nonprofit, for profit and government entities. All applications must demonstrate substantive investment in the project by at least one industry participant. Since academic organizations are often the source of new candidate products, collaborative partnerships between researchers from academic (or non-profit) and industrial disciplines are encouraged.
Full details are available under RFA-AI-12-017. Letters of Intent are due by April 24, 2012.
