The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) is developing a strategic framework to advance tuberculosis (TB) research and development for the next five years and beyond.

The NIAID TB Strategic Framework aims to progress areas of research opportunity vital to advancing understanding, prevention, and treatment of TB, and highlights research gaps critical to achieving the aspirational goal of ending TB.

The NIAID strategic framework is also aligned with NIAID’s ongoing efforts to intensify TB research and innovation in support of the U.S. Government Global Tuberculosis Strategy and the National Action Plan for Combating Multidrug-Resistant Tuberculosis, which share and complement the WHO commitment to reduce TB deaths by 95% and reduce TB incidence by 90% by 2035 through advancing TB research and innovation.

Highlighted areas of research opportunity include:

Host-pathogen interactions
Understand the epidemiology of TB (e.g., drug-resistant TB, impact of co-infections)
Discover novel biomarkers for diagnosis and prediction of treatment outcomes
Improve/develop accurate and rapid diagnostics (including point-of-care, non-sputum based, speciation, and drug-sensitivity) for all forms of TB, in all age groups
Discovery, design, development, and evaluation of novel vaccine candidates, antigen/adjuvant combinations, and delivery approaches
Enhance the breadth/durability of protective immune responses
Identify correlates of immune protection
Better characterize existing TB drug in situ pharmacokinetics/dynamics
Characterize and optimize existing animal models and develop novel animal models
Develop and standardize assays and reagents to assess vaccine efficacy

NIAID is seeking input from stakeholders throughout the scientific research community and the general public regarding the proposed framework. All comments must be submitted electronically on the submission website.

Source: Grants.gov Notice Number: NOT-AI-18-043