NIAID Seeks Applicants for HIV/AIDS Networks

[Guest guest]

Dear FORUM,

I'd like to post the following message to the AIDS-India forum related

to the restructuring of the HIV/AIDS clinical research networks of the

U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).

The information below highlights an upcoming meeting in Bangkok for

potential grant applicants, including researchers in India.

Thanks very much,

Joe Hassan

E-mail: <JHassan@...>

*****

U.S. NIAID SEEKS APPLICANTS FOR HIV/AIDS NETWORKS

Below please find a press release issued by the U.S. National Institute of

Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) announcing a Request for Applications

(RFA) from U.S. and overseas research institutions seeking to become Clinical

Trials Units (CTUs) in the Institute's restructured HIV/AIDS Clinical Trials

Networks.

This solicitation is the second of two Requests for Applications (RFAs) designed

to increase the efficiency, accountability and integration of NIAID's HIV/AIDS

clinical research networks and enhance their capacity to effectively conduct

vital clinical research, especially in resource-limited settings.

Also below is information on a pre-application meeting for potential

applicants that will be held in Bangkok, Thailand.

Copies of the RFA for Clinical Trials Units for HIV/AIDS Clinical Trials

Networks and information on the locations, logistics and other details of the

pre-application meetings can be obtained at

http://www.niaid.nih.gov/daids/rfa/network06

_______________________________

PRESS RELEASE:

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

National Institutes of Health

Media Contact: NIAID News Office

(301) 402-1663

niaidnews@...

NIAID SEEKS APPLICANTS TO LEAD CLINICAL TRIALS UNITS FOR REVAMPED

HIV/AIDS NETWORKS

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)

announced that it is soliciting applications from U.S. and overseas

research institutions seeking to become Clinical Trials Units (CTUs) in

the Institute's revamped HIV/AIDS Clinical Trials Networks. NIAID, part

of the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH), supports the world's

largest portfolio of clinical research in HIV/AIDS prevention, vaccine

and treatment research and development.

This solicitation, the second of two Requests for Applications (RFAs),

is designed to increase the efficiency, accountability and integration

of NIAID's HIV/AIDS clinical research networks and enhance their

capacity to effectively conduct vital clinical research, especially in

resource-limited settings.

The first solicitation, " Leadership for HIV/AIDS Clinical Trials

Networks, " was released in November 2004. The networks emerging from

that RFA will focus on developing and evaluating treatments, prevention

strategies and vaccines, with an emphasis on interventions that can be employed

in resource-limited settings. The Clinical Trials Units funded in response to

this RFA will carry out the research agendas of those networks in one or more of

the following six priority areas of investigation:

-- Developing HIV vaccines

-- Translating research insights into therapies to treat HIV disease

-- Optimizing clinical management of HIV/AIDS, including co-infections

and other HIV-related conditions

-- Developing microbicides to prevent HIV acquisition and/or

transmission

-- Preventing mother-to-child transmission of HIV

-- Developing other methods of HIV prevention

" These Clinical Trials Units will help coordinate and carry out the next

generation of AIDS research in the United States and globally, " says NIAID

Director S. Fauci, M.D. " Our goal is to develop the best possible

leadership and research infrastructure to carry out a flexible, collaborative

and coordinated approach to HIV vaccine, prevention and treatment research. "

Funding for both the Network Leadership and the Clinical Trials Units is

expected to total up to $300 million for the first year and may continue for up

to seven years. The earliest anticipated award date for the Leadership RFA is

March 2006; Clinical Trials Units RFA awards are estimated to be made in mid- to

late 2006.

Each Clinical Trials Unit will be led by a principal investigator and

will comprise an administrative component and one or more clinical

research sites. NIAID strongly encourages the establishment of CTUs that reach

populations most affected or threatened by the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the United

States and abroad, especially women, adolescents and people of color.

" The success of the restructured HIV/AIDS clinical networks will require the

commitment of diverse institutions, an unprecedented degree of collaboration,

and the involvement and support of communities affected by HIV/AIDS in the

United States and around the world, " notes Dr. Fauci.

The updated clinical research structure envisioned in the two RFAs

emerged through extensive consultations with researchers, clinicians,

nurses, community leaders, advocates and people living with and at risk for

HIV/AIDS.

Application Information

Any public or private institution or organization, governmental or

non-governmental, for-profit or nonprofit, can submit an application in response

to the Clinical Trials Units RFA. These organizations, which can be domestic or

foreign, may include universities, colleges,

hospitals, private and group medical practices, units of state and local

government, eligible agencies of the U.S. federal government and

non-governmental agencies.

Pre-application meetings devoted to a comprehensive overview of

application submission requirements for the Clinical Trials Units RFA

are taking place at venues in the United States and abroad. The first

day of each meeting will consist of a grant-writing workshop designed to build

an understanding of the NIH grant application process and provide information on

how to develop a grant application. The second day will feature an overview of

application requirements, procedures and the review process. Meetings will be

held in the following cities:

-- Bethesda, MD (March 7-8, 2005)

-- Miami, FL (March 17-18, 2005)

-- Johannesburg, South Africa (March 31-April 1, 2005)

-- Bangkok, Thailand (April 20-21, 2005)

Copies of the RFA for Clinical Trials Units for HIV/AIDS Clinical Trials

Networks can be obtained at http://www.niaid.nih.gov/daids/rfa/network06

Information on pre-application meeting location, logistics and

registration is available at http://www.blsmeetings.net/ctu.

Please note that while some informational materials regarding this

announcement are made available in other languages, the RFA and

accompanying materials are only available and must be completed in

English.

NIAID is a component of the National Institutes of Health, an agency of the U.S.

Department of Health and Human Services. NIAID supports basic and applied

research to prevent, diagnose and treat infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS and

other sexually transmitted infections, influenza, tuberculosis, malaria and

illness from potential agents of bioterrorism.

NIAID also supports research on transplantation and immune-related

illnesses, including autoimmune disorders, asthma and allergies.

News releases, fact sheets and other NIAID-related materials are

available on the NIAID Web site at http://www.niaid.nih.gov

_______________________________

BANGKOK PRE-APPLICATION MEETING:

HIV/AIDS CLINICAL TRIALS UNITS (CTUs) FUNDING OPPORTUNITY

U.S. National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases

A pre-application meeting will be held in Bangkok, Thailand for

representatives of institutions that would like to learn more about the Request

for Applications (RFA) to establish Clinical Trials Units (CTUs) as part of the

HIV/AIDS Clinical Trials Networks of the U.S. National Institutes of Health's

Division of AIDS (NIH/DAIDS).

U.S.- and foreign-based, public or private, for-profit or non-profit

entities are eligible to respond to this solicitation, the second of two RFAs

that will restructure NIAID's HIV/AIDS Clinical Trials Networks to better

conduct and coordinate AIDS research. The first RFA, released in November 2004,

will establish Leadership for the Clinical Trials Networks.

Potential CTU applicants are invited to attend one or both days of the

pre-application meeting in Bangkok. The first day of the meeting will

consist of an NIH grant-writing workshop. The second day will feature

an overview of CTU application requirements, procedures and the review

process.

Bangkok, Thailand (April 20-21, 2005)

4/20 - Grant-writing workshop

4/21 - Pre-application meeting

Both days of the meeting will be held at:

JW Marriott Hotel Bangkok

4 Sukhumvit Road, Soi 2

Bangkok, 10110 Thailand

Meeting registration should be made through

http://www.blsmeetings.net/ctu.

Details on the Clinical Trials Networks restructuring (including the

full text of both RFAs), French versions of the CTU RFA press release

and pre-application meeting flyer, and information for individuals with

disabilities who wish to participate in the meeting are available at

http://www.niaid.nih.gov/daids/rfa/network06.

Any questions about the CTU RFA should be directed to

FY06CTURFA@....