The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) https://www.niaid.nih.gov within NIH, has established a network of research sites to study the natural history, transmission, and pathogenesis of influenza with the goal to provide an international research infrastructure to address influenza outbreaks.
Although the program called the Centers of Excellence for Influenza Research and Response (CEIRR) is primarily focused on influenza, the network will also study SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, and other emerging viruses for pandemic potential.
It is expected that CEIRR will be supported for seven years by NIAID contracts going to five institutions. Funding for the first year of the contracts will total approximately $24 million. The research sites will evaluate influenza related research to understand immune responses to vaccination and infection and then identify which immunological factors can determine influenza disease severity.
CEIRR will study the transmission of influenza viruses from animals to humans to better understand how influenza evolves, adapts, and transmits. The sites will also prepare studies that could be rapidly launched as part of an emergency research response to outbreaks of influenza and other emerging viral pathogens.
The following sites were awarded a contract by NIAID as part of the CEIRR program:
- Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in NY for $6,001,311
- University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia for $6,984,256
- St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis Tennessee for $8,992,234
- Emory University in Atlanta for $1,000,671
- University of Georgia Research Foundation, Inc., Athens for $1,000,000
Marciela DeGrace, PhD, Program Officer, in the Respiratory Diseases Branch, Division of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, NIAID is available to comment on the CEIRR program.