NIAID is issuing this Notice of Special Interest (NOSI) to highlight the need for research on Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). NIAID is particularly interested in projects focusing on viral natural history, pathogenicity, transmission, as well as projects developing medical countermeasures and suitable animal models for pre-clinical testing of vaccines and therapeutics against SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19.
NIAID is therefore offering Competitive Revisions to active NIAID grants addressing research objectives described below.
Background
Coronaviruses are a diverse family of viruses that cause a range of disease in humans and animals, and there are currently no approved coronavirus vaccines or therapeutics. In January 2020, a novel coronavirus was identified as the causative agent of a now global pandemic of viral pneumonia. Current information regarding confirmed cases is changing daily and can be found on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website (https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/index.html) and through other sources. Transmission characteristics and the associated morbidity and mortality are not completely understood, but there is clear evidence of human-to-human transmission. Many other aspects of viral pathogenesis, natural history, and host range are poorly understood. Given this, there is an urgent public health need to better understand SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19, particularly to improve understanding of fundamental virology, immunology, and the development of animal models and medical countermeasures.
Research Objectives
In order to rapidly improve our understanding and available control measures for SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19, NIAID is encouraging the submission of applications for Competitive Revisions to active grants to address the following research areas of interest:
- Studies to identify optimal in vitroculture requirements and conditions;
- Development of reagents and assays for virus characterization;
- Studies to understand critical aspects of viral infection, replication, pathogenesis, and transmission;
- Studies to identify viral epitopes critical for binding neutralization;
- Studies to examine virus stability and persistence;
- Production of molecular clones of SARS-CoV-2, reporter viruses and recombinant viral proteins;
- Development of animal models of SARS-CoV-2 infection suitable for screening vaccine and therapeutic candidates and/or pathogenesis studies;
- Studies on the evolution and emergence of SARS-CoV-2 viruses including the identification of factors that affect viral host-range and virulence;
- Virologic and serologic surveillance studies of the distribution and natural history of SARS-CoV-2 viruses in animal populations and in humans at the human/animal interface with particular emphasis on host reservoirs and understanding cross-species transmission events;
- Development of sensitive, specific, and rapid clinical diagnostic tests for SARS-CoV-2;
- Development of SARS-COV-2 therapeutic candidates; broad-spectrum therapeutics against multiple coronavirus strains; examination of SARS-CoV-2 antiviral activity of existing or candidate therapeutics initially developed for other indications;
- Identification and evaluation of the innate, cellular and humoral immune responses to SARS-CoV-2 infection and/or candidate vaccines, including, but not limited to: cross-reactive antibodies from individuals exposed to SARS-CoV-2 and other coronaviruses; viral epitopes critical for antibody binding and neutralization; immune-mediated pathology or host factors that might predispose to severe infection; and
- Development of SARS-CoV-2 vaccine candidates that include emerging antigen design strategies, novel platforms or delivery approaches, adjuvants, or assessing cross-neutralization potential of SARS-CoV vaccine candidates.