HHS

This NOSI seeks to support investigation into the factors and molecular mechanisms that address the heterogeneity dictated by the host resilience. Research on general host responses to injurious challenges and their effects on lung function as well as mechanisms that impact susceptibility to ARDS is not considered to be responsive to this announcement.

This NOSI encourages, but is not limited to, research applications in the following areas:

• What are the host resilience factors (e.g., epigenetics, preexisting structural lung/heart/vascular or immune deficiencies, the severity of the lung inflammatory response) that influence resolution and recovery from ARDS/ALI?
• What are the reparative or regenerative mechanisms that contribute to the resolution of lung injury and a return to a healthy host state?
• What are the underlying host-response mechanisms that contribute to the disparity of resilience to ARDS/ALI in different race/ethnic groups and different age populations?
• What are the underlying host-response mechanisms that determine the outcomes in patients with COVID-19 related ARDS?
• What is the molecular mechanism underpinning the effect of metabolic changes and lifestyle on host resilience determining the resolution and recovery in ARDS?
• Development of quantitative cell/organ/systems models and measures to identify resilience mechanisms involving inflammation resolution pathways in ARDS.

The purpose of this funding opportunity announcement (FOA) is to support research on interventions to improve health in Native American (NA) populations. This includes 1) etiologic research, where there is a significant gap in knowledge, that will directly inform intervention development or adaptations, 2) research that develops, adapts, or tests the efficacy or effectiveness of health promotion and disease prevention interventions, 3) research that tests culturally informed treatment or recovery interventions and 4) where a sufficient body of knowledge on intervention efficacy exists, research on dissemination and implementation that develops and tests strategies to overcome barriers to the adoption, integration, scale-up, and sustainability of effective interventions. Existing data suggest that significant acute and chronic disease inequities exist for NA populations.  Concurrently, NA populations experience unique sociopolitical, historical, and environmental stressors and risks that may exacerbate health conditions and/or impact the effectiveness of existing solutions to address the conditions. They also possess unique strengths and resiliencies that can mitigate stressors or inform intervention strategies. Through this initiative, intervention and related research is sought to build upon community knowledge, resources, and resilience to test science-based, culturally appropriate solutions to reduce morbidity and mortality through identification and remediation of precursors to diseases and disorders and through culturally informed treatment.  Interventions should be designed with a consideration for sustainability within the communities where they are tested, and have the flexibility to be readily adapted, disseminated, and scaled up to other communities where culturally appropriate. For the purposes of this FOA, Native Americans include the following populations: Alaska Natives, American Indians (whose ancestral lands fall at least partially within the U.S. mainland border), and Native Hawaiians.  The term ‘Native Hawaiian’ means any individual any of whose ancestors were natives, prior to 1778, of the area which now comprises the State of Hawaii.

This Notice of Special Interest encourages cooperative agreement applications for implementation of investigator-initiated high-risk clinical trials, as defined by NIAID in PAR-18-633 and NOT-AI-16-084, that will augment ongoing and planned clinical trials of therapeutic and vaccine candidates directed against SARS-CoV-2 to evaluate:

•  SARS-CoV-2 candidate vaccines
• non-vaccine biomedical prevention of SARS-CoV-2 infection and/or COVID-19
• therapeutic approaches to treat COVID-19

Please note, studies evaluating behavioral interventions (e.g., impact of face masks, hand- washing, social distancing) and those focused on disinfecting surfaces and equipment are not responsive and will not be considered for this NOSI initiative.

Investigators interested in responding to this NOSI are strongly encouraged to submit a written request for prior consultation to the email address listed below prior to submission of an NIAID Clinical Trial Implementation (U01) Cooperative Agreement application in response to PAR-18-633 to discuss the proposed project in the context of the needs identified above. This request should be as succinct as possible and include the study title and a brief description of the study and product to be evaluated; study PI; primary institution and potential collaborating sites; industry partners, if applicable; and a cost estimate. As a reminder, per NIH policy, applicants requesting $500,000 or more in direct costs in any year (excluding consortium F&A) must contact NIAID staff listed below no later than 6 weeks before submission and follow the Policy on the Acceptance for Review of Unsolicited Applications that Request $500,000 or More in Direct Costs as described in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide.

Support investigative and collaborative research focused on developing and evaluating simulation modeling and systems science (SMSS) to understand and address minority health and health disparities. Use SMSS to:
•Foster trans-disciplinary partnerships and collaborations in understanding the etiology and causal pathways of health disparities
•Identify modifiable barriers and cost-effective factors to reduce and eventually eliminate health disparities
•Improve patient safety and reduce medical errors for populations affected by health disparities
•Assess and predict the spread and consequences of pandemics…and the effectiveness of interventions in populations affected by health disparities
•Provide evidence-based simulation or prediction of the impact of effective or ineffective health disparities interventions delivered in real-world settings
•Promote big data harmonization and novel analytic methods in SMSS to address minority health and health disparities

Seeks research for an array of medical countermeasures to diagnose, treat, or protect against against COVID-19.

Note: COVID-19 response related Areas of Interest includes:

• AOI 7.7.1 Diagnostic assay for human coronavirus using existing FDA-cleared platforms
• AOI 7.7.2 Point-of-care diagnostic assay for detection of SARS-CoV-2 virus
• AOI 7.7.3 Diagnostic assay for detection of COVID-19 disease (SARS-CoV-2 infection)
• AOI 8.3 COVID-19 Vaccine
• AOI 9.2 COVID-19 Therapeutics
• AOI 9.3 Immunomodulators or therapeutics targeting lung repair
• AOI 9.5 Pre-exposure and post-exposure prophylaxis
• AOI 10 Respiratory protective devices
• AOI 11 Ventilators
• AOI 17 Advanced Manufacturing Technologies

The final white paper submission deadline is October 31, 2020. The final full proposal submission deadline is October 31, 2020 or as specified in the invitation letter.

NIGMS will accept applications for Competitive Revisions to active U24 awards for eligible organizations to rapidly provide pilot or supplementary funds to researchers studying the development of predictive models for the spread of SARS-CoV-2 and outcomes of possible COVID-19 public health intervention measures in order to accelerate such research.

Eligible organizations are those with an active NIGMS U24 award responsible for storing, managing, and promoting the shared efforts of a network of researchers studying the modeling of infectious diseases.

The National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) is issuing this Notice of Special Interest (NOSI) to highlight the urgent need for research on the impact of the novel Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic causing COVID-19 disease outbreaks and the resulting disruptions on individual and social wellbeing, health services use, and health outcomes for NIH-designated health disparity populations.

This NOSI is soliciting research in health disparity populations that -seeks to understand: 1) how state and local policies and initiatives mitigate or exacerbate disparities in health services use and health outcomes; 2) the role that community-level protective and resilience factors and interventions have in mitigating the effects of the sector disruptions that the COVID-19 outbreak causes; and 3) how behavioral and/or biological mechanisms may contribute to COVID-19 manifestations.

Outcomes of interest include, but are not limited to, the COVID-19 incidence, prevalence, and mortality rates in defined populations; substance abuse and mental health effects; impact on chronic conditions; effects on severe maternal morbidity and mortality; and influence on access, utilization, and quality of health care (including needed medical care, medical treatments, and access to prescription drugs).

NIMH is issuing this Notice of Special Interest (NOSI) to highlight interest in research to strengthen the mental health response to Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and to future public health emergencies, including pandemics. NIMH is especially interested in research to provide an evidence base for how a disrupted workforce may adequately respond/adapt to and maintain services or provide additional care for new or increasing mental health needs, as well as to learn about the effects of the virus and public health measures to prevent spread of COVID-19 that may have an impact on mental health. Research addressing the intersection of COVID-19, mental health, and HIV treatment and prevention are also of interest to NIMH.

The purpose of this supplement is to provide support for the conduct of worker-based training to prevent and reduce exposure of hospital employees, emergency first responders, and other workers who are at risk of exposure to Coronavirus through their work duties.

NIEHS is issuing this Notice of Special Interest (NOSI) to address the urgent need for mission-relevant research to understand the impact of environmental exposures on Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) and its causative agent, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-Cov-2). NIEHS is particularly interested in applications that will provide insight into the role of environmental exposures in pathogenicity, transmission, individual susceptibility, or prevention and intervention strategies.