Key Dates

Related Announcements

• April 18, 2024 - Notice of Informational Webinar for RFA-AI-23-077, Center of Excellence for Systems Modeling of Infection and Immunity across Biological Scales (U54 Clinical Trial Not Allowed). See Notice NOT-AI-24-042.
• August 31, 2022- Implementation Changes for Genomic Data Sharing Plans Included with Applications Due on or after January 25, 2023. See Notice NOT-OD-22-198.
• August 5, 2022- Implementation Details for the NIH Data Management and Sharing Policy. See Notice NOT-OD-22-189.
• May 07, 2020 - NIH Exploratory/Developmental Research Grant Program (Parent R21 Clinical Trial Not Allowed). See NOFO PA-20-195. 
• May 05, 2020 - NIH Research Project Grant (Parent R01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed). See NOFO PA-20-185.

Issued by

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)

Purpose

The purpose of this Notice of Special Interest (NOSI) is to announce that the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) is encouraging applications to advance research activities relevant to systems modeling of infection and immunity. Recipients will collaborate with the Center of Excellence (CoE) for Systems Modeling of Infection and Immunity across Biological Scales (U54 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) described in RFA-AI-23-077. The CoE will coordinate the program, working with NIAID, and set up collaborations with recipients to participate in CoE activities.

Background

Computational modeling can: (1) elucidate biological mechanisms of infection and/or transmission, (2) understand immune system regulation and responses to various triggers (commensal and pathogenic organisms, vaccines, environment, autoantigens), (3) characterize longitudinal trajectories of allergic or immune-mediated diseases from initiation through progression and/or resolution, including across the lifespan and effects of microbiome, (4) optimize public health control measures in response to epidemic threats, and (5) inform epidemic trajectories and develop therapeutic interventions. Computational modeling projects are often siloed from other modeling projects, limiting their reuse, multiscale integration, transferability, and public health utility. There is a need to support a coordinated, collaborative network of computational modeling across the infectious and immune-mediated disease (IID) research community. Recipients will engage with the CoE to foster a collaborative modeling community supported by NIAID.  

Objectives

The overarching objectives of this NOSI are to:

• promote innovative modeling research to address key NIAID priority biomedical questions across biological scales (e.g., infection process of an organism, immunity and/or allergenic response, mechanistic models of vaccines and therapeutics, etc.).
• quickly mobilize modeling capabilities to meet newly emerging NIAID needs.   
• foster a diverse and collaborative community of new and existing investigators and establish educational opportunities for modeling of IID for students and junior investigators dedicated to modeling of IID.
• share models and modeling methods in a reproducible way aligned with the FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable) principles and the NIAID Data Ecosystem.
• participate in activities with the Center of Excellence for Systems Modeling of Infection and Immunity across Biological Scales (RFA-AI-23-077).

Modeling projects may include, but are not limited to:

• molecular, cellular, organ, within-host, or between-host scales to represent precise mechanistic representations of processes related to IID.
• molecular determinants of infection and the immune response.
• cellular factors of cell-entry, replication, and pathogenesis.
• organ-level factors, organism-level factors or exposures and overall health.
• environmental factors, such as zoonotic, climate, available medical care.
• the public health system to represent processes of infection and immunity.
• within- or between-host pathogen dynamics, and/or the immune response.
• the effect of vaccines, therapeutics, or diagnostics.
• multi-scale modeling of environmental and/or climatological data as it relates to IID (pathogen distribution, asthma, immunological complications, immune-mediated diseases, etc.).
• multi-scale models of pathogens that differentiate between within-host dynamics and between-host pathogen transmission to inform outcomes such as superspreader events.
• multi-scale computational models of respiratory virus infection and treatment.
• multi-scale modeling of disease induction, progression, or remission of immune-mediated diseases within NIAID’s mission (e.g., allergy, asthma, autoimmunity, transplant rejection (cell, tissue, and/or organ)).
• multi-scale models to define immune-mediated sequalae, including autoimmune responses, following pathogenic infection, leveraging systems immunology or other comprehensive analyses.
• multi-scale models that incorporate pathogen genomic heterogeneity (e.g., HIV or Staphylococcus aureus) and the immune response applied to within-host or between-host scales.
• multi-scale models that predict time to viral rebound in persons living with HIV who each stop conventional antiretroviral therapy (ART) or models that advance understanding of the persistent HIV reservoir.

A goal of this NOSI is to advance computational modeling approaches and technologies focused on infectious, allergic, and/or immune-mediated diseases across different biological scales. Projects will also have the opportunity to collaborate with the NIAID CoE for Systems Modeling of Infection and Immunity across Biological Scales.

Application and Submission Information

This notice applies to due dates on or after October 5, 2024 and subsequent receipt dates through September 7, 2027.

Submit applications for this initiative using one of the following notices of funding opportunities (NOFOs) or any reissues of these announcements through the expiration date of this notice.

• PA-20-185 - NIH Research Project Grant (Parent R01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
• PA-20-195 - NIH Exploratory/Developmental Research Grant Program (Parent R21 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)

All instructions in the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide and the funding opportunity announcement used for submission must be followed, with the following additions:

• For funding consideration, applicants must include “NOT-AI-24-060” (without quotation marks) in the Agency Routing Identifier field (box 4B) of the SF424 R&R form. Applications without this information in box 4B will not be considered for this initiative.
   
• Research Strategy:
  
  A goal of this NOSI is to foster collaboration and coordination activities across the IID modeling community. In the "Research Strategy", include an additional section entitled "Collaborative Activities" that describes a framework for potential collaborations and participation in activities organized by the Center of Excellence for Systems Modeling of Infection and Immunity across Biological Scales (RFA-AI-23-077). Discuss how these plans will support and enhance the utility and/or interoperability of modeling research proposed in response to this Notice.

Applications nonresponsive to terms of this NOSI will not be considered for the NOSI initiative.

Inquiries

Please direct all inquiries to the contacts in Section VII of the listed notice of funding opportunity with the following additions/substitutions:

Scientific/Research Contact(s)

Office of Data Science and Emerging Technologies (ODSET)
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
Telephone: 301-761-6549
Email: datascience-foa@niaid.nih.gov

Financial/Grants Management Contact(s)

Samuel Ashe
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
Grants Management Program
Telephone: 301-435-4799
Email: Samuel.ashe@nih.gov