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U.S. Department of Health and Human Services NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH NIH News National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) <https://www.niaid.nih.gov/> For Immediate Release: Friday, September 13, 2024 CONTACT: Elizabeth Deatrick, (301) 402-1663, <email: NIAIDNews@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> NIH AWARDS ESTABLISH PANDEMIC PREPAREDNESS RESEARCH NETWORK Scientists will work on high-priority pathogens most likely to threaten human health The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has established a pandemic preparedness research network <https://www.niaid.nih.gov/research/vaccines-and-monoclonal-antibodies-pandemic-preparedness-revampp> to conduct research on high-priority
pathogens most likely to threaten human health with the goal of developing effective vaccines and monoclonal antibodies. Currently, many of the diseases caused by these pathogens have no available vaccines or therapeutics, and investing in this research is
key to preparing for potential public health crises—both in the United States and around the world. NIH’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) expects to commit approximately $100 million per year to fund the program, pending the availability
of funds. The Research and Development of Vaccines and Monoclonal Antibodies for Pandemic Preparedness network—called ReVAMPP—will focus its research efforts on “prototype pathogens,” representative pathogens from virus families known to infect humans,
and high-priority pathogens that have the potential to cause deadly diseases. By studying specific prototype pathogens, scientists will build a knowledge base that could be applied to other related viruses. For example, NIAID’s earlier work on the Middle East
respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) played a crucial role in understanding and developing safe and effective treatments and vaccines for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that caused the COVID-19 pandemic. The ReVAMPP network will study viruses from virus families
that have caused human disease for millennia—many of which have the potential to become pandemic threats in the future.
“In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing outbreaks of emerging infectious diseases, the need for robust pandemic preparedness is evident,” said NIAID Director Jeanne M. Marrazzo, M.D., M.P.H. “The ReVAMPP network will enable researchers
to fill key knowledge gaps and identify strategies to develop safe and effective medical countermeasures for targeted virus families before the need becomes critical.” The ReVAMPP network will focus on viruses from families within: --The Bunyavirales order, which includes Sin Nombre virus from the Hantavirus family, Oropouche virus, and viruses that cause Rift Valley Fever, Crimean Congo Hemorrhagic Fever <https://www.cdc.gov/crimean-congo-hemorrhagic/about/index.html>,
and Lassa Fever <https://www.cdc.gov/lassa-fever/about/> --The Flaviviridae family, which includes viruses that cause dengue <https://www.niaid.nih.gov/diseases-conditions/dengue-fever> and yellow fever <https://www.cdc.gov/yellow-fever/about/>
--The Paramyxoviridae family, which includes viruses that cause measles <https://www.cdc.gov/measles/about/index.html>, mumps <https://www.cdc.gov/mumps/about/>, and Nipah-induced encephalitis
--The Picornaviridae family, which includes viruses that cause poliomyelitis, foot-and-mouth disease <https://www.cdc.gov/hand-foot-mouth/about/>, and myocarditis
--The Togaviridae family, which includes viruses that induce Chikungunya <https://www.cdc.gov/chikungunya/about/> virus-induced arthralgia or encephalitis and Venezuelan equine encephalitis
By focusing on research to develop vaccine candidates and monoclonal antibodies, the ReVAMPP network will lay the groundwork for a faster and more effective pandemic response should a virus from one of the targeted families emerge as a
pandemic threat. The Research Triangle Institute in Durham, North Carolina, will serve as a centralized Coordination and Data Sharing Center and provide support and coordination for the network. By standardizing experimental design, such as using specific
reagents, animal models, and datasets, research centers that comprise the ReVAMPP network will be able to easily share their results and collaborate to enhance the network’s efforts. The award recipients are: Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York City Project title: PROVIDENT: Prepositioning Optimized Strategies for Vaccines and Immunotherapeutics against Diverse Emerging Infectious Threats Principal investigator: Kartik Chandran, Ph.D. Grant: 1 U19 AI181977-01 Research Triangle Institute, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina Project title: Coordinating and Data Sharing Center - R&D of Vaccines and Antibodies for Pandemic Preparedness (ReVAMPP) Principal investigator: Gregory D. Sempowski, Ph.D. Grant: 1 UG3 AI181797-01 University of California, Irvine Project title: The UCI Vaccines for Pandemic Preparedness Center (VPPC) Principal investigator: Louis Philip Felgner, Ph.D. Grant: 1 U19 AI181968-01 University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston Project title: Paramyxoviridae and Bunyavirales Vaccines and Antibodies Center (PABVAX) Principal investigator: Thomas William Geisbert, Ph.D. Grant: 1 U19 AI181930-01 University of Washington, Seattle Project title: Machine learning-enabled design of prototype pathogen vaccines and antibodies Principal investigator: Neil King, Ph.D. Grant: 1 U19 AI181881-01 Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee Project title: Bunyavirus and Picornavirus Pandemic Pathogen Preparedness (BP4) Center Principal investigator: James E. Crowe, Jr., M.D. Grant: 1 U19 AI181979-01 Washington University, St. Louis Project title: Flavivirus and Alphavirus ReVAMPP (FLARE) Principal investigator: Michael S. Diamond, M.D., Ph.D. Grant: 1 U19 AI181960-01 Washington University, St. Louis Project title: Vaccines and Therapeutic Antibodies to Respiro, Rubula, Peribunya and Phenuiviridae (R2P2)-ReVAMPP Principal investigator: Sean P.J. Whelan, Ph.D. Grant: 1 U19 AI181984-01 NIAID conducts and supports research—at NIH, throughout the United States, and worldwide—to study the causes of infectious and immune-mediated diseases, and to develop better means of preventing, diagnosing and treating these illnesses.
News releases, fact sheets and other NIAID-related materials are available on the NIAID website<https://www.niaid.nih.gov/>. About the National Institutes of Health (NIH): NIH, the nation's medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting
and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov. NIH...Turning Discovery into Health -- Registered, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office ### This NIH News Release is available online at: <https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/nih-awards-establish-pandemic-preparedness-research-network> To subscribe (or unsubscribe) from NIH News Release mailings, go to <http://service.govdelivery.com/service/subscribe.html?code=USNIH_1>. If you subscribed via the NIH LISTSERV, go to <https://list.nih.gov/cgi-bin/wa.exe?A0=nihpress>. |
