Daniel Rotrosen, M.D., Director
Dr. Rotrosen announced the following new staff members and scientific activities:
Staffing/Organizational Changes
Gang Dong, M.D., Ph.D. Dr. Dong joined the Asthma, Allergy and Inflammation Branch in January 2004 as a Medical Officer. Dr. Dong received his M.D. degree from Beijing University School of Medicine and his Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of Rochester. He did postdoctoral research at NIH, (NHLBI and NIDCD), and was a staff scientist at NIDCD, studying the role of inflammation in tumor growth and response to therapy. Prior to joining the Division, he was Manager, Molecular Biology and Bioinformatics, at MetriGenix, Inc.
Cristian Rodriguez, M.D. Dr. Rodriguez joined the Office of Clinical Applications Branch in April 2004 as a Medical Officer. Dr. Rodriguez received his M.D. degree from the University of Chile Medical School. After medical school he completed both a postdoctoral fellowship in the Fogarty International Center’s Advanced AIDS International Training and Research Program (AITRP) and a fellowship in Pediatric Allergy, Immunology, and Rheumatology at UCLA School of Medicine.
Jane Lockmuller, M.S. Ms. Lockmuller joined the Office of Program Planning, Operations, and Scientific Information in January 2004 as a Health Sciences Specialist. Ms. Lockmuller received her master’s degree in microbiology from the Medical College of Virginia. Before joining the Division, Ms. Lockmuller was a senior program analyst in the NCI Office of Science Planning and Assessment. Among her responsibilities was the preparation of the Institute’s annual Bypass Budget and Plan.
Travis M. Hauguel Mr. Hauguel joined the Asthma, Allergy, and Inflammation Branch in April 2004 as a Health Specialist. Mr. Hauguel earned his bachelor’s degree in Biology from Millersville University, and is currently a candidate for the Masters of Science in Biotechnology degree at Johns Hopkins University. Prior to joining the Division, he was a senior laboratory technician at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
Scientific Initiatives
Asthma Exacerbations: Biology and Diseases Progression - RFA-HL-04-029: The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) invite applications in clinical and basic research that will elucidate the biologic mechanisms of asthma exacerbation pathobiology and resolution and their impact on lung function, physiology and disease state.
Regional Centers of Excellence for Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Diseases Research- RFA-AI-04-018: NIAID is expanding the Regional Centers of Excellence for Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Diseases Research (RCE) Program. The overall goal of the RCE Program is development and maintenance of a strong infrastructure and multifaceted research and development activities that will provide the scientific information and translational research capacity that will lead to the next generation of therapeutics, vaccines and diagnostics against the NIAID Category A-C Agents. To realize this goal, the Centers will be provided with support to: 1) develop and conduct programs of investigator-directed research; 2) train researchers and other personnel for biodefense and emerging infectious diseases research activities; 3) develop and maintain comprehensive core facilities that support the research and training activities of the RCE and make these available to qualified investigators from academia, biotechnology companies, the pharmaceutical industry, and other appropriate entities in the geographic; 4) develop translational research capacity for testing and validating vaccine, therapeutic and diagnostic concepts for biodefense and emerging infectious diseases; and 5) be prepared and available to provide facilities and scientific support to first-line responders in the event of a national biodefense emergency.
Molecular Libraries Screening Centers Network (MLSCN) - RFA-RM-04-017: The Institutes and Centers (ICs) of the NIH invite applications from investigators interested in participating in an NIH Roadmap pilot program to establish the Molecular Libraries Screening Centers Network (MLSCN). The MLSCN will be a national resource capable of providing innovative high throughput molecular screening (HTS) approaches for the identification of small organic molecules (compounds) that are active in biological assays, and synthetic chemistry to improve the utility of these molecules as bioactive probes for in vitro, and potentially in vivo, studies of normal and abnormal physiology of cells, organs, model systems, and/or organisms.
Change in Direct Cost Limitations on Solicited Applications- NOT-OD-04-040: NIH announces a revision of its policy on direct cost limitations on solicited applications published after this notice. Applications in response to those Program Announcements (Pas) and Requests for Applications (RFAs) that include a limitation on direct costs are to exclude from that limit the facilities and administrative (F&A) costs requested by the consortium participants. The F&A costs requested by the consortium will be reflected in the PHS 398 application according to current instructions, and F&A costs awarded under these programs will continue to be awarded under the current practice. However, these consortium F&A costs will not be counted as a direct cost when determining if an applicant is in compliance with a direct cost limitation on a solicited application.
Centers for Medical Countermeasures Against Radiation - NOT-AI-04-027: The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) is planning to establish a network of Centers for Medical Countermeasures Against Radiation (CMCR) using the cooperative agreement (U19) mechanism. This program is part of a larger national plan to develop effective medical products to prevent and treat injury resulting from radiation after a terrorist attack or accidental exposure to radiological or nuclear materials. The proposed network would support individual multi-project research centers conducting cross-disciplinary work in a variety of areas relevant to radiobiology and radiation epidemiology. In October 2004, the NIAID plans to issue a Request for Applications to establish these centers, with a receipt date for applications in February 2005, and an anticipated award date in September 2005.
NIH Roadmap for Medical Research: A Briefing by The NIH Director and Senior Staff - NOT-RM-04-010: In September of 2003, National Institutes of Health Director Elias A. Zerhouni, M.D., launched a series of far-reaching initiatives known collectively as the NIH Roadmap for Medical Research. The NIH Roadmap initiatives are designed to speed the movement of research discoveries from the bench into practice for the benefit of the public.
DIVISION ACTIVITIES
Symposium on the Definition and Management of Anaphylaxis on April 29-30, the NIAID and the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network co-sponsored a symposium on the definition and management of anaphylaxis. The meeting provided a forum for clinicians from different medical specialties to review the pathophysiology of anaphylaxis, compare the working definitions of anaphylaxis employed by various clinical specialties, and discuss treatment options. The outcome of the symposium will be published to facilitate dissemination to the broader medical community and encouraged ongoing dialogue that will lead to a more cohesive approach to diagnosis, prevention, and clinical management of anaphylaxis.
Immunologic Mechanisms of Allergy in Mouse and Man: New Therapeutic Approaches to Allergic Diseases was an NIAID-sponsored course at the 60th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Asthma, Allergy and Immunology, held in March 2004. The day-long course included recent advances in allergy research, a review of the epidemiology and potential mechanisms underlying the hygiene hypothesis a discussion of the therapeutic potential of CpG immunostimulatory oligonucleotides the role of IgE and IgE receptors in allergy and the therapeutic uses of anti-IgE and the potential value of agents that inhibit activation of mast cell signaling pathways.
The Influence of Allergens on Asthma Severity and Interventions in the Inner City. This NIAID-sponsored workshop was held at the 60th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Asthma, Allergy and Immunology (AAAAI), held in March 2004. The workshop focused on the NIAID-NIEHS-funded Inner-City Asthma Study. Presentations included studies of the relationships between asthma morbidity exposure to fungi and to mouse allergen and an evaluation of the children who benefited the most from the allergen reductions achieved by the Inner-City Asthma Study Environmental Intervention.
New Results from the Inner City Asthma Study. This NIAID-sponsored clinical workshop at the 100th American Thoracic Society Meeting in May 2004 presented new results from the NIAID-NIEHS-funded Inner-City Asthma Study. Presentations included analysis of the impact of the Inner-City Asthma Study Environmental Intervention on subgroups of children, and of the cost-effectiveness of the Intervention.
American Association of Immunologists (AAI) Annual Meeting. The twentieth annual Symposium on Contemporary Topics in Immunology, cosponsored by the NIAID and the AAI, was held as part of the annual AAI meeting that convened in Washington, DC, from April 17-21, 2004. This year’s symposium included presentations on imaging technologies for immunology research, functions of antibody constant regions, structural insights into tyrosine kinases, and molecular immunology and biodefense.
The NIAID sponsored a special symposium in memory of Dr. Charles Janeway, entitled “The Third Law of Immunology – Innate Immunity Instructs Adaptive Immunity.” The NIAID and AAI cosponsored a workshop on NIAID Resources for Biodefense Research to inform the research community of special resources available for research on bioterrorist threat agents and emerging and re-emerging infectious pathogens.
The NIAID sponsored a focus group meeting at the conference to discuss NIAID/NIH policies and issues of concern to extramural basic and clinical research investigators. Topics included expectations regarding future NIH budgets, the reorganization of the CSR immunology study sections, and the process by which the NIAID selects special funding programs for targeted research.
American Society for Microbiology Biodefense Research Meeting. On March 7, 2004, DAIT staff members presented information on NIAID biodefense research programs and resources in two workshops at the Annual ASM Biodefense Meeting in Baltimore, MD.
Immune Epitope Discovery Program. As part of the biodefense program, DAIT awarded six new contracts under the Immune Epitope Discovery program. Three contracts focus on identification of MHC class I epitopes, one on MHC class II epitopes, one on antibody epitopes, and one on developing improved algorithms for T cell epitope predictions. The information gained through these contracts will be made available to the research community through the recently awarded Immune Epitope Database and Analysis Program, which is developing a centralized epitope database that will be accessible via the Internet.
Innovative Grants on Immune Tolerance. The NIAID, in collaboration with the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases and the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, recently funded an RFA for R21 innovative grants for a broad range of studies on immune tolerance. One hundred and ninety-five applications were received, and twenty-four were funded.
Workshop on Vaccination in Special Populations. On May 12 and 13, 2004, the NIAID convened a workshop focused on the issues of vaccinating special populations who have suboptimal immune capacity. Presentations included topics related to protection against Category A, B and C pathogens in children, the elderly, individuals with autoimmune disease, and those receiving immunosuppressive drugs or chemotherapy.
Workshop on Hematopoietic Stem Cell Expansion and Immune Reconstitution. On May 17, 2004, the NIAID convened a workshop focused on the biology of hematopoietic stem cells in the context of a large-scale therapeutic approach to radiation exposure as an act of terrorism. Presentations included discussions of stem cell expansion factors, standard protocols, and surrogate assays for evaluating pluripotency, long-term storage, and cell surface markers for isolation and purification.
Pathogenesis of Polyomavirus Associated Nephropathy. In FY 2004, NIAID expects to make five awards to this Request for Applications. These grants will support pre-clinical, clinical, and epidemiological research projects on polyomavirus associated nephropathy in transplantation, including: promoting a better understanding of latent polyomavirus reactivation and virulence; enhancing the knowledge of immune responses to polyomavirus infection associated with nephropathy; improving risk assessment for polyomavirus infection in transplant recipients; and stimulating the development of preventive, diagnostic and treatment strategies.
Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) Genetics in Immune-Mediated and Infectious Diseases Expert Panel. On March 2-3, the NIAID convened an expert panel of 18 leading HLA geneticists to discuss progress in understanding the role of HLA region genetics in a variety of immune-mediated and infectious diseases and to set priorities for future research in these areas. Discussion topics focused on: elucidating the molecular mechanisms of disease association with specific HLA alleles; identifying HLA locus and allele associations with disease susceptibility; translating knowledge of HLA-disease associations into strategies for improving clinical outcomes; and, identifying future research priorities with a goal to improve clinical disease and transplantation outcomes through HLA genetic studies.
Press Release: Database on Blood and Marrow Stem Cell Transplants Now Available. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), the National Library of Medicine (NLM) and the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), components of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), launched the first public database of results from clinical blood and marrow stem cell transplants involving unrelated donors. Accessible at http://www.ncbi.nih.gov/mhc, this centralized resource provides genetic as well as age, gender and ethnicity data on more than 1,300 transplant donors and recipients from around the world.
Autoimmunity Genetics Resource Reviewed. The Multiple Autoimmune Diseases Genetics Consortium (MADGC) is a repository for biological samples and clinical data from members of families with multiple different autoimmune diseases. On February 24, the CIB organized and hosted a review of this resource by a panel of experts in disease gene mapping. The panel was updated on the resource status and heard about similarly structured resources at other institutions. The panel concluded that the MADGC resource had performed well. However, they recommended that a subset of the samples be analyzed in detail to critically assess the potential value of the resource. This recommendation is being implemented.
CONCEPT REVIEW
The following concept was presented and approved. Helen Quill, Ph.D., Chief, Basic Immunology Branch discussed Centers for Medical Countermeasures Against Radiation. The objective is to establish national research centers to develop effective and comprehensive medical responses applicable to all subsets of the civilian population in the event of radiological or nuclear emergencies. Multidisciplinary basic and translational research will produce new methods to measure radiation exposure in the human body and follow biomarkers of tissue damage and recovery; and will develop novel therapies to minimize tissue damage, hasten tissue recovery, and restore immune competence.
NIAID-Sponsored Initiatives in Transplantation
Division staff and guest presented a number of highly stimulating discussions. Nancy Bridges, M.D., Chief, Clinical Transplantation section, Transplantation Immunology Branch discussed DAIT Programs in Clinical Transplantation; Vicki Seyfert-Morgolis, Ph.D., Executive Director, Tolerance Assay Group, Immune Tolerance Network discussed Conducting Mechanistic Studies in Multi-Center Clinical Trials; Mohamed Sayegh, M.D., Director, Transplantation Center, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Children’s Hospital Boston, Harvard Medical School discussed Measuring Alloimmunity to Predict Transplant Outcome: Why and How?; and Manikkam Suthanthiran, M.D., Stanton Griffiths Distinguished Professor of Medicine, Weill School of Medicine at Cornell University covered the area of mRNA Profiling and Biomarkers of Rejection. back to top |