IDCRC Newsletter: February 2025

IDCRC launches new clinical trial to study safety and immunogenicity of an inactivated West Nile Virus vaccine

This Phase 1 trial aims to develop a vaccine for WNV, which is primarily transmitted to humans through mosquito bites. WNV is a common mosquito-borne disease that has spread throughout North America. There is currently no licensed vaccine for humans, and previous attempts have had limited success in generating a strong immune response. This trial will assess the safety and immunogenicity of the second-generation HydroVax-001B WNV vaccine, produced by Najit Techonolgies, Inc., in healthy male and female (non-pregnant and non-breastfeeding) adults aged 18 to 49 years. 

“There are currently no West Nile vaccines available for people but four approved vaccines for horses. Yet there have been over 60,000 known cases of West Nile disease in Americans since 1999, and many more undiagnosed. This study tests a reformulated hydrogen peroxide inactivated whole viral vaccine in healthy adults for safety and immunogenicity. This is an important study advancing West Nile vaccine development,” shares Sarah George, MD, professor of infectious diseases, adjunct professor of microbiology, Saint Louis University (SLU), and lead site principal investigator. 

Participating IDCRC site: 

• Saint Louis University Vaccine and Treatment Evaluation Unit 

IDCRC Investigator Profile: Sarah George, MD

Dr. George currently is serving as the lead site principal investigator for the recently launched IDCRC study, "A Phase 1 Trial to Evaluate the Safety and Immunogenicity of an Inactivated West Nile Virus Vaccine, HydroVax-001B WNV in Health Adults."

"The IDCRC has deep experience and human knowledge to respond rapidly to public health urgencies/emergencies. The 21st century has been an age of pandemics: three coronavirus outbreaks (SARS, MERS, COVID-19), Ebola, West Nile, Yellow Fever, dengue, Chikungunya, 2009 H1N1 influenza, mpox, Zika, and ongoing HIV and cholera pandemics. There are also multiple pathogens we are watching with concern: Avian influenza, Rift vallery fever, Mayarro virus, Oropouche virus, to name only a few. Without the VTEU/IDCRC, many more people would have died of COVID-19." 

Annual Meeting

2025 Annual IDCRC Award Nominations now due March 7

Award Nomination Categories: 

• Investigator of the Year
• Early Career Investigator
• Staff STAR (Stellar Team Member Achieving Results) Award
• Best Scientific Publication of the Year
• Leadership Group Award

Submission Deadline Extended: Annual Meeting Poster Session

Posters may be submitted by any IDCRC VTEU member or IDCRC mentee, covering any of the pathogens/diseases, listed here. We ask that all presenters receive approval from their VTEU PI prior to submission.

The deadline for poster submission has been extended to Friday, March 14. Click the button below to access the online submission form.

Save the Date: 2025 IDCRC Annual Meeting

Date: April 30-May 1, 2025
Location: NIAID Fishers Lane Building
5601 Fishers Lane,
Rockville, MD, 20892 

The meeting program is currently under development—stay tuned for more information!

Manual of Procedures Sections

View the recently approved IDCRC Manual of Procedures (MOP) section that describes the structure, operating policies, roles, and responsibilities of entities and individuals within the unit/consortium:

• Section 8: IDCRC Funding Procedures

Training 

IDCRC Mentee Profile: Natalya Beneschott, MD

"I'm excited about meeting the various leaders and experts within ID. It's such a passionate group of people, and the mentorship program provides an approachable atmosphere to connect with others around the country,"shares Natalya Beneschott, MD, on what she looks forward to as a new member of the IDCRC's Mentorship Program.

Call for Applications: Emory Vaccinology Training Program

The Emory Vaccinology Training Program (VTP) was created in response to an urgent need to train a new generation of researchers in the field of vaccinology. 

The training objectives and goals of this program include:

Candidates outside of Emory are welcome to apply. Applications are due by Monday, March 31, 2025.

Event

After 5 years, the 2025 Annual Conference on Vaccinology Research, hosted by the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID), will return to an in-person format in Washington, DC on May 5-7, 2025. The theme of the 2025 conference, Vaccines for a Resilient Future: Innovation and Impact, highlights a dynamic program designed to address evolving challenges and opportunities in vaccinology. Check out the conference agenda to see the lineup of renowned global experts who will be presenting groundbreaking insights and recent breakthroughs. 

Call for Abstracts:
Abstract submissions for oral or poster presentations are due today, February 28 by 11:59 PM ET. Abstract topic areas include:

• Combating Antimicrobial Resistance
• Implementation Challenges and Solutions
• Innovation in Immunization
• Protecting High-Risk Populations
• Vaccine Disparities and Health Equity
• Vaccines against Emerging and Re-Emerging Infectious Diseases

News

IDCRC Spotlight: Team Support at the Emory Children’s Center

At the Emory Children’s Center, IDCRC research thrives on teamwork. We recognize that our best work is the result of acknowledging that the whole is greater than our individual parts. The collegial dynamics of our diverse group include investigators (MDs, NPs, PAs) research nurses, coordinators, lab staff, data input/analysts, recruiters, regulatory, financial, and administrative professionals.

Their volunteer members ensured that we survived the hectic COVID-19 vaccine trials and continued our team-focused spirit during the current uncertain research landscape. Internal funding is set aside to support monthly events, and the volunteer committee members are budget-conscious in their planning. Ensuring that all our team members feel valued, supported, included, and celebrated is a cornerstone of our Social Committee’s work.

With minimal funding but boundless creativity, our Social Committee fosters engagement, ensuring we never lose sight of what makes us strong, teamwork. Together we are the ECC Vaccine Research Team: exceptional, diverse, and accomplished. And we have the results to prove it!

I got malaria on purpose and so can you
We need new malaria drugs — so I spent a year as a guinea pig

Read an excerpt of the Vox article below written by Dylan Matthews is a senior correspondent and head writer for Vox’s Future Perfect section. This story features the University of Maryland Baltimore and Kirsten Lyke, MD, member of the  IDCRC Malaria/Tropical Diseases Expert Working Group.

The procedure takes place in a biosafety level 2 laboratory operated by the university’s Center for Vaccine Development, and while that sounds otherworldly and high-tech, the reality was more mundane. This routine, mundane process means that malaria trials get a decent number of recruits compared to other challenge trials (especially from people who, unlike me, live in Baltimore).

“We’re actually pretty lucky,” Kirsten Lyke, professor of medicine at the University of Maryland and the principal investigator in my trial, told me. “We’ve been pretty successful recruiting. Not to say that it’s easy, but we’ve developed social media and a lot of different techniques to reach out to people.” 

Job Postings

 Infectious Diseases Research Job Openings

• NYU Langone Health - Assistant Research Scientist  *New*
• Stanford University School of Medicine - Research Project Manager  *New*
• Rutgers University - Assistant/Associate Professor of Medicine/Infectious Diseases 
• University of Miami - Manager, Research Support - Division of Infectious Diseases  
• University of Rochester - HIV Vaccine Clinical Research Leader - Infectious Diseases   

Visit the IDSA Career Center to browse other ID/HIV Medicine job postings.

Funding Opportunities

International Research in Infectious Diseases (R01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) – Due August 2, 2025
The purpose of this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is to support applications for high-priority, regionally relevant infectious diseases research by international investigators in resource-constrained countries. Applicant organizations must be headquartered in foreign (non-U.S.) resource-constrained countries (i.e. low-income economies, lower-middle-income economies, and upper-middle-income economies by World Bank Classification). Applicant organizations headquartered in low- and lower-middle income economy countries are particularly encouraged to apply. Eligibility status of applicant organizations will be determined by the World Bank Classification list at the time of application submission.

Notice of Special Interest (NOSI): Complement in Fundamental Immunology – Due January 8, 2026
The main objective of this program is to support studies that accelerate our understanding of the roles of complement components and/or receptors in the initiation, magnitude, maintenance, and quality of immune responses involved in pathogenic infections, vaccination, post-infection sequelae, autoimmunity, allergy, or transplantation. The results of such studies will inform the development of vaccines or therapeutics that target complement components. The work to be encouraged includes studies of the roles of complement components (molecules and/or receptors) during immune responses.

Global Infectious Disease Research Training Program (D43 Clinical Trial Optional) –Due August 7, 2026
This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) encourages joint applications for the Global Infectious Disease (GID) Research Training programs from low- and middle-income country (LMIC) and U.S. institutions. The application should propose a collaborative training program that will strengthen the capacity of a LMIC institution to conduct infectious disease research (not including HIV/AIDS).

Advancing Research Needed to Develop a Coccidioidomycosis (Valley fever) Vaccine –Due January 15, 2026
The purpose of this Notice of Special Interest (NOSI) is to highlight NIAID’s interest in supporting research in the areas outlined in the  NIAID Strategic Plan For Research To Develop A Valley Fever Vaccine. The proposed research should have clear relevance to the strategic priorities defined in the strategic plan, which encompasses three major research areas: 1) address gaps in Coccidioides basic research to support the development of a vaccine; 2) develop tools and resources to support vaccine development; 3) develop and advance vaccines to prevent coccidioidomycosis.

Notice of Special Interest (NOSI): Using Targeted Degradation of Protein and non-Protein Targets for the Development of Novel Anti-Infectives – Due July 17, 2026
The purpose of this Notice of Special Interest (NOSI) is to invite applications for research on the use of targeted protein and nonprotein degradation (e.g., RNA) as it relates to the development of anti-infective strategies against viral, bacterial, parasitic, and fungal pathogens and/or their toxins (e.g., Lethal and Edema Toxins of Bacillus anthracis). Both novel monofunctional (e.g., Molecular Glues) and hetero-bi/tri-functional (e.g., PROTAC or PROTAC-like) strategies will be considered.

Notice of Special Interest (NOSI): Research to Stimulate Development of Diagnostics, Therapeutics, and Vaccines for Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV) – Due April 6, 2027
This notice of special interest (NOSI) encourages applications which are focused on development of diagnostics, therapeutics, and vaccines for herpes simplex virus (HSV). In September 2023, the NIH released the NIH Strategic Plan for HSV Research. The strategic plan focuses on four strategic priorities: HSV virology basic research, better HSV diagnostics, strategies to address HSV treatment and cure, and research to prevent HSV infection. This NOSI focuses on furthering the development of new products for prevention of HSV infection, as well as improving the diagnosis and treatment of patients living with herpes, addressing three of these four strategic priorities.

Notice of Special Interest (NOSI): Systems Modeling of Infection and Immunity Across Biological Scales – Due September 8, 2027
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.

Notice of Special Interest (NOSI): Advancing Research Needed to Develop a Universal Influenza Vaccine – Due November 17, 2027
The objective of this Notice of Special Interest (NOSI) is to support research that contributes to the areas of interest outlined in NIAID’s Strategic Plan for the Development of a Universal Influenza Vaccine. The proposed research should have clear relevance to the research objectives defined in the strategic plan, which encompasses three major research areas: Improve understanding of transmission, natural history and pathogenesis of influenza virus infection; characterize influenza immunity and correlates of immune protection; and support rational design of universal influenza vaccines.

IDCRC Studies

IDCRC Concept Quick Stats

Communication Resources

Please submit IDCRC news to idcrc@emory.edu for inclusion in the monthly newsletter and IDCRC.org.