IDCRC Newsletter: September 2022

IDCRC Investigator Profile: Sharon Frey, MD

Professor and Associate Director of Clinical Research, Division of Infectious Diseases, Allergy and Immunology and Clinical Director, Center for Vaccine Development at Saint Louis University School of Medicine 

The best way to highlight the strength and importance of the IDCRC is to recognize the outstanding people who make up the leadership teams at all levels of involvement, as well as the amazing individuals who comprise the VTEU teams and provide boots on the ground. The measure of science, collaboration, mutual support, and camaraderie within the network is unsurpassed.

Announcing the 2022-2023 Pilot Award Recipients

Congratulations to our new Pilot Award recipients! We are thrilled to welcome the following researchers to this program.

The Pilot Grants program is one-year of funding to support research projects and career development activities that will enhance the applicant’s ability to compete successfully for an independent R- or K-series award. The projects can address a variety of topics, including vaccinology, therapeutics, laboratory studies and statistics. Visit our website to learn more about the program and awardees. 

Meet our new mentees 

We're excited to announce that we have seventeen new mentees for our IDCRC Mentorship Program. This program provides mentorship and development for early career investigators and fellows in clinical and translational infectious diseases research. This two-year program includes mentoring advisory meetings, lectures and seminars, and other opportunities tailored to the mentee’s career goals. Meet our new mentees by clicking the button below.

Publications

NOTE: Please include the following citation in any publications resulting from direct or indirect IDCRC support: 

"Supported by the Infectious Diseases Clinical Research Consortium through the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases of the National Institutes of Health, under award number UM1AI148684. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health."

View recent publication below:

• The COVID-19 Pandemic Unmasked the Challenges Faced by Early-Stage Faculty in Infectious Diseases: A Call to Action

Events

                Save the Date: IDCRC Meet & Greet

IDCRC Meet & Greet at ID Week

Date: October 19, 2022
Location: Marriott Marquis Washington DC 
901 Massachusetts Ave, NW
Washington, DC 20001 ​​​
Scarlet Oak Room 
Time: 6:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m.
Contact: Monica Farley

   Join us for the 2023 IDCRC Annual Meeting

Date: April 25-26, 2023
Location: In-person
NIH Main Campus
Bldg. 35A
Rockville, MD
*Virtual components will be incorporated*

Please note, these dates replace the previous dates of January 23-January 24, 2023. More details to follow.

News

IDSA Leadership Institute: Community of Leaders program

The IDSA Leadership Institute: Community of Leaders program is a hybrid-format leadership development program focusing on mid and senior-career infectious diseases specialists across the health care team. The course begins in February 2023, when attendees gain access to the IDSA Academy learning management system. From February to May, attendees complete a series of short, asynchronous webinars, readings, and discussion board prompts. The course concludes with an in-person capstone intensive in Arlington, VA, from Monday, May 8, 2023, to Tuesday, May 9, 2023. 

Which US states have the highest and lowest polio vaccination rates?

"What you need for outbreaks to start and to persist in our population is where people are not optimally vaccinated, where there are a lot of unvaccinated people," Dr. Adam Ratner, director of pediatric infectious diseases at NYU Langone Health, told ABC News. "And that doesn't have to be at the level of a country or a state or even a county. It can be small pockets of people that can't handle an outbreak and keep it going."

Updated results from COVID-19 vaccine booster trial

Although COVID-19 booster vaccinations in adults elicit high levels of neutralizing antibodies against the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2, antibody levels decrease substantially within 3 months, according to new clinical trial data. The findings, published in Cell Reports Medicine, are from an ongoing study led by the Infectious Diseases Clinical Research Consortium (IDCRC) of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health. NIAID is sponsoring the trial. Lisa A. Jackson, MD, MPH, Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute senior investigator and Washington Permanente Group physician, is a study coauthor.

Emory infectious diseases researcher, Lauren Bristow, featured on One Big Question Podcast

Laurel Bristow, former clinical research coordinator at the Hope Clinic/Emory Vaccine Center and social media phenomenon, was featured on the first episode of the new podcast, One Big Question, with Emory President Gregory L. Fenves. They discussed the power of social media and how it can be used to combat misinformation about infectious diseases. 

Training

Mentee Profile:  Tara (Tia) Babu, MD

Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine, Division of Allergy & Infectious Diseases, University of Washington

Dr. Babu is an adult infectious diseases specialist. Her research focuses on vaccine development and the epidemiology and outcomes of respiratory viral infections. 

NIH Grants Conference for Early Career Scientists

• NIH Grants Conference, February 1-2, 2023

Job Postings

• University of Rochester Infectious Diseases Division Faculty position:  HIV vaccine clinical trials

• Joint ID/EIS Fellowship

• Post-doctoral Fellow - HIV Cure- Chahroudi Lab

• Postdoctoral Fellow - HIV/SIV persistence and cure – Chahroudi Lab

• Senior Medical Science Liaison – Immunology

• Southern Research Available Positions in Birmingham, AL

Visit the IDSA Career Center to browse over 200 ID/HIV Medicine job postings.

Funding Opportunities

NIH Funding Opportunities Specific to COVID-19
This page contains a listing of active and expired funding opportunities.   

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) Clinical Data and Safety Management Center (CDSMC) (U01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) – Due October 30
This FOA supports a broad range of critical support services, including data management and processing, safety and pharmacovigilance management, and processing, and sample tracking systems for NIAID-funded clinical trials, integrated studies of underlying mechanisms, clinical studies (e.g., longitudinal studies, genetic studies, etc.), and studies to identify and validate surrogates/biomarkers of immune-mediated diseases in the areas of asthma and allergic diseases, autoimmune diseases, and transplantation.

Ecology & Evolution of Infectious Disease – Due November 16
Supports research on the ecological, evolutionary, organismal and social drivers that influence infectious diseases and increase quantitative and/or computational understanding of pathogen transmission dynamics.

Identifying Host Cell Death Pathway Targets for Host-Directed Therapies for Treatment of Mtb & Mtb/HIV Co-Infection (R01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) – Due December 7
The purpose of this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is to support mechanistic studies on host cell death pathways and their effect on immune responses to Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) and Mtb/HIV co-infection to identify immune targets for the development of host-directed therapies.

Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovation (CEPI): RNA vaccine platform technologies and vaccine library development against emerging and select endemic infectious diseases – Focus area 2 - Due December 30
The purpose of this FOA is to accelerate the early development of novel RNA vaccine platform technologies based on potentially high-impact innovations that could facilitate rapid response to future pathogens of epidemic and pandemic threat, and/or increase access for diverse populations and geographies.

Notice of Special Interest (NOSI): Opportunities for HIV Cure Interventions at the Time of ART Initiation – Due January 7
The purpose of this NOSI is to identify new opportunities for cure interventions administered during active HIV infection at or near the start of antiretroviral therapy (ART) or as a potential replacement for conventional ART, with the ultimate goal of achieving a sustained ART-free HIV remission.

IDCRC Studies

IDCRC Concept Quick Stats

NOTE:

• Protocols Transitioned to IDCRC for Protocol Implementation: 5
• Status: Protocol Dev/Pre-implementation: 3; Active Study: 2
• Other studies in process (not from an IDCRC concept): 5

Communication Resources

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