NIAID Director Dr. Jeanne Marrazzo opened the 207th meeting of NIAID’s Advisory Council by greeting Council members, as well as public representatives from professional and lay organizations whose shared interests and activities dovetail with our mission. Dr. Marrazzo stated how pleased she was to welcome the audience in person and connect at that level.
To play a video recording of the open session, go to NIAID Advisory Council Meeting on NIH Videocast.
Council Remarks
Dr. Marrazzo thanked members who responded to her invitation for feedback on refining Council meeting processes to promote greater interaction, solicit critical thoughts about priorities and activities, and hone pre-meeting strategies.
She then introduced four new Council members: Seema Shah, Dr. Grace Aldrovandi, Dr. R. Stokes Peebles, Jr., and Dr. M. Virginia Pascual. She also thanked ad hoc members Dr. Bali Pulendran and Dr. Aaron Esser-Kahn for their Council service.
To familiarize yourself with our Council members, visit Biographical Sketches of NIAID Council Members.
Meetings and Events
On March 18, 2024, Dr. Marrazzo—along with NIH Director Dr. Monica Bertagnolli and Office of Research on Women’s Health Director Dr. Janine Clayton—attended the signing ceremony for President Biden’s executive order to invest $12 billion in new funding for women’s health research. This will result in a fund for Women’s Health Research at NIH to advance a cutting-edge, interdisciplinary research agenda, and establish a nationwide network of research centers of excellence. For fiscal year (FY) 2025, an NIH-wide effort will direct key investments of $200 million to support women’s health research.
Key Staffing News and Honors
Dr. Marrazzo noted some staffing updates at NIAID.
Office of Science Management and Operations
- Dr. Mike Nealy was named Director of the Office of Biodefense Research and Surety.
- Kim Law is now Chief of the Biodefense Budget and Financial Management Branch.
Division of Extramural Activities
- Shamay Knox is now Associate Director of the Office of Acquisitions.
- Laura Grey became Chief of the Acquisition Management and Operations Branch.
- Shaun Gratton was named Chief of the Policy and Training Branch in the Grants Management Program.
- Robert Kirker became Chief of Branch G in the Grants Management Program.
Vaccine Research Center
- Jason Gall has been named Chief of the Vaccine Production Program.
Division of Clinical Research
- Dr. Lori Dodd is now Chief of the Clinical Trials Research Statistics Branch.
- Dr. Libby Higgs was named Senior Scientific Officer, serving as the Global Health Advisor to the Division of Clinical Research Director.
Division of Intramural Research
- Dr. Jason Brenchley became Chief of the Laboratory of Viral Diseases.
Lastly, Dr. June Kwon-Chung, Chief of the Molecular Microbiology Section in the Laboratory of Clinical Immunology and Microbiology was elected to the National Academy of Sciences.
Budget News
Dr. Marrazzo said that although the NIH enacted appropriation is 0.7 percent ($327 million) less in FY 2024 than in FY 2023, budgets for NIAID and most other institutes and centers (ICs) remain flat.
Major changes for the NIH budget include a $100 million increase for the National Institute on Aging to support Alzheimer’s research and a significant cut from the 21st Century Cures Act of $678 million.
In a brief review of NIAID’s historical funding, Dr. Marrazzo said that it has been stable, essentially, with steady increases since FY 2016 until quite recently.
Dr. Marrazzo also reviewed the FY 2024 Financial Management Plan. NIAID R01 paylines for established and new principal investigators (PIs) are at the 10th and 14th percentiles, respectively. NIAID is funding noncompeting grants at 100 percent and most competing grants at 90 percent of approved funding. Fellowship (F), training (T), career development (K), and small business (SBIR/STTR) awards will not have adjustments. Competing research initiatives have been cut by up to 20 percent, which is better than the deeper cuts we anticipated in January. Overall success rates are now estimated at 16 to 20 percent.
In discussing NIAID earmarks for this budget cycle, Dr. Marrazzo pointed out the limited flexibility to reallocate earmarked funding to other NIAID priorities. For example, the $100 million target for tickborne disease in FY 2024 exceeds the actual FY 2023 spending level by 7.5 percent, which can challenge NIAID’s ability to manage competing priorities and their financial impacts.
Dr. Marrazzo also participated in her first testimony before the Senate L-HHS Appropriations Subcommittee in May, accompanied by NIH Director Dr. Monica Bertagnolli as well as the Directors of several other ICs.
Strategic Planning Update
Dr. Marrazzo shared the Institute’s efforts to develop the next NIAID Strategic Plan. NIAID received public responses to a request for information which indicated great alignment with our priority research areas. Of note, 23 societies and advocacy organizations submitted comprehensive feedback.
NIAID will release the detailed Strategic Plan in FY 2025.
Scientific Updates
Dr. Marrazzo discussed a handful of updates:
The Division of AIDS released an updated HIV Language Guide in May based on feedback from many community, advisory, and working groups, as well as other NIH ICs. Like the original guide, created in February 2020, this edition outlines best practices for use of empowering rather than stigmatizing language. You can find a link to the Guide in the News Briefs section of this issue.
The transplantation of a gene-edited pig kidney to a human recipient at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) in March, which built on foundational research from NIAID’s Immunology of Xenotransplantation Cooperative Research Program along with the MGH transplantation team, represents a frontier in transplantation. The transplant of the organ from a genetically engineered Yucatan miniature pig was considered encouraging; the patient’s body showed no signs of organ rejection.
Advances in malaria control could inform some of the most impressive advances in the next 5 to 10 years, including subcutaneous administration of a monoclonal antibody to prevent malaria. A phase 2 clinical trial conducted by Vaccine Research Center and Division of Intramural Research scientists in Mali randomized three groups of healthy children to receive one of two dosages or a placebo. Results showed significant reduction in infections and clinical signs of malaria, and reasonable durability over the 6-month malaria season.
A 2-year follow up confirms efficacy of Butantan-Dengue Vaccine: a single-dose, live, attenuated, tetravalent dengue vaccine candidate composed of viruses representing all four dengue virus serotypes analogous to the TV003 formulation developed by Dr. Stephen Whitehead’s research at NIAID. Following the 3-year enrollment of 16,235 participants, results showed remarkable reduction in dengue infection regardless of participant serostatus at baseline.
NIAID’s contributions to research on Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (H5N1) signal its priority, given the cases of human infections, detection in several dozen dairy herds in multiple states, and detection of noninfectious virus in the milk supply. NIAID’s H5N1 Research Agenda is posted online. Dr. Marrazzo also pointed out NIAID’s extensive efforts within the Centers of Excellence for Influenza Research and Response (CEIRR), including active surveillance on shorebirds, which helps better understand influenza’s natural history, prevalence of viruses in bird populations, impact of migratory patterns on transmission, and genetic or immunologic changes in circulating viruses. Surveillance on infection in domestic dairy cattle and farm cats is also ongoing. CEIRRs have also been involved in looking at infectivity in mice fed raw milk.
These examples are a testimony to how foundational research can help define the landscape for readiness.
Dr. Marrazzo has also been focused on how NIAID can organize and collaborate with other ICs, and will engage with multiple ICs in the upcoming months to discuss a range of topics with shared interest.
Updates from NIAID’s Intramural Labs
Dr. Steven Holland, Director of NIAID’s Division of Intramural Research (DIR), gave a high-level overview of intramural program activities, which are based in Bethesda, Maryland; Hamilton, Montana; and multiple international sites.
He discussed the Board of Scientific Counselors retrospective review, emphasizing the importance of every PI demonstrating not just outstanding work, but to advance the field through the funding they receive. DIR strives to make full use of its resources for transformative medicine, biomedical research, responses to public health threats, and partnerships for advancing both knowledge and therapies.
In FY 2024, up to the June meeting, DIR had tallied 537 publications, 14 NIAID press releases and blog posts, and 212 ongoing clinical studies. On a related note, the upsurge in COVID funding support involved more than 80 PIs and branches and led to over 400 publications.
DIR is involved in H5N1 research, with 12 PIs conducting 4 current projects, and 13 new projects planned for funding.
Dr. Holland reviewed many recent and upcoming retirements, departures, promotions, newly tenured staff and new investigators, and changes in leadership.
He also stressed the importance of improving diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility in DIR’s work and listed examples of steps the Division is taking to realize this effort.
Dr. Holland then described the NIAID SARS-CoV-2 Virology Core that facilitated research by researchers in other institutes and other laboratories within NIAID. This is becoming a pillar in pandemic preparedness.
Continuing, he shared examples of progress and success for DIR’s Research Technologies Branch, Centralized Sequencing Program, and Rocky Mountain Lab Animal Facility in Montana, as well as the completion of the NIH Clinical Center’s E Wing renovation.
Dr. Holland highlighted recent publications of clinical research results in parasitic, fungal, infectious, and immune and autoimmune research.
He closed by sharing his vision for DIR’s future directions: diverse talent among staff, support for basic science that bridges to the bedside, and resource sharing in a collaborative environment.
Subcommittee Summaries
A regular portion of each Council meeting is for scientific subcommittees to review and approve concepts for NIAID initiatives (targeted research funding opportunities). These concepts highlight NIAID’s research interests and, although not all become funding opportunities, the topics may be of interest to researchers pursuing investigator-initiated applications.
NIAID scientific staff presented our June concepts and subcommittees discussed them in the following videocast recordings:
- AIDS Research Advisory Committee
- Division of Allergy, Immunology, and Transplantation Subcommittee
- Division of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases Subcommittee
Find text summaries of the approved concepts on these webpages:
- June 2024 DAIDS Council-Approved Concepts
- June 2024 DAIT Council-Approved Concepts
- June 2024 DMID Council-Approved Concepts
- June 2024 Trans-Divisional Council-Approved Concepts
The next meeting of NIAID’s Advisory Council is scheduled for September 9, 2024.