NIAID invites applications to support the development of new diagnostic technologies for tuberculosis (TB) drug susceptibility testing (DST) with an emphasis on rapid, point-of-care (POC) or near POC, low complexity assays, as well as companion diagnostics for new TB drugs. Interested investigators can apply through the funding opportunity announcement (FOA) Improved Drug Susceptibility Testing (DST) for Tuberculosis (R01, Clinical Trial Not Allowed).
Research Goal
This FOA’s primary scientific objective is to improve treatment decisions for patients by honing DST methods and thus reduce rates of drug-resistant TB in the community. To achieve that goal, NIAID will fund studies of highly innovative DST assays, including phenotypic DST that may rely on a readout that does not require full growth as in traditional DST assays.
Priority Research Areas
NIAID is highly interested in the research below.
- Developing POC or near POC, rapid, low-cost, low-complexity DST for first- and second-line TB drugs, especially multiplex DST assays that provide comprehensive drug susceptibility information
- Developing DST assays to determine susceptibility or resistance to newly approved drugs to treat TB including Bedaquiline, Linezolid, Pretomanid and drugs in late-stage clinical development
- Incorporating known drug resistance markers with novel diagnostic platforms
- Defining novel drug-resistant biomarkers and incorporating them with diagnostic platforms
- Developing novel assays to measure response to treatment, including host response markers as a measure of drug susceptibility for TB
NIAID will consider applications proposing the following research topics to be nonresponsive and not review them.
- Clinical trials
- Projects focused on a TB diagnostic that does not provide drug susceptibility/resistance information as an outcome
- Projects focused on a diagnostic exclusively for animals or agricultural use
- Projects that propose to conduct drug resistance biomarker discovery without developing a DST assay
- Projects that propose field testing of a DST without proposing to improve and further develop the DST
Submission Information and Deadline
Budgets are capped at $500,000 in annual direct costs. The scope of your project should determine the project period, but cannot exceed five years. Applications are due by July 8, 2022, at 5 p.m. local time of the applicant organization.
Direct any inquiries to Dr. Karen Lacourciere, NIAID’s scientific and research contact, at 240-627-3297 or lacourcierek@niaid.nih.gov. Direct any peer review inquiries to Dr. Brenda Lange-Gustafson at 240-669-5047 or bgustafson@niaid.nih.gov.