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NIH funds influenza research, surveillance network
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The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases recently awarded grants to five research institutions across the United States to advance basic research of influenza and conduct surveillance studies of viruses that have pandemic potential, according to the NIH.
With renewed funding, the Centers of Excellence for Influenza Research and Surveillance (CEIRS), first launched in 2007, will be extended another 7 years, with the NIAID committing $23 million during the first year. The awardees include Emory University, the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Johns Hopkins University, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tenn., and the University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, N.Y. Four of the institutions were part of CEIRS in 2007 and are now joined by Johns Hopkins, which will establish its own center.
“The CEIRS network exemplifies NIAID’s dual mission of conducting basic and applied influenza research, while maintaining the ability to respond rapidly in the event of an emerging public health threat,” NIAID Director Anthony S. Fauci, MD, said in a news release. “CEIRS investigators have contributed greatly to our understanding of how influenza viruses emerge from wild and domestic animals, their adaptation to and global circulation throughout the human population and the interplay between the viruses and human immune responses.”
Anthony S. Fauci
Fauci said CEIRS was able to quickly characterize the influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 virus and perform preclinical testing for vaccine candidates during the 2009 pandemic.
According to Diane Post, PhD, of the division of microbiology and infectious diseases at the NIAID, the CEIRS sites will more strictly focus on geographical areas where influenza viruses are most likely to emerge than they had in the past.
“A key mission of the CEIRS network is to foster innovative and collaborative basic research on influenza viruses, including how they evolve and adapt to animals and human hosts,” she said. “The information we gain could help us understand why influenza pandemics occur and could assist health officials in taking steps to mitigate outbreaks.”