Funding Opportunity Purpose

The purpose of this notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) is to understand the critical drivers of tuberculosis (TB) transmission at the individual and population levels in high-burden settings; to develop effective methods to measure rates of TB transmission that rely on an increased understanding of the biomedical basis of transmission and related risk factors; and assess potential interventions, including low-cost and low-tech options, to prevent TB transmission and detect infectious TB.

Research Objectives

Areas of interest include but are not limited to:

• Understanding the impact of the spectrum of TB disease, including the role of asymptomatic, pre-symptomatic and differentially culturable TB, in transmission;

• Aerobiology;

• Environmental impacts on transmission;

• Understanding non-traditional spread (e.g., without cough or other symptoms, community spread with limited contact);

• Development or assessment of new methods or tools to measure transmission;

• Identifying host factors or host/pathogen interactions that encourage transmission;

• Defining characteristics or sub-populations of Mtb strains that impact transmission, including the role of Mtb strain heterogeneity;

• Studies of transmission in high-risk groups (e.g., healthcare workers, congregate settings);

• Studies to understand the impact of HIV coinfection and antiretroviral therapy on transmission of TB;

• Studies to understand the impact of co-morbidities on TB transmission (e.g., diabetes, malnutrition, etc.);

• Studies to understand how to most effectively utilize resources to reduce transmission (e.g., preventive therapy, active screening strategies, targeted diagnosis, improved ventilation or airflow patterns).

Currently, tracking the spread of TB relies on analogue tools in many settings, which does not allow tracking of transmission in real time. Projects are encouraged to consider incorporating the use of improved data systems for tracking TB transmission and explore how digitized health can improve our understanding of control of TB transmission.

Low risk, non-IND clinical trials are allowed, however, any clinical trial should include outcomes that improve the understanding of drivers of TB transmission.

Applications proposing research in the areas listed below will be considered non-responsive and will NOT be reviewed:

• Applications that propose to study zoonotic TB transmission (e.g., TB transmission from animals to humans or animals to animals). Animal studies are allowed if they are a readout of human-to-human TB transmission.

• Studies proposing a clinical trial that requires an Investigational New Drug Application (IND).

• Projects for development of systemic chemoprophylaxis, development of host-directed therapeutic agents or development of vaccines as potential interventions.

Funding Instrument

Grant: A financial assistance mechanism providing money, property, or both to an eligible entity to carry out an approved project or activity.

Funds Available and Anticipated Number of Awards

NIAID intends to commit $6,000,000 in FY 2025 to fund 4-5 awards.

Award Budget

Application budgets are not expected to exceed $750,000 in direct costs per year, and should reflect the actual needs of the project.

Award Project Period

The scope of the proposed project should determine the project period. The maximum project period is 5 years.