Early Development of Vaccines Against Infectious Diseases – DCAI (89)

Topics

• Identification and initial characterization of potential vaccine targets for early- and mid-stage vaccine development (inactivated vaccines, live-attenuated vaccines, mRNA vaccines, toxoid vaccines, viral vector vaccines, and subunit, recombinant, polysaccharide, and conjugate vaccines). Those vaccines can be directed against pathogens of clinical or veterinary interest, including bacteria, viruses, parasites, fungi, bacterial toxins, and pathogenic agents that have biodefense implications
• Immune mechanism, vaccine-induced immune response, immune profile, and identification of molecular mechanism.
• Development and immunologic evaluation of the adjuvant systems
• Cloning and development of vector systems

Shared Interests and Overlaps

• There are shared interests with Vaccines against Infectious Diseases (VID). Applications that emphasize late-stage development and measure vaccine efficacy, safety, or improvement may be reviewed in VID. Applications that emphasize early to mid-stage development of vaccines or aim to characterize vaccine-induced immune responses may be reviewed in DCAI (89).
• There are shared interests in the design of antigens with Discovery and Optimization of Immunotherapeutics and Biological Therapeutics (DCAI (82)). Applications with an emphasis on antigen design for the development of vaccines may be reviewed at DCAI (89). Applications with an emphasis on antigen design for the development of monoclonal antibodies may be reviewed at DCAI (82).
• There are shared interests in immune responses to pathogens and vaccines with Immunity and Host Defense (IHD). Applications that emphasize basic immunological studies, such as mechanistic studies of the innate, systemic, and mucosal immune responses to microbial organisms may be reviewed by IHD. Applications that emphasize the generation of vaccines or the immune response to vaccines may be reviewed in DCAI (89).
• There are shared interests with Innovations in Nanosystems and Nanotechnology (INN) in developing novel vaccine nanomaterials. Applications that emphasize the design, synthesis, and development of nanomaterials may be reviewed in INN. Applications that emphasize the use of existing nanomaterials in a vaccine may be reviewed in DCAI (89).
• There are shared interests in nucleic acid-based vaccine development with  Drug and Biologic Therapeutic Delivery (DBTD) and Nucleic Acid Therapeutic Delivery [DDTD (81)]. Applications that emphasize novel methods for vaccine delivery, with a focus on bioengineering principles, may be reviewed in DBTD or DDTD (81). Applications that emphasize vaccine immune responses may be reviewed in DCAI (89).
• There are shared interests with Immunobiology of Transplantation and Alloimmunity (ITA). Applications that focus on the impact of immunosuppressive therapies on immune responses to vaccine and/or vaccine performance may be reviewed in ITA. Applications that focus on general approaches to understand immune responses to vaccines, may be reviewed in DCAI (89).
• There are shared interests with Bacterial Innate Immunomodulation and Pathogenesis (IIDC (81)) in the interplay of innate processes and memory immunity to bacterial infections. Applications that emphasize early- and mid-stages of vaccine development, or aim to characterize vaccine-induced immune responses, may be reviewed in DCAI (89). Studies focused on prior exposure to infection or direct bacterial modulation of innate immune responses and how the innate response contributes to infection-related disease pathogenesis may be reviewed by IIDC (81).