A National Institutes of Health agency this week handed out $208 million for research on immune system responses to potential bioterrorism agents and other "emerging and re-emerging" infectious diseases (see GSN, June 9).
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases dispersed the funding through two programs -- the Cooperative Centers for Translational Research on Human Immunology and Biodefense and the Immune Mechanisms of Virus Control.
The 2009 federal stimulus package provided the institute with $21 million for the two programs. Overall, the National Institutes of Health received $5 billion in stimulus funding to pursue research work.
Roughly $130 million is set to be directed to researchers through the cooperative centers program, which emphasizes "basic research and preclinical research of potential benefit to humans," according to an NIH press release. The work is set to involve development of vaccines for anthrax, influenza and other diseases.
The Immune Mechanisms of Virus Control program is expected to provide $78 million to researchers conducting animal and human studies to learn about the immune system's response to viruses (U.S. National Institutes of Health release, Nov. 4).