Emerging Infectious Diseases Research Centers Coordination Center (EIDRC CC)

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PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT Emerging and re-emerging infectious disease (EID) outbreaks that are occurring with increasing frequency in high-risk areas in South/Central America, West/Central Africa, and Southeast Asia are a threat to the United States. Documented gaps in research infrastructure limit the capacity to rapidly respond to these outbreaks. To address this challenge, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) is establishing the Emerging Infectious Disease Research Centers Network (EIDRC-Net) to improve knowledge of EIDs; leverage existing NIAID international efforts; and develop the capacity to mount effective, flexible, and rapid outbreak research responses. RTI International and Duke University propose to establish the EIDRC Coordination Center (EIDRC CC). The RTI-Duke CC will support the EIDRC-Net, which will comprise the EIDRCs, research sites, the CC, and NIAID by realizing the following aims: (1) enhance EIDRC coordination and collaboration by providing administrative, communications, logistical, and operational support; (2) amplify NIAID's capabilities and reach by coordinating and supporting a sustainable, scalable, and adaptable research infrastructure to optimize resources and knowledge sharing during inter-outbreak periods and to respond rapidly and effectively during outbreaks; (3) ensure quality and consistency of study data by using rigorous data and specimen management systems with built-in data quality assurance; (4) ensure quality of biospecimens, assays, and reagents through harmonization of standard operating procedures across EIDRC-Net sites and ongoing audit of cross-network procedures; and (5) develop the next generation of investigators and in-country scientists by establishing a pilot research program that identifies, funds, and mentors high-quality EIDRC applicants. By successfully accomplishing our five specific aims, the RTI-Duke team will shift the outbreak research response paradigm by establishing scalable systems, processes, and resources that not only provide the necessary infrastructure to facilitate EIDRC-Net performance and carry out CC core functions during inter-outbreak periods, but also can be enhanced and expanded to bolster CC research surge response activities during outbreaks. The EIDRC CC team will be co-led by multiple Principal Investigators Donald Brambilla, PhD (RTI), a biostatistician with advanced training in biology and an experienced CC leader, and Michael Anthony (Tony) Moody, MD (Duke), a pediatric infectious disease specialist and Chief Medical Officer of the Duke Human Vaccine Institute. Together they bring extensive scientific expertise, leadership, administrative experience, and international research expertise, including in geographic locations most relevant to the study of EIDs. This partnership also leverages the operational efficiency of RTI, a large nonprofit research organization with regional and project offices in over 75 countries, with the scientific rigor of Duke University, a premier university known for its cutting-edge medical research and home to a state-of-the-art, NIAID-funded Regional Biocontainment Laboratory.