Stakeholder News
The CREID Network collaborates with a wide variety of external stakeholders including from the US Government, foreign governments, multilateral institutions such as the World Health Organization, foundations and nonprofits, such as CEPI, Wellcome Foundation, and the private sector. If you are interested in exploring a collaboration with the CREID Network, please contact info@creid-network.org.
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The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) "is a global partnership working to accelerate the development of vaccines and other biologic countermeasures against epidemic and pandemic threats.” CEPI has an ex-officio seat on the CREID Network External Advisory Committee. Two examples of CREID Research Center engagement with CEPI are detailed below.
CREID-ECA Engagement
CREID-ECA investigators have been engaged with CEPI since mid-2023 when they were invited to give a presentation on their Rift Valley fever research. In June 2024, CEPI held a 2-day workshop in Nairobi, Kenya titled “RVF Epidemiology and Modeling”, with the goal of the workshop to review feasibility of registration and approval of RVF vaccine(s). The workshop included all stakeholders involved in RVF research including the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, World Health Organization, UN Food and Agriculture Organization, World Organization for Animal Health (OIE-WOAH), and scientists involved in RVF research. Three CREID-ECA researchers were invited to give presentations:
- Epidemiology of RVF: Current status in east and central Africa (Kariuki Njenga, PI, CREID-ECA)
- Genomic evolution of RVFV (Sam Oyola, Senior Scientist, International Livestock Research Institute)
- Latest prevalence on RVF (Silvia Situma, PhD student, University of Nairobi/Washington State University)
The outcomes of the workshop include: (1) a manuscript being drafted by CEPI to involve all participants; and (2) a CEPI Call for Proposals published on July 19, 2024, with a focus “ to determine if, and under what conditions, RVF vaccine efficacy trials are feasible”.
WARN-ID Engagement
WARN-ID has been involved in a CEPI-funded effort to provide reagents to Lassa vaccine developers. More specifically, WARN-ID investigators have provided recombinant proteins, monoclonal antibodies, pseudoviruses, and IgM and ELISA plates to 7 vaccine developers. WARN-ID researchers have also participated in a CEPI-funded effort to develop Lassa serological panels, a WHO international standard serological panel and other antibody standards, now provided by NIBSC (another CREID Stakeholder).
WARN-ID Sierra Leone and Nigeria clinical sites are participating in Phase II clinical trials of the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative’s (IAVI) VSV-Lassa vaccine study funded by CEPI and the European Union. IAVI was one of the vaccine developers that made it through the CEPI-funded development phase, and the WARN-ID sites were also formally involved in that effort.
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WHO R&D Blueprint for Epidemics
A number of CREID researchers, NIAID officials, and CREID Network level stakeholder organizations participated in and contributed to the evidence evaluation of the WHO R&D Blueprint for Epidemics Report released in June 2024. The primary goal of the Report is to “accelerate the development of medical countermeasures (MCMs)…and make these available for diseases with epidemic and pandemic potential, thereby contributing to the prevention of Public Health Emergencies of International Concern (PHEICs) and saving lives during outbreaks.”
“The WHO R&D Blueprint for Epidemics functions as a global platform for research and development collaboration, stressing the significance of international cooperation in expediting the research and development of medical countermeasures (MCMs) to respond to epidemics and pandemics. At the core of its efforts lies the concept of 'pathogen prioritization'. This document outlines the findings of a global pathogen prioritization process involving over 200 scientists from more than 50 countries who evaluated the evidence related to 28 Viral Families and one core group of Bacteria, encompassing 1,652 pathogens. This process emphasized the imperative nature of collaborative efforts to attain global resilience against epidemics and pandemics.”
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Research Center Updates
The July 2024 quarterly newsletter features 2 of the CREID Research Centers: CREID-ECA and WAC-EID. In addition to working in the US, these 2 Research Centers work in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, DR Congo, Belgium, and Germany (CREID-ECA); and Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Singapore (WAC-EID).
Please see more information about each of the 9 Research Centers at the CREID Network website.
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Immunologist Dr Bronwyn Gunn (right) and Lab scientist Shuangyi Bai prepare to load a plate for analysis of SUDV-specific antibody responses at Washington State University in Pullman, WA. |
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CREID-ECA
CREID-ECA researchers have been following 87 survivors of the 2022 Uganda Sudan ebolavirus (SUDV) outbreak to gain insight into the kinetics of host immune responses and long-term clinical sequelae. Using a comprehensive antibody profiling platform, termed systems serology, levels of SUDV-specific antibodies and autoantibodies in SUDV survivors, antiviral functions of SUDV glycoprotein-specific antibodies, including neutralization pseudoviruses coated with SUDV glycoprotein, and induction of antibody-mediated functions will be measured. Together, the clinical and immunologic datasets will provide the most comprehensive analysis of SUDV immunity and health outcomes to date.
Award Number U01AI151799
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WAC-EID
In April, University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) Galveston hosted a ten-day training program focused on sequencing and analyzing metagenomes from mosquitoes captured using an air balloon at various altitudes in Mali and Senegal. The course emphasized MinION technology and bioinformatics analysis, attracting participants from 5 West African countries. Instructors from UTMB, including Dr. Khanipov, Dr. Narra, Dr. Dickson, and Dr. Golovko, along with a field scientist from Oxford Nanopore, led the training. The program concluded with discussions on future research and collaboration, demonstrating the effectiveness of metagenomic sequencing in detecting viruses like Porcine bocavirus, African swine fever virus, and Human Papillomavirus.
Award Number U01AI151801
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WAC-EID’s research team in Jos, Nigeria shows that anthropogenic, habitat, and climate variables influence bat abundance, species richness, and diversity. These results can inform disease surveillance efforts and assessment of spillover risk.
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CREID Research Centers
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