Group A Strep – Immune Correlates of Protection
The Leducq Foundation announces a call for applications in July 2022.
The Challenge
It is estimated that Group A streptococcal (GAS) infections account for 500,000 deaths worldwide, mostly from invasive infections and complications resulting from GAS infections such as rheumatic heart disease.
Despite this large global burden of disease, there are no licensed vaccines for GAS. Vaccine development efforts can be guided by knowledge of the immune response needed to combat the infection, yet the immune correlates of protection against GAS infection remain largely unknown. The finding that adults show lower GAS pharyngitis and carriage rates compared to children and adolescents suggests that immunity to GAS develops over time, but the mechanisms remain unexplained. A better understanding of the immune responses that confer protection against GAS infection could inform vaccine development efforts and might yield insights into the pathogenesis of acute rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease.
The Goal
The challenge for the applicants is to characterize the protective immune response to GAS infection that occurs in humans over the life course in order to inform vaccine development efforts.
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The total award is $5,000,000 over five years for the Group A Strep – Immune Correlates of Protection Project.
Leducq Foundation applications are submitted via an online application service hosted by Altum ProposalCENTRAL. Click here to go directly to the application website.