Although studies in mice have helped advance the understanding of immunological mechanisms, they have several limitations, and findings in animals cannot always be extrapolated to humans. In the new initiative, researchers will analyze samples from well-characterized human cohorts, such as people enrolled in clinical trials, children receiving routine vaccinations, and people with naturally acquired infections. These cohorts will represent the diversity of human populations with respect to genetics, age, ethnicity and gender.

The new program will exploit research approaches that have only recently become available such as systems biology, which integrates information about an organism's genes, proteins and metabolism with data from the host.

In addition, the initiative will provide support for centralized infrastructure to collect, characterize, and store the human samples; for bioinformatic capacity to analyze the large and complex data sets that will be generated; and for the discovery and development of new immune response monitoring tools and sample-sparing assays.

"The observations made and the new methodologies developed by investigators within this program will assist clinical research in vaccine development and beyond," says Daniel Rotrosen, M.D., director of the Division of Allergy, Immunology and Transplantation at NIAID. "These research centers are part of NIAID's long-range goal to identify the principles of human immune regulation, and then apply that knowledge to understanding, treating and preventing immune-mediated and infectious diseases."

Source: NIH/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases