September 2003

International Centers for Tropical Disease Research

OVERVIEW

NIAID has a long tradition of supporting research on parasitic and other infectious diseases that predominantly affect populations living in developing countries but also are of global importance. The National Institutes of Health Revitalization Act of 1993 formally added "tropical diseases" to NIAID's mission statement. This action recognized that NIAID is the primary source of funding for U.S. civilian investigators conducting research in areas relevant to tropical medicine.

Investigators in NIAID's intramural laboratories as well as extramural scientists are conducting basic, clinical, and field research that seeks to discover and develop vaccines, drugs, and vector-control methods to prevent and treat tropical diseases. Toward this end, NIAID provides support for research to be conducted at sites in endemic areas where scientists can gain access to populations of patients, microbial pathogens and invertebrate vectors. These overseas sites enable scientists to gain a better understanding of tropical diseases and to evaluate the effectiveness of new control methods.

In 1991, NIAID established the International Centers for Tropical Disease Research (ICTDR) network, which coordinates the various activities in this field. The intent of the ICTDR network is to:

• Create an Institute-wide forum for tropical disease research.
• Increase the coordination of Institute activities in the area of tropical diseases and international health.
• Encourage efficient use of resources.
• Enhance relevant application of current knowledge.
• Identify areas requiring further effort.
• Facilitate planning of future endeavors in the areas of parasitology and tropical diseases.

Components of the ICTDR program include activities described below.

TROPICAL DISEASE RESEARCH UNITS

The Tropical Disease Research Units (TDRU) program, initiated in 1980, is a wholly domestic grant award program that fosters targeted research focused on diseases caused by protozoal and helminth parasites. Multidisciplinary teams of TDRU scientists apply the latest techniques in biotechnology to discover, validate, and test new vaccines, chemotherapies, or vector-control strategies to limit parasitic diseases that affect human health.

The TDRUs also serve U.S. scientific interests by supporting centers that provide opportunities for research and training on parasitic diseases. Such stable academic environments help ensure that the United States can maintain a cadre of investigators in this field.

Current TDRUs are located at the University of California, San Francisco; University of Georgia; University of Notre Dame; and University of Virginia.

INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATION IN INFECTIOUS DISEASE RESEARCH

The International Collaboration in Infectious Disease Research (ICIDR) program, initiated in 1978, is an international program with domestic and foreign components, designed to promote interaction between U.S. investigators and scientists in a host country where tropical diseases are endemic. ICIDR grants are awarded to U.S.-based institutions that have developed satisfactory collaboration with established foreign affiliates. The major portion of the research must be conducted in the foreign country and must be relevant to the health problems of that country. Thus, this program allows U.S. investigators to gain expertise working under endemic conditions and also strengthens the academic base of the host institution.

The ICIDR program is a multidisciplinary program project approach to the study of diseases of major importance to people living in tropical countries. Areas of research supported by the ICIDR program include studies in epidemiology, vector biology, pathology, immunology, diagnosis, and treatment of tropical diseases caused by parasitic, viral and bacterial infections.

The following institutions are currently supported through the ICIDR program (and their host countries):

• Barnes Jewish Hospital, St. Louis, Missouri (Egypt)
• Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio:
• Kenya
• Kenya, Papua New Guinea
• Colorado State University, Fort Collins (Mexico)
• Harvard University, Boston, Massachusetts (Tanzania)
• Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland:
• Brazil
• Peru
• Thailand
• Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston (Bangladesh)
• Michigan State University, East Lansing (Gabon, The Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi)
• New England Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts (South Africa)
• Stanford University, Stanford, California (Mexico)
• State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo (Brazil)
• Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana (Kenya)
• University of Maryland, Baltimore (Egypt)
• University of Massachusetts, Worcester (Venezuela)
• University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (Thailand)
• University of New Mexico, Albuquerque (Chile)
• University of Virginia, Charlottesville (Brazil)

TROPICAL MEDICINE RESEARCH CENTERS

The Tropical Medicine Research Centers (TMRC) program was initiated in 1991. These specialized center awards are granted to foreign institutions to provide research facilities for the study of tropical diseases in endemic areas. TMRCs currently conduct studies on leishmaniasis, malaria, schistosomiasis, hookworm and diarrheal diseases.

TMRC awards, made directly to the foreign institution, support research of direct relevance to the health of the people in tropical countries, and promote collaboration and exchange of information between foreign and American scientists. In addition, the TMRC serves to strengthen the research capacity of the host countries, enhancing their ability to recognize and contain disease outbreaks.

Institutions currently receiving TMRC funding include the Chinese Academy of Preventive Medicine, Shanghai, China; Federal University of Brazil, Salvador-Bahia, Brazil; Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru; and University of Valle, San Fernando, Colombia.

INTRAMURAL CENTER FOR INTERNATIONAL DISEASE RESEARCH

The Intramural Center for International Disease Research (INCIDR), established in 1991, is focused on field and laboratory research projects related to tropical diseases that are conducted by scientists in NIAID's intramural laboratories in Bethesda, Maryland, and Hamilton, Montana.

NIAID is a component of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which is an agency of the Department of Health and Human Services. NIAID supports basic and applied research to prevent, diagnose, and treat infectious and immune-mediated illnesses, including HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases, illness from potential agents of bioterrorism, tuberculosis, malaria, autoimmune disorders, asthma and allergies.

News releases, fact sheets and other NIAID-related materials are available on the NIAID Web site at http://www.niaid.nih.gov.

Prepared by:
Office of Communications and Public Liaison
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
National Institutes of Health
Bethesda, MD 20892

Department of Health and Human Services

National Institutes of Health (NIH) Bethesda, Maryland 20892

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