Indo-U.S. Vaccine Action Program (VAP)

Funding, Grants and Priorities

Funding

Funding for the program is provided by the Department of Biotechnology of the Government of India, and the Public Health Service of the US Department of Health and Human Services. Research awards are made to US institutions through the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases' Division of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (DMID). Awards to the Indian institutions are made through the Indian Department of Biotechnology.

The US Agency for International Development provided funding for the VAP from 1983 - 1987. Subsequently, the Starr Foundation in New York City donated two million dollars to the NIAID Restricted Gift Fund in order to expand the number of collaborative projects between Indian and American scientists. Funding on the US side was made in dollars and PL-480 rupees from the US India fund.

Grants

Extramural US investigators may be funded through the NIH R03 mechanism. The R03 grant provides up to $50,000 direct costs per year for up to two years. The R03 awards are not renewable.

Information about R03 grants may be found under a new VAP Program Announcement (PA-07-093).

Intramural NIH investigators and other Federal scientists may be eligible for research support of comparable duration and scope through various interagency agreements.

In addition, information about a NIAID International Research in Infectious Diseases (IRID) R03 Program (PAS-04-111), which provides support to "institutions or organizations located in resource- constrained countries," is also available online. This mechanism may also provide Indian institutions working on VAP projects with additional funds to expand their research focus and collaborations.

For further information on VAP grant mechanisms, please contact Dr. Edward McSweegan (emcsweegan@niaid.nih.gov).

Priorities

Priorities under VAP include: acute respiratory illnesses, rotavirus, cholera, dengue, leishmaniasis, rabies, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, and other emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases.