"NIH director Jay Bhattacharya explained the restructure at an event with other top agency officials on 30 January. It's a complete transformation of [the NIAID] away from this old model that has historically prioritized research on HIV, biodefence and pandemic preparedness, he said. The institute will focus more on basic immunology and other infectious diseases currently affecting people in the United States, he added, rather than on predicting future diseases."
"Staff members at the United States's premier infectious-disease research institute have been instructed to remove the words biodefense and pandemic preparedness from the institute's web pages, according to e-mails Nature has obtained. The directive comes amid a broader shake-up at the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), one of 27 institutes and centres at the National Institutes of Health (NIH)."
Staff at the United States' premier infectious-disease research institute were instructed to remove the words biodefense and pandemic preparedness from institute web pages. The directive is part of a broader restructuring of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) that will deprioritize biodefense and pandemic preparedness in its funded research portfolio. The institute will shift emphasis toward basic immunology and other infectious diseases currently affecting people in the United States instead of predicting future diseases. Approximately one-third of NIAID's US$6.6-billion budget currently supports emerging infectious-disease and biodefense projects, including pathogen surveillance and medical countermeasure development. Public-health experts warn that deprioritization could increase vulnerability to evolving pathogens originating in wildlife.
Read at www.scientificamerican.com
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