The purpose of this Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) is to support research to characterize cellular and molecular constituents of the bat immune system and to understand protective innate and adaptive immune mechanisms in bats. Research projects supported by this NOFO will form a collaborative research network to advance understanding of the bat immune response. This NOFO will support research projects to characterize the bat immune system, including defining protective innate or adaptive immune molecules and mechanisms. As little is known about the bat immune system, projects may be descriptive in nature or may be supported by limited preliminary data. Projects should emphasize the strength of the conceptual framework and the potential of the project to advance understanding of the bat immune system. Projects may propose the development of critical reagents for the project, though those development and validation activities may be transferred to the Research Resource Program after award.

Research areas of high priority include, but are not limited to, the following:

Characterization of the cellular constituents of the bat immune system
Dissection of the molecules and pathways involved in the regulation of the bat innate and/or adaptive immune system
Mechanistic studies of bat immunity, including intrinsic immunity and regulation of inflammation
Studies on the quality, magnitude, and kinetics of bat immune responses during pathogenic infection and after pathogen clearance
Role of metabolism or other intrinsic factors in bat immune regulation
Structural studies of bat immune proteins