The purpose of this Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) is to support the development and validation of reagents/tools to support research to characterize cellular and molecular constituents of the bat immune system and for the study of protective innate and adaptive immune mechanisms in bats. The Research Resource Program established by this NOFO will participate within a collaborative research network to advance understanding of the bat immune response. This NOFO will support the establishment and operation of a Bat Immunology Research Resource Program for the development and validation of reagents/tools for use in immunological studies using the bat model system. The recipient will participate in the Bat Immunology Network, which will consist of the Research Resource Program, the research projects supported by RFA-AI-23-068, and possible other participants as determined by NIAID.

The Research Resource Program will conduct reagent/tool development and validation using appropriate systems, which includes testing against multiple bat species. While other members of the Bat Immunology Network may assist in validation efforts, reagent/tool validation is the responsibility of the Research Resource Program. Reagents/tools developed by the Research Resource Program will be provided to the research projects of the Bat Immunology Network. Reagents/tools will be made available to the broader research community through technology transfer arrangements, deposition to nonprofit repositories, and/or timely transfer to industry for commercialization.

Areas of high priority include, but are not limited to, the development and validation of the following:

Soluble immune molecules (e.g., cytokines, chemokines) for use in tissue culture or in vivo animal studies
Antibodies or other probes/detection markers for use in cellular phenotyping, functional studies and/or immunoassays