The purpose of this Notice of Special Interest (NOSI) is to stimulate innovative studies to identify and understand the immune responses that mediate protection fromMycobacterium tuberculosis(Mtb) infection or progression to active tuberculosis (TB) disease. Studies may focus on any stage of mycobacterial infection or following vaccination with Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) or investigational TB vaccines and may include HIV-infected or uninfected individuals.
Research supported under this NOSI should go beyond descriptive information currently known about Mtb infection, immune responses to TB vaccines, or immune modulation by non-tuberculous mycobacterial (NTM) infection, or by HIV/AIDS. Applications that include characterization of the timing, anatomical location, and contribution to disease outcome, of mucosal and/or systemic immune responses to mycobacterial infection and/or vaccination are sought. This research is expected to advance understanding of immune mechanisms in Mtb infection/vaccination and contribute to the advancement of new TB vaccines, including in populations also infected with HIV.