October 11, 2017 — For almost a decade, the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (FNIH), in collaboration with the National Institutes of Health’s Fogarty International Center (FIC), has managed the most comprehensive multicenter study to better understand the complicated relationships among intestinal infections, nutrition and other environmental exposures early in life on child development. “The Etiology, Risk Factors, and Interactions of Enteric Infections and Malnutrition and the Consequences for Child Health and Development” (MAL-ED) study, supported by a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, captured the significant burden that such exposures have on the health, physical growth and cognitive development of children from birth to early childhood at eight sites in Africa, Asia and South America.
August 16, 2017 — The Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (FNIH) Biomarkers Consortium (BC) has launched a project with the potential to transform clinical trials and lead to the development of targeted therapies for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) patients. The Cerebrospinal Fluid (CSF) Proteomics Project leverages results from a previous BC project to analyze potential biological markers (biomarkers) that can track AD in its earliest stages by illuminating important changes in the brain. This new understanding of AD progression will help improve the monitoring of early AD and a patient’s response to treatment.
July 27, 2017 — The Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (FNIH) is delighted to once again earn the highest, 4-star rating from Charity Navigator, in addition to being named the #1 charity among biomedical research organizations.
July 20, 2017— The Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (FNIH) Biomarkers Consortium has launched a study to identify biological markers (biomarkers) in the blood that will measure a Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) patient’s increased risk for cardiovascular disease—the leading cause of deaths in RA patients. RA is a chronic inflammatory disease that causes pain and loss of mobility, and by developing therapies that decrease joint inflammation it may also reduce cardiovascular risk.
July 20, 2017 – The Foundation for the NIH (FNIH) Biomarkers Consortium (BC) has met a critical milestone that could improve clinical trials and accelerate treatment approvals for hospital-acquired bacterial infections. Upon request from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the FNIH submitted recommendations to the FDA to guide drug development for hospital-acquired bacterial pneumonia (HABP) and ventilator-associated bacterial pneumonia (VABP). The FDA will consider the recommendations as it develops clinical trial guidance for these serious infections that lead to increased deaths while patients are in the hospital.
June 15, 2017 – The Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (FNIH) has launched a new project to shorten the treatment times of tuberculosis (TB) in drug-sensitive patients through individualized therapy. The $24 million project, “Using Biomarkers to Predict TB Treatment Duration” (PredictTB), is funded in-part by the FNIH through a $13 million donation from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, with management support provided by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and Catalysis Foundation for Health.
June 7, 2017— The White House has announced that Francis Collins, M.D., Ph.D.—an ex-officio member of the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (FNIH) Board of Directors—will continue to serve in the role of Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The FNIH extends its congratulations to Dr. Collins on remaining in the role that he has maintained for the past eight years.
March 9, 2017—The Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (FNIH) Biomarkers Consortium is launching a three-year research partnership to develop new methods for analyzing digital images, which will lead to new ways to track a patient’s response to cancer therapy. The FNIH raised $2.7 million from the private sector to support the new project called “Advanced metrics and modeling with Volumetric CT for Precision Analysis of Clinical Trial results” (Vol-PACT). This project is the first to use imaging data from multiple completed, pharmaceutical industry-sponsored, phase II/III clinical trials to identify drug response measures.
December 9, 2016 – The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene published a systematic evaluation of potential risks associated with the use of mosquitoes genetically modified through gene drive technology to reduce the burden of malaria in Africa.
