The National Institutes of Health (NIH), a part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is the nation’s medical research agency — making important discoveries that improve health and save lives.
The grant program seeks to advance basic and translational research aimed at the development of a vaccine against Kaposi sarcoma herpesvirus (KSHV). It builds on previous research efforts to extend understanding and develop strategies for a prophylactic or therapeutic vaccine to prevent or treat KSHV infection and its associated diseases. The grant encourages research in several key areas including the identification of vaccine targets, development of animal models for vaccine testing, formulation and evaluation of vaccine candidates, optimization of vaccine efficacy particularly in people with HIV (PWH), and improvement of KSHV detection methods. This initiative is designed to pave the way for significant advancements in preventing KSHV infection, transmission, and related diseases such as Kaposi sarcoma, multicentric Castleman disease, primary effusion lymphoma, and KSHV inflammatory cytokine syndrome.