Coccidioidomycosis Collaborative Research Centers (CCRC)

Coccidioidomycosis Collaborative Research Centers — RFA-AI-27-012

Supports translational vaccine teams targeting valley fever through collaborative centers.

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) issued RFA-AI-27-012 on May 4, 2026, to establish Coccidioidomycosis Collaborative Research Centers (CCRCs) — a new initiative funding highly collaborative, multi-disciplinary teams to conduct translational and clinical research in support of a Valley fever vaccine. Coccidioidomycosis, commonly called Valley fever, is a fungal infection endemic to the US Southwest caused by Coccidioides species; it causes approximately 20,000 hospitalizations annually in the United States and disproportionately affects immunocompromised individuals, agricultural workers, and residents of California and Arizona. The program is funded through NIAID's Assistance Listing 93.855 — Allergy and Infectious Diseases Research — and is explicitly tied to NIAID's Strategic Plan for Research to Develop a Valley Fever Vaccine.

RFA-AI-27-012 funds P01 Program Project Grants, a mechanism reserved for tightly integrated multi-project research consortia. The total program pool is $4,800,000, divided across four expected awards of up to $1,200,000 each. This is a single-cycle RFA with one deadline: July 9, 2026; applications submitted after that date will not be considered. Clinical trials are not allowed under this NOFO. Eligible applicants include US universities, nonprofits, governments, and for-profit companies including small businesses; foreign organizations cannot receive awards, although foreign components within a US-led application are permitted. The P01 mechanism requires a strong administrative core and at least two scientifically integrated research projects with shared resources.

To compete successfully, applicants must demonstrate multi-disciplinary team science directly aligned with NIAID's Valley fever vaccine strategic plan rather than general Coccidioides biology. Teams should integrate immunology, microbiology, and translational or clinical research components. Applications are submitted to NIAID at CoccidioidomycosisResearchCenters@mail.nih.gov; full announcement details are in RFA-AI-27-012-Full-Announcement.html. Because only four awards are planned from a $4.8M pool, competition will be intense and reviewers will favor applications demonstrating both scientific rigor and concrete pathways toward vaccine candidate development.