Immune Mechanisms of Protection Against Mycobacterium tuberculosis Center (IMPAc-TB)

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases seeks research proposals for the Immune Mechanisms of Protection Against Mycobacterium tuberculosis Center (IMPAc-TB) program to accelerate tuberculosis vaccine development, with proposals due September 1, 2026, and questions due July 2, 2026. No set-aside applies; this is open competition.

Place of performance is the United States. The program requires characterization of tissue-specific and systemic protective immune responses against Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection and advancement of tools and resources for TB vaccine development, including biological models, new approach methodologies, organoids, in vitro systems, and computational modeling platforms. All proposals must incorporate human samples and/or clinical studies, at least one animal model, and computational data integration with cross-comparative analyses.

Awards will be made on a cost-reimbursement basis to educational institutions, nonprofit organizations, or research and development contractors, with anticipated two to three contracts. The NAICS code is 541715, Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences. Period of performance commences on the award date; base period cost and option period costs are to be determined.

Offerors must register in SAM prior to award and submit subcontracting plans included with the business proposal at submission (not through SBCX until invited to negotiate). The contract incorporates HHS and NIH policies on human subjects protection, clinical trial registration, financial conflict of interest, data sharing, reproducibility, animal welfare, and public access to research publications. Contractors must report via the eRA system and submit semi-annual technical progress reports. Each curriculum vitae is included in the page limit and may not exceed four pages; references are also page-limited. Foreign subcontractors and subsites are permitted without restrictions. Proposed budgets include $300,000 annually for cross-contract collaborative studies in years two through five, maximum three staff for scientific meeting attendance per contract year, and two total site visits across the contract life. Amendment No. 2 was issued July 21, 2026; offerors must acknowledge receipt on each proposal copy.