Tks and Happy New Year to all.

Does anybody know when we should expect to see R21 paylines announced by NIAID.

C. George

C. George

Example 1 (118, 1.1 perc): This outstanding and well-written application proposes to delineate mechanisms by which Entamoeba histolytica recognizes and induces phagocytosis of colonic bacteria and host cells. The knowledge of the events which initiate phagocytosis by invasive E. histolytica will be of high impact in understanding the pathogenesis of this parasite. In response to the prior critiques, the revised application is greatly improved and generates excitement by adding a new aim and additional experiments such as transcriptional gene silencing and development of ominantnegative mutant. There are numerous strengths and no weaknesses have been noted. Novel hypothesis, well-developed research plan, innovative techniques, outstanding investigator and collaborators, impressive publications and strong and convincing preliminary data which support the feasibility of the proposed studies garner high enthusiasm for this application. There is high confidence in the success of the proposed studies.

Example 2 (114, .3 perc): This exciting application proposes to continue structural studies on the conformational changes that occur during maturation of flavivurses from immature particles to mature particles and on the changes that occur during fusion with the cell membrane. Flaviviruses are important human pathogens, and theses studies will provide important information that could lead to new antiviral and vaccine strategies. The Principal Investigator and his collaborators are at the forefront of structural virology, and the sophisticated approaches being developed will be applicable to other systems as well. The combination of sophisticated structural methods, mutant viruses, neutralizing monoclonal antibodies, and particles bound to receptor molecules promises to yield important insights. Overall enthusiasm is extremely high for this project to investigate important structural transformations that occur during the flavivirus life cycle.

Example 3 (115, 0.9 perc): This application seeks to test the hypothesis that targets of the Pseudomonas syringae type III effector HopU1, a mono-ADP-ribosyltransferase (ADP-RT), will be components of innate immunity. These studies should bring new insight into suppression of plant innate immune responses and RNA regulation in innate immunity and is highly significant work. This revised application has been improved over the previous submission. The impact of this project and experimental progress of this talented and productive investigator are documented by the recent publication of his preliminary data in Nature. The aims of this project are exciting, focused and well thought out. There is particular enthusiasm for Aim 1, to determine the consequence of ADPribosylation on the function of the RNA-binding protein AtGRP7, which was described as “the most interesting aim and should remain a top priority”. Overall, this application generates the highest levels of enthusiasm.