The National Institutes of Health (NIH) last week announced the allocation of $4.5 million across three grant awards to create collaborative research centers in the United States, focusing specifically on investigating treatments and vaccines specifically related to Valley Fever.
These centers will investigate diagnostics, treatments, and vaccines for the fungal disease, also known as coccidioidomycosis. Participants will include researchers from the University of California, San Francisco, the University of California, Los Angeles, and the University of Texas, San Antonio. Their efforts will build on the nearly $70 million the NIH has already allocated to Valley Fever research since 2013.
“For years, we have been working to mitigate and stamp out Valley Fever,” U.S. Rep. Kevin MacCarthy (R-CA) said. “With Valley Fever cases continuing to rise, this funding comes at a critical time. I am glad to see that Dr. Royce Johnson and the Valley Fever Institute will be involved in these research efforts. I am thankful to my Co-Chair, Representative Schweikert, for working with me on this issue throughout the years and the NIH for focusing resources on diagnosing, developing treatments, and ultimately, eradicating Valley Fever.”
MacCarthy and U.S. Rep. David Schweikert (R-AZ), co-chairs of the Congressional Valley Fever Task Force, have previously called for research funding to combat the disease. Both congressmen were praised by the Valley Fever Institute at Kern Medical and the Valley Fever Center for Excellence at the University of Arizona for their efforts. Arizona hosts nearly two-thirds of all U.S. Valley Fever cases.
“I know that we have a long way to go in the fight to end Valley Fever once and for all, and this funding for new research is a great leap forward,” Schweikert said in a separate statement.
The Valley Fever Institute at Kern Medical will provide clinical evaluation and recruitment for the new research centers separately.