• The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) conducts and supports basic and applied research to better understand, treat, and ultimately prevent infectious, immunologic, and allergic diseases. For more than 50 years, NIAID research has led to new therapies, vaccines, diagnostic tests, and other technologies that have improved the health of millions of people in the United States and around the world.

The scope of the NIAID research portfolio has expanded considerably in recent years in response to new challenges such as:

• bioterrorism
• emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases including:
  • acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS)
  • severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)
  • West Nile virus
  • malaria
  • tuberculosis
• the increase in asthma prevalence among children in this country

• microbiology
• immunology
• infectious diseases