· Islet Transplantation
· Kidney & Liver Transplantation
· Autoimmune Diseases
· Allergy & Asthma

In addition, the ITN accepts applications for the development of novel tolerance assay or mechanistic studies, for the purposes of establishing new surrogate markers of immune tolerance and investigating the mechanisms of clinical tolerance. For example, the ITN will consider proposals that seek to better understand clinical tolerance by utilizing ITN tolerance assay resources in existing or planned clinical trials that are funded through other sources.

The ITN has also recently announced a new funding program in cooperation with the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. The JDRF-ITN Partnership in Immune Tolerance Program provides funding and support for early stage clinical development of potential tolerance inducing therapies in type 1 diabetes. If you are submitting an application for an early, phase I study in type 1 diabetes, you may qualify under this program. More information on this program may be found here.

The Application Process

The ITN application process is a two-stage process designed to fast-track applications from proposal to protocol development. Applicants submit a short ~5-page Concept Proposal to the ITN that provides ITN reviewers with basic conceptual information and justification. Applicants whose proposals are of interest to the ITN will then be asked to submit a more complete Full Application for review.

The process differs significantly from traditional study section reviews by maintaining a much more interactive flavor designed to assist potential investigators the preparation of highly focused, relevant scientific proposals.

There is no deadline for submission of Concept Proposals - they are accepted throughout the year, with reviews taking place several times per year. Please refer to the instructions on this website for information on how to submit a proposal.

Interactive Map of the ITN Review Process:

[clickable map with information about each step]

Potential applicants are advised to consult the Network mission and priorities prior to submission - only those projects falling within the mandate of the Network will be considered. The ITN will accept proposals for any novel tolerance inducing strategies within our defined disease areas. The Network will NOT accept proposals for non-human or preclinical studies.

Detailed guidelines on Concept Proposals submitted to the ITN are available.

General Research Guidelines

Concept Proposals for novel clinical studies of tolerogenic protocols should be sufficiently advanced in non-human trials and have a solid biological basis for potential to induce tolerance. Appropriate combinations of currently accepted tolerogenic agents will be considered. Proposals for tolerance assays should provide a general overview of the rationale and basis for the assay and the clinical indications for which it will be applied. Note that the emphasis of these proposals is on the idea itself - statistical, reagent acquisition, and other logistical concerns will be addressed only upon reaching the Full Application stage.

Funding Available

Note that the number of projects funded and the total available funding varies from year to year. Funding of accepted projects are subcontracted by the University of California San Francisco.