Immunology Quality Assessment (IQA) Program

Central to NIAID scientific priorities is the need to support the conduct of clinical studies for the prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS and its infectious and non-infectious co-morbidities, domestically and internationally. The purpose of this contract is to provide a resource to evaluate and enhance the ability of U.S. and non-U.S. laboratories (Labs) to participate in NIAID-funded and collaborative clinical studies by: (1) monitoring the ability of Labs to reliably perform study-specified immunological tests and cryopreserve peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and other human biological samples; (2) facilitating the optimization, standardization and validation of immunological assay methodologies, with focus on laboratory-developed-tests (LDTs) for implementation in NIAID-supported studies; (3) helping Labs meet sponsor and regulatory requirements for good clinical laboratory practices (GCLP) and submission of data to regulatory agencies; and (4) hosting and maintaining an electronic data management system and document library in support of contract activities.

are also within the scope of the contract.