PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT—ASTHMA AND ALLERGIC DISEASES GROUP Through this Funding Opportunity Announcement, the NIAID Division of Allergy, Immunology and Transplantation (DAIT) intends to consolidate its funding for multiple, independent Statistical and Clinical Coordinating Centers (SACCCs) into a single multi-component cooperative agreement, presumably to reduce costs and increase efficiency and standardization across research consortia. This new program will fund a single SACCC or Center to support DAIT research in the areas of asthma and allergic diseases, autoimmune diseases, and transplantation, and in the area of asthma and allergic diseases research, this Center will provide support to 5 consortia—the Asthma and Allergic Diseases Cooperative Research Centers (AADCRCs), the Atopic Dermatitis Research Network (ADRN), the Consortium of Food Allergy Research (CoFAR), the Inner-City Asthma Consortium (ICAC), and the asthma and allergy component of Immune Tolerance Network (ITN). Within the Center, support for these 5 consortia will be organized under 1 group—the Asthma and Allergy Diseases Group (AADG). The objective of the AADG is to provide excellent and efficient study coordination support services across the 5 asthma and allergic diseases research consortia. To accomplish this objective, RhoFED aims to (1) provide staff experienced in asthma and allergic disease research conducted by DAIT-supported consortia and to organize these staff in an administrative structure that manages resources efficiently, is responsive to the needs of the research consortia and DAIT, and facilitates communication and collaboration; (2) provide experienced scientists and statisticians who, in collaboration with clinical investigators and senior DAIT officials, design and analyze studies across the full scope of research in asthma and allergic diseases; (3) facilitate the development, review, and revision of initial and successive drafts of protocols and protocol-related documents through dedicated AADG protocol teams; and (4) provide study initiation and study management functions that are required for the efficient, valid, and ethical conduct of studies. In addition, the AADG will support the continuation of the ADRN Subject Registry and the ICAC Clinical Specimen Repository. Because RhoFED is currently the SACCC for ADRN, ICAC, and ITN and maintains the ADRN Subject Registry and the ICAC Clinical Specimen Repository, RhoFED is well suited to provide consolidated SACCC support across the 5 consortia. And, by providing staff with experience in supporting asthma and allergic disease research consortia and an administrative infrastructure designed to enhance collaboration between parties and support agile and effective resource management, we believe that support of these 5 consortia through the newly formed Center and the AADG will directly contribute to the achievement of the DAIT objective to better understand, treat, and prevent asthma and allergic diseases.