Project Structure
The Program Director (PD), Dr. Daniel R. Perez , and the Co-Program Director (co-PD), Dr. Richard D. Slemons , are responsible for overall management of the project "Prevention and Control of Avian Influenza in the U.S." (AICAP). The relationship between the Program director, the co-program director, objective coordinators, regional coordinators, collaborators, the Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) and the Stakeholder panel is shown below.
Executive Committee(EC): The PD, co-PD and objective coordinators constitute the Executive Committee. The EC will work to reach consensus on all major decisions. If there is no consensus, the 2/3-majority vote will decide the course of action to follow. The EC is responsible for ensuring that all the scientific and programmatic objectives are met. The primary administrative responsibility of the EC will be to insure that projects are completed within budgets and schedules, as well as intervening to insure that resources are made available for each project. Changes in the EC may occur during the life of the program, in which case alternative nominees will be selected among the list of participating investigators. Please feel free to contact any member of the EC if you have questions, comments, or would like to know more about possible funding on your area of expertise.
| Name | Affiliation | Expertise |
| David Suarez | Southeast Poultry Research Laboratory, USDA, Athens, GA | Molecular evolution, pathogenesis and immunology of influenza A viruses. |
| Richard D. Slemons | Department of Veterinary Preventive Medicine. The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH | Natural history of type A influenza viruses, pathogenesis of influenza A virus infections in birds, prevention, control and eradication of avian influenza. |
| Carol Cardona | Dept. of Population Health and Reproduction, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, CA | Influenza control, biosecurity, education and outreach. |
| Ruben Donis | Influenza Branch, CDC, Atlanta, GA | Molecular biology of influenza, viral pathogenesis. Public Health. |
| Nathaniel Tablante | Department of Veterinary Medicine. University of Maryland, College Park, MD | Epidemiology, poultry health, education and outreach. Options for carcass disposal. |
| Haroldo Toro | Department of Pathobiology, Auburn University, Auburn, AL. | Viral diseases of avian species. |
| Daniel R. Perez | Department of Veterinary Medicine. University of Maryland, College Park, MD | Influenza reverse genetics, virus-host interactions, vaccines. |
Scientific Advisory Board(SAB): The SAB will play a pivotal role in monitoring the scientific quality of the project, the scientific merit of research proposals, and provide recommendations for funding of specific projects to the PCAI program. Scientific review of all project proposals in the program will be the major activity of the SAB. The panel members have broad experience encompassing the major areas relevant to the project, including virus-host interactions, epidemiology/outreach, diagnostics, and vaccine development. Ad-hoc reviewers will be assigned in the event that additional expertise is required to evaluate specific program activities. The SAB will interact with the program participants, through the EC, at six months intervals and will meet with the EC and the stakeholder panel on an annual basis.
Stakeholder Participation: The EC will hold a face-to-face meeting with the members of the National Avian Influenza Stakeholders Panel at the start of the granting period and on an annual basis thereafter. At the first meeting, the EC will present an overview of the objectives of the PCAI project and invite the stakeholders to provide input regarding the implementation of the grant. This Stakeholders meeting will be held at the time of the inaugural planning meeting to insure that their suggestions are taken into account during the planning of future activities. The National stakeholders board will receive a progress report at the end of each year of the PCAI granting period. At the annual meetings, the Stakeholders will be briefed by the EC members and will provide their evaluation of the PCAI grant activities.
Regional Coordinators: will be part of the Stakeholders panel and will act as liaisons between the stakeholders in different regions of the country and the PCAI program. Individuals representing four regions have been identified. Regional coordinators will be responsible for identifying critical stakeholders in each region, inviting their review of materials generated during work on the grant and soliciting stakeholder comments on new directions for research and emerging needs.
