The Maternal and Pediatric Infectious Disease Branch (MPIDB) at the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) supports and conducts domestic and international research related to the epidemiology, diagnosis, clinical manifestations, pathogenesis, transmission, treatment, and prevention of HIV infection and its complications in infants, children, adolescents, and women (pregnant and non-pregnant).
As the HIV epidemic has evolved and other infectious diseases have emerged, the Branch has ensured that its funded research reflects these changes and addresses important research opportunities and gaps as they arise, which includes clinical and epidemiological research on HIV-associated co-infections in children and pregnant women, and on the transmission, treatment, and prevention of other significant infectious diseases, including Zika virus.
Westat is the contractor to NICHD for the NICHD International and Domestic Pediatric and Maternal HIV Studies and Other Infectious Diseases Data Coordinating Center (DCC). Westat's affiliation with NICHD began in 1987, when Westat was awarded a contract to develop and implement a clinical trial in HIV-infected infants and children to evaluate the use of Intravenous Immunoglobulin prophylaxis of bacterial infections in HIV-infected children. The NICHD Pediatric HIV Clinical Trials Network was established in 1988 to conduct this study. As of June 2021, the NICHD Network consists of 25 domestic and international clinical centers (15 in the U.S. , five sites in Brazil, two sites in Thailand, one site in Uganda, one site in Kenya and one site in Tanzania) participating in IMPAACT and NICHD-managed clinical studies.
Westat's responsibilities as the DCC for the NICHD Network include:
- Serving as a liaison between the NICHD Network sites, NICHD, NIAID and multiple IMPAACT contractors
- Negotiating budgets and subcontracts with NICHD-funded clinical trial sites and laboratories
- Assisting with the data management component of IMPAACT and NICHD-managed studies. Performing clinical site monitoring
- Ensuring compliance with Sponsor and Federal regulations
- Providing training on Good Clinical Practices, Westat procedures, and specific protocol implementation
- Providing feedback on clinical trial site performance and giving recommendations for improved performance
The purpose of the Westat NICHD Clinical Trials Network Web site is to enhance communication between NICHD, Westat, and the Network clinical trials 
centers. A primary objective of the Web site is to support efficient dissemination of protocol and site-specific information and to be a resource for research staff.
