# The Johns Hopkins Baltimore-Washington-India Clinical Trials Unit (BWI CTU)

> **NIH NIH UM1** · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $460,679

## Abstract

SARS-CoV-2 is a coronavirus that has emerged as a major cause of pandemic upper and lower
respiratory tract infection, progressing in approximately 15-20% of infected persons to severe
pneumonia that can be complicated by adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and, in 1-
3% of infected persons, death. Collectively, respiratory and systemic illness due to this virus is
referred to as Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). SARS-CoV-2 infection also manifests
with relatively mild symptoms such as cough, sore throat, and fever, or with no symptoms
(asymptomatic infection). Persons with a mild or asymptomatic infection have been implicated
in the spread of this highly infectious virus in the community. Efficient, safe, and rigorous
research and clinical trials are essential to the development of interventions that can treat and
prevent COVID-19 infection. The Baltimore-Washington-India Clinical Trials Unit (BWI CTU)
supports high quality HIV-related treatment and prevention research at two domestic Clinical
Research Sites (CRS's) in Baltimore and Washington. The Johns Hopkins University Clinical
Research Site (JHU CRS) in Baltimore, and the Whitman Walker Health (WWH) CRS in
Washington, DC, have highly experienced and innovative leaders in anti-infective research and
have a long and successful record of HIV and viral hepatitis clinical research implementation.
The health systems that are supported by JHU and our partner institutions currently provide
medical coverage for more than half of all adult residents in the state. This includes having a
physical presence in every major population center in the state, including the metropolitan
Washington, DC, counties -- where nearly half of the state's cases have occurred. This gives us
unprecedented access to those with or at risk of this infection. JHU is also home to the Center
for Immunization Research, a renowned resource for clinical vaccine development and
evaluation. We have been invited by the HPTN and HVTN to serve as a site for SARS-CoV-2
vaccine and monoclonal antibody prevention trials. COVID-19 clinical research provides special
challenges beyond the processes developed for most traditional infectious diseases clinical
research. This supplement will allow our sites to prepare to offer high quality COVID-related
clinical research sponsored by DAIDS Networks, and enhance the protection of investigators
and research participants at JHU and WWH.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10165945
- **Project number:** 3UM1AI069465-14S1
- **Recipient organization:** JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Charles W. Flexner
- **Activity code:** UM1 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $460,679
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2020-06-25 → 2021-11-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10165945

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10165945, The Johns Hopkins Baltimore-Washington-India Clinical Trials Unit (BWI CTU) (3UM1AI069465-14S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10165945. Licensed CC0.

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