10 Teams Win Funding for Scialog: Mitigating Zoonotic Threats Projects
In the first year of the Scialog: Mitigating Zoonotic Threats initiative, Research Corporation for Science Advancement and the U.S. Department of Agriculture have awarded a total of $1.25 million to 10 multidisciplinary teams of early career scientists to launch new research in the detection and mitigation of emerging animal-borne infectious diseases.
The 25 individual awards of $50,000 will go to 20 researchers from a variety of institutions, including two U.S. Department of Agriculture agencies working together at the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility — the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and the Agricultural Research Service (ARS).
The funded projects include seven new partnerships between USDA and academic scientists.
“Developing research partnerships between USDA and academic scientists is a specific part of ARS’ mission,” said Jeff Silverstein, Deputy Administrator, USDA Agricultural Research Service. “We want to capture new perspectives and create long-term networks for improving surveillance, preparation and countermeasure development to mitigate zoonotic disease.”
Scialog is short for “science + dialog.” Created in 2010 by RCSA, the Scialog format supports research by stimulating intensive interdisciplinary conversation and community building around a scientific theme of global importance.
The first meeting of the three-year initiative, held virtually September 30-October 1, 2021, brought together 75 participants from a variety of disciplines and interests — biology, chemistry, environmental science, computer modeling, ecology, epidemiology, physics, public health and veterinary science — to discuss challenges and gaps in current knowledge, build community around visionary goals, and form teams to write proposals for high-risk, high-reward projects based on the innovative ideas that emerge at the conference.
“As the COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated, we need to be prepared with better tools and strategies when the next infectious disease emerges,” said RCSA Senior Program Director Andrew Feig. “This initiative has sparked exciting conversations and high-quality proposals for interesting science, which could lead to game-changing breakthroughs in testing and surveillance, modeling, and possible interventions.”
“We in APHIS look forward to the results of these innovative projects to help us better prepare, detect and respond to zoonotic diseases for the protection of animal and public health,” added Elizabeth Lautner, Associate Deputy Administrator for Veterinary Services, APHIS.
The following Mitigating Zoonotic Threats teams will receive 2021 Scialog Collaborative Innovation Awards:
Tavis Anderson, Virus and Prion Research Unit, USDA
Cheryl Andam, Biological Sciences, University at Albany, SUNY
Nicole Eikmeier, Department of Computer Science, Grinnell College
Darwin’s Naturalization Conundrum Predicts Inter-species Pathogen Transmission Potential
Bethany McGregor, Arthropod Borne Animal Diseases Research Unit, USDA
Paola Boggiatto, Infectious Bacterial Diseases Research Unit, USDA
Jason Ladner, Department of Biology, Northern Arizona University
Enabling Comprehensive Immunoprofiling in Animals through a Combination of Xenosurveillance and Highly-multiplexed Serology
Laurene Tetard, Department of Physics/Nanoscience Technology Center, University of Central Florida
Bethany McGregor, Arthropod Borne Animal Diseases Research Unit, USDA
Employing Color-Changing Nanomaterials to Improve Vector-borne Disease Surveillance
Gonzalo Vazquez Prokopec, Department of Environmental Sciences, Emory University
Tavis Anderson, Virus and Prion Research Unit, USDA
Invasion Ecology and Genomics of Emerging Tick Borne Arboviruses: Predicting Niche Expansion of Heartland Virus Following the Invasion of Asian Longhorned Ticks in the U.S.
Paola Boggiatto, Infectious Bacterial Diseases Research Unit, USDA
Liliana Salvador, Infectious Diseases & Institute of Bioinformatics, University of Georgia
Host Adaptation of Mycobacterium bovis: A Comparative Transcriptomics Study of M. bovis Infection in a Multi-host System
Pilar Fernandez, Paul G. Allen School for Global Animal Health, Washington State University
Matthew Hopken, National Wildlife Research Center, USDA
Characterizing the Socio-ecological Spillover Interface by Xenosurveillance of Pathogen Metacommunities Using a Novel Insect Group
Crystal Hepp, School of Informatics, Computing, and Cyber Systems, Northern Arizona University
Silvie Huijben, School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University - Tempe Campus
Kezia Manlove, Department of Wildland Resources and Ecology Center, Utah State University
Estimating Aedes aegypti Spillover Potential and Evaluation of Current Mitigation Strategies
Joyce Jose, Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Pennsylvania State University
Kristin Koutmou, Department of Chemistry, University of Michigan
Discovering How RNA Epigenomic Modifications Impact Flavivirus Replication Speed and Fidelity
Hannah Frank, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Tulane University
Daniel Becker, Department of Biology, University of Oklahoma
Jason Ladner, Department of Biology, Northern Arizona University
Efrem Lim, School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University - Tempe Campus
Zoonotic Implications of Host Genetics, Immunity, and Virome in Bats
Dana Mitzel, Foreign Arthropod-Borne Animal Disease Unit, USDA’s National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility
Joyce Jose, Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Pennsylvania State University
Understanding Viral Factors Responsible for Vector Adaptation and Spillover for Surveillance and Mitigation of Zoonotic Flaviviruses with Pandemic Potential
