2023
Dr. Meiqing Shi received a NIH R21 grant for his project titled Interactions of Cryptococcus neoformans with mononuclear phagocytes in the brain.
Dr. Daniel Nelson and his collaborators received an NIH R01 grant for his project titled “Endolysins as tools to eradicate pneumococcal biofilms and development of protective immunity.” This grant proposes to develop both a novel therapeutic and vaccine approach to address Streptococcus pneumoniae, the leading cause of bacterial community-acquired pneumonia worldwide.
Dr. Meiqing Shi received an R21 grant over two years from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for Mechanisms of balancing the immune response during cryptococcal meningoencephalitis.
2022
Dr. George Belov received an NIH R01 grant for his project titled “Infection-specific lipid metabolism as a target to control enterovirus infections.”
Dr. George Belov received a MAES competitive grant for his project titled "Identification of a molecular target of a novel broad-spectrum anti-enterovirus compound" for $30,000.
Yanli Chen and Dr. Ashley Strickland, graduate students in Dr. Meiqing Shi’s lab, were awarded the 2022 Jacob K. Goldhaber Travel Grant. This grant is intended to help defray the expenses incurred by graduate students who are traveling to scholarly, scientific, or professional conferences to present papers, posters, or other scholarly material.
Dr. Xiaoping Zhu received a MAES competitive grant for his project "Helminth-derived protein for the treatment of inflammatory diseases" for $30,000.
Dr. Mostafa Ghanem, Dr. Shankar Mondal, Dr. Nathaniel Tablante, and their team received a One Health Initiative Grant for their project titled “Understanding the role of chickens sold at Maryland’s feed stores, hatcheries, and auction markets in recent human salmonellosis outbreaks and identification of evidence-based interventions.”
Dr. Sean Riley and his collaborator, Dr. Elke Bergmann-Leitner, have received a 2-year NIH R21 grant titled: “Identification of Genetic Markers of Susceptibility to Intracellular Bacterial Infection Using the Collaborative Cross Mouse Model.” The proposed study will identify novel animal models that closely recapitulate variations in human disease to enhance the development of vaccines/immunotherapeutics and identify genetic factors that govern immunity against intracellular pathogens.
Dr. Yanjin Zhang received a new research grant for antiviral drug therapies for SARS-CoV-2 infection, sponsored by Viriom, Inc.
Dr. Don DeVoe (Mechanical Engineering), Dr. Don Milton (Public Health), Dr. Xiaoping Zhu (co-investigator) have received a NIH R21 grant: “Elucidating Airborne SARS-CoV-2 Infectivity at Single Aerosol Resolution.” This project will implement a set of clinical studies using a novel technology platform designed to elucidate the distribution, clustering, and infectivity of SARS- CoV-2 virus within exhaled breath aerosols, with the goal of enhancing our understanding of SARS-CoV-2 aerobiology and informing the design of improved approaches to mitigating viral spread.
Dr. Shaik O. Rahaman (Food & Nutrition), Dr. Xiaoming He (Bioengineering), and Dr. Xiaoping Zhu (co-PI) received a 5-year NIH NIAID R01 grant: Investigate the mechanisms underlying microRNA-146a activity in regulation of foreign body response to biomaterials. The major goal of this proposal is to determine the role of TRPV4 channel in the pathogenesis. The results of this proposal promise to define the role of microRNA-146a in the pathogenesis of FBR and may lead to novel and effective therapeutics for FBR and other fibrotic disorders.
The Poultry Extension Team, including Dr. Nathaniel Tablante, Project Director, Dr. Mostafa Ghanem, Dr. Jon Moyle (UME), and Ms. Jenny Rhodes (UME) and Ms. Maegan Perdue (UME), co-PDs, have received a 2-year USDA-NIFA Smith-Lever Special Needs grant titled "Biosecurity Compliance Audits to Prevent Outbreaks of HPAI and Risk-based Planning to Improve Outbreak Response" for over $106,963.
