Teaming for Interdisciplinary Research Pre-Seed Program
Center of Excellence for Influenza Research and Response (CEIRR)
Center of Excellence for Influenza Research and Response (CEIRR)
This interdisciplinary team was established to submit a competitive proposal for an NIAID Center of Excellence for Influenza Research and Response (CEIRR). The center will have multiple goals: utilize human cohorts to interrogate influenza virus infection in healthy
and high-risk populations, as well as in severe infections requiring hospitalization; conduct national and international influenza virus surveillance, focusing on relevant species and the human-animal interface; perform research utilizing human and surveillance samples to interrogate host and viral determinants affecting the host response to infection, disease severity, and transmission; and utilize bioinformatic and mathematical approaches to understand factors influencing the outcomes of influenza infection and/or vaccination. The center will also collaborate with NIAID and other CEIRRs to support pandemic preparedness initiatives and serve as a resource during pandemic responses, including for risk assessment and communication. Finally, the center will host bioinformatic and computational modeling resources to analyze and integrate data across the CEIRR network. The long-term goals of the Center are to establish a multi-disciplinary collaborative team to conduct basic and clinical research to advance knowledge of factors that determine influenza emergence and transmission, and protection against influenza to accelerate development of new and improved control measures, serve as a resource for scientific and public health communities, and provide a research response in the event of epidemic or pandemic events.
Team Highlights
Read about the NIH-funded Center of Excellence in Influenza Research and Response, awarded in April 2021.
Team Lead
S. Mark Tompkins
College of Veterinary Medicine
smt@uga.edu
Team Members
Ted Ross
Center for Vaccines and Immunology
Pejman Rohani
Odum School of Ecology
Justin Bahl
Institute of Bioinformatics
Daniela Rajao
Department of Population Health
David Stallknecht
Department of Population Health
Glenn Nowak
Center for Health & Risk Communication
Andreas Handel
Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics
John Drake
Odum School of Ecology
Geert-Jan Boons
Complex Carbohydrate Research Center
Rebecca Poulson
Department of Population Health
Andrew Park
Odum School of Ecology