Co-investigator Lijuan Yuan, professor of virology and immunology in the Department of Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology, has been awarded a NIH R56 grant to work in collaboration with Dr. Ming Tan of the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital to develop a uniquely designed nanoparticles into a multivalent rotavirus vaccine with improved efficacy and safety to facilitate the fight against rotavirus diseases.

TITLE
A Nanoparticle-Based Multivalent Rotavirus Vaccine

FUNDING AGENCY

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) / National Institutes of Health (NIH)

TOTAL AWARD

$626,446
Award to Lijuan Yuan: $261,934
Direct: $163,709
Indirect: $98,225

DURATION OF AWARD
Aug. 1, 2020 — July 31, 2021

KEY FACULTY PERSONNEL
PI: Ming Tan, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Ohio
Co-I and subcontract: Lijuan Yuan

SIGNFICANCE
Rotaviruses cause deadly diarrhea in infants and young children. Even with availability of the current live oral vaccines, rotaviruses still cause ~200,000 deaths, millions of hospitalizations, and huge economic loss per annum, indicating an urgent need for better prevention strategies against rotaviruses. NIAID, NIH awarded a R56 grant (R56AI148426) to a team between Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center (Ming Tan, PI) and Virginia Tech (Lijuan Yuan, subcontract PI) to develop a uniquely designed nanoparticles into a multivalent rotavirus vaccine with improved efficacy and safety to facilitate our fight against rotavirus diseases.