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NIH grant 1U01AI190384-01: Center for Spillover Prevention, One Health Research, and Outbreak Readiness in Asia (SPORA)
Institute: {'code': 'AI', 'abbreviation': 'NIAID', 'name': 'National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases', 'admin_org_id': '12500003', 'admin_funding_url': ''}. PI: Emily Suzanne Gurley. Award: $1300553.
Start: 2026-09-18T00:00:00.
PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
Most pandemics are triggered by zoonotic spillovers from non-human reservoir hosts. Current strategies to
mitigate pandemic risk focus on quickly identifying large outbreaks to stop their spread and developing
vaccines to save lives and reduce illness once an outbreak occurs. While valuable and necessary, these
approaches are reactive and do not prevent spillovers. To achieve primary pandemic prevention, we must find
and investigate spillovers, and their mechanistic drivers, to learn how to prevent them. This process spans the
discovery of spillover threats, detection and One Health investigation of spillovers, and research on their
proximal and upstream drivers. Our proposed Center for Spillover Prevention, One Health Research, and
Outbreak Readiness in Asia (SPORA) aims to address this evidence gap through research that advances
global health along a continuum from discovery of potential zoonotic threats to prevention of worrisome
emerging infectious diseases, including henipaviruses, betacoronaviruses, and hantaviruses. This research will
be conducted in Bangladesh and Indonesia because these viruses circulate there and conditions associated
with high spillover risk exist in these countries. Alongside our research, we will develop tools to rapidly
identify, respond to, and investigate spillover events; understand their mechanistic drivers, and build the
evidence needed to predict and prevent spillovers. Our SPORA team will lead efforts to identify, respond to,
and prevent spillovers and the next pandemic through three Specific Aims. In Specific Aim 1, our One Health
team will leverage decades of experience in Bangladesh and Indonesia to identify high-risk conditions for
Nipah virus and novel henipavirus spillovers. Nipah and Nipah-like viruses cause yearly outbreaks in Asia,
characterized by high case fatality and superspreading events. By identifying ecological risks for spillovers, we
can better target and develop interventions. In Specific Aim 2, we will develop and validate rapid, fielddeployable
tools in Bangladesh to: 1) identify spillovers of emerging zoonotic threats among animals and
humans, and 2) identify ecological drivers of spillover risk. These tools will include a rapid field-based
diagnostic test. Building on considerable preliminary evidence about undetected spillovers, we aim to
investigate new zoonotic threats in collaboration with public health partners in Specific Aim 2. In Specific Aim 3,
we will conduct One Health investigations of detected emerging zoonotic spillovers to identify opportunities for
primary pandemic prevention. We will adapt our online One Health Investigations training course for the
Bangladesh and Indonesia contexts, and will share our detection and investigation tools with the CREID
network and beyond. Our proposed aims will generate the knowledge needed to reduce the risk of these
viruses spilling over from animals to people, spreading among people, and potentially reaching the United
States, thereby directly contributing to the protection of the health of Americans.document fetched 2026-09-27 02:45