Block Grant R43AI078695

This National Science Foundation (NSF) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I award to RT Microdx Inc. provides $274,362 to develop a novel molecular diagnostic platform for detecting respiratory diseases like strep throat. The platform aims to provide laboratory-quality accuracy for at-home use by non-healthcare professionals. Key technical objectives include optimizing the sensitivity of the platform's pH-sensitive polymer detection mechanism and ensuring robust performance at...

This $788,406 project grant from the National Institutes of Health National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, under the Allergy and Infectious Diseases Research program (CFDA 93.855), will fund the development of a sensitive, direct reading bioaerosol detection platform to quantify airborne pathogens such as SARS-CoV-2. Aerosol Devices Inc. will integrate their gentle condensation-growth capture sampler, which concentrates intact, viable virus particles into a small liquid volume...

This $960,000 National Science Foundation project grant supports the development of a multiplexed plasmon-enhanced lateral flow assay for point-of-care detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA and antigens. Funded under the NSF Engineering program (CFDA 47.041), the grantee, Washington University, will design, validate and build a novel diagnostic platform with sensitivity exceeding standard laboratory tests. Key deliverables include an ultrasensitive multiplexed lateral flow assay for simultaneous...

Numentus Technologies Inc. received a $303,685 Project Grant award from the National Science Foundation on February 15, 2021 to develop rapid planar PCR technology for COVID-19 testing. The award was made under the NSF's Engineering program (CFDA 47.041) to support innovation and excellence in engineering research. Through this funding, Numentus will work to advance the development of planar PCR, a technology that enables highly sensitive COVID-19 detection on a single integrated testing...

This National Science Foundation Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships Project Grant totaling $265,999 will support Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Camden in developing a rapid and reliable point-of-care screening for infectious diseases such as COVID-19. Specifically, the university will demonstrate a mass screening method to rapidly detect viruses to identify early infected individuals for quarantine. This work will enable rapid and reliable point-of-care detection with...

This Project Grant award from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), under the Allergy and Infectious Diseases Research program (CFDA 93.855), will support the development of a novel universal rapid test for HIV diagnosis. IGE Immunodiagnostics & Therapeutics, LLC, a minority-owned small business, will receive $294,948 to adapt their existing HIV ELISA test into a 5th generation antigen/antibody combination rapid test format. The goal is to create a simple, rapid,...

Controlpoint Inc. was awarded a $256,000 Project Grant from the National Science Foundation to develop a rapid, single-use, point-of-care lateral flow device for detecting kennel cough pathogens. The one-year award, made under the NSF Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships program, will support test validation, prototype manufacturing, and clinical evaluation to demonstrate the feasibility of detecting multiple bacteria and viruses associated with kennel cough in a single diagnostic test....

This Project Grant from the National Science Foundation's Engineering Directorate (NSF ENG) provides $249,829 to Northeastern University to develop an integrated platform for high accuracy measurements of viral particle count and infectious titer. The platform will combine nano-pore technology to identify viral particles based on biophysical properties with single-molecule RNA fluorescence in situ hybridization to discriminate individual molecules of viral RNA in infected cells. This will enable...

The National Science Foundation awarded the University of Illinois a $100,000 project grant under the NSF Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships program to develop an aerial virus detector system. The university will use the one-year award ending June 2023 to create a portable device that can directly detect airborne COVID-19 and other viral particles. The proposed technology integrates a COVID-reactive surface with a sensitive detection mechanism to identify the presence of a virus particle...

Federal Grant Award Summary The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) awarded the Regents of the University of California, San Francisco a $451,000 Project Grant under the Allergy and Infectious Diseases Research program (CFDA 93.855) to develop the Digital Droplet Aerosol Capture & Quantification (DDACQ) system. This award, effective April 1, 2026 through March 31, 2028, addresses the critical public health need for rapid, portable, and quantitatively accurate...