Based on our team's substantial previous work and expertise in influenza vaccinology and poultry vaccine development, and to accommodate all the aforementioned characteristics, we propose to develop a…

The Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service awarded Duke University a cooperative agreement totaling $1,999,758 on February 2, 2026, under the Plant and Animal Disease, Pest Control, and Animal Care program (CFDA 10.025) to develop a novel prime-boost vaccine regimen for highly pathogenic avian influenza in laying hens.

Duke University, through a partnership with North Carolina State University, will develop and optimize a two-stage vaccination approach combining a DNA plasmid-launched viral replicon HPAI vaccine administered subcutaneously at one day of age with Newcastle disease virus-vectored HPAI vaccine boosters delivered in drinking water. Both platforms target multiple hemagglutinin and neuraminidase antigens to elicit protective HPAI immunity. The project encompasses vaccine optimization, safety and compatibility characterization with other poultry vaccines, detailed evaluation of vaccine-induced immunity, and demonstration of protective efficacy against lethal HPAI-H5N1 challenge. Place of performance is Durham, North Carolina.

The period of performance runs from February 2, 2026, through February 1, 2029. North Carolina State University serves as a sub-recipient, with a sub-award of $1,999,758 obligated on May 4, 2026, supporting vaccine-based control strategies to mitigate highly pathogenic avian influenza outbreaks.

Based on our team's substantial previous work and expertise in influenza vaccinology and poultry vaccine development, and to accommodate all the aforementioned characteristics, we propose to develop a novel prime-boost vaccine approach for layers that incorporates two vaccine modalities into one practical regimen: (1) a DNA plasmid-launched viral replicon hpai vaccine "prime" given subcutaneously at one day of age, and (2) newcastle disease virus (NDV)-vectored hpai vaccine "boosters" administered in the drinking water at different intervals as per the poultry industry vaccination program for NDV. Both vaccine platforms will produce M ultiple hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA) antigens designed to elicit strong protective hpai immunity. The proposed project, through a partnership between the north carolina state and duke universities, will generate an optimized viable vaccine regimen (objectives 1 and 2), characterize vaccine safety and compatibility with other poultry vaccines and perform a detailed evaluation of the vaccine induced immunity (objectives 3 and 4), and demonstrate protective efficacy against lethal hpai-H5N1 challenge (objective 5).