This $649,992 federal Project Grant awarded by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) under the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) program seeks to investigate how certain bird flu viruses, particularly H5, H7, and H9 strains, adapt to infect cattle. The research will examine how these viruses bind to and infect various cattle tissues, including the lungs, digestive system, and mammary glands, to assess their potential risk to livestock. The project will also analyze genetic changes in the hemagglutinin protein that enables the virus to attach to host cells, in order to understand how mutations affect the virus's ability to infect cattle. This research aims to develop a risk assessment to guide mitigation and preparedness strategies for protecting cattle from emerging bird flu strains, with the goal of safeguarding animal health, food security, and the resilience of the U.S. dairy and beef industries.