Federal Grant Award Summary

Northern Arizona University received an $800,000 Project Grant from the Institute of Food Production and Sustainability under the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI, CFDA 10.310) on March 1, 2026, with a completion date of February 28, 2029. The award funds development of an anti-tick vaccine for cattle to combat cattle fever, a deadly parasitic disease endemic in Mexico with significant risk of reintroduction to the United States. The project will address the growing challenge of chemical-resistant cattle fever ticks by using laboratory methods to identify and test vaccine candidates that generate strong immune responses in cattle, including the production of antibodies that directly target ticks and disrupt gut bacteria critical to tick blood meal processing.

The anticipated deliverables will include validated vaccine candidates capable of substantially reducing tick feeding and reproduction, thereby minimizing tick populations and mitigating the risk of cattle fever reestablishment in the U.S. market. This research directly supports AFRI's animal health and production priority area and aims to protect domestic cattle herds and livestock producers from potentially devastating economic losses while stabilizing beef prices for consumers. The work will be conducted at Northern Arizona University's facility in Flagstaff, Arizona.