This $309,184 Project Grant award from the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Biological Sciences program (CFDA 47.074) supports research led by Dr. William Carr at the Research Foundation of the City University of New York (RFCUNY) - Medgar Evers College. The goal is to identify key regulators of innate immunity to the rabies virus in bats, which can survive rabies infection despite its lethal nature in other mammals. To achieve this, the project will employ advanced computational and genomic approaches, including single-nuclei RNA sequencing and explainable artificial intelligence, to analyze gene expression patterns in bat brains during rabies infection. By uncovering the mechanisms behind bats' resilience to rabies, this research could provide insights into viral immunity that benefit public health and our scientific understanding of host-pathogen interactions. The award also includes plans to develop new computational biology training and courses to equip undergraduate students, especially from underrepresented backgrounds, with cutting-edge research skills. The project period runs from September 1, 2024 to August 31, 2027.
Generated 3/4/25, 7:29 AM