The National Science Foundation Division of Environmental Biology awarded Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University $400,000 on January 15, 2027, to examine eco-evolutionary drivers of viral spillover from wildlife to humans, with performance through December 31, 2028, at the Blacksburg, Virginia campus.
The project integrates long-term evolutionary data and scientific collections to uncover factors driving zoonotic spillover events. The recipient will develop a unified eco-evolutionary framework incorporating multi-host dynamics that explains how interactions among wildlife hosts, viruses, and environmental conditions drive viral diversification, transmission, and human disease outcomes. The work uses data and samples from the NSF National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) to examine orthohantaviruses and their rodent hosts, combining large-scale global data with detailed local observations to improve predictability of disease emergence. Deliverables include a modeling framework applicable to other zoonotic systems, stakeholder training and workshops, and undergraduate curriculum development to disseminate findings for public health strategy development and enhanced understanding of zoonotic disease transmission and viral diversity.
This award falls under the NSF Biological Sciences program (CFDA 47.074), which supports basic research to advance the biological sciences and address major scientific challenges.