Federal Grant Award Summary

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) awarded a Project Grant of $749,736 to The Washington University (Office of Sponsored Research Services) effective June 1, 2026, through May 31, 2031, under the Allergy and Infectious Diseases Research program (CFDA 93.855). This award supports investigator-initiated biomedical research focused on establishing the first in vitro culture system and characterizing the basic biology of picobirnaviruses (PBVs), small double-stranded bisegmented RNA viruses highly prevalent in the human enteric tract.

The research deliverables include developing and optimizing bacterial single-cell RNA-sequencing methodology to identify viral host organisms, characterizing PBV infection mechanisms, and establishing culture protocols using stool-derived bacterial communities. By definitively establishing whether PBVs are bacterial phages rather than human and animal pathogens, this research will overcome the current rate-limiting barrier preventing experimental investigation of PBV disease causality, particularly regarding PBV associations with Type 1 diabetes and severe graft-versus-host-disease in hematopoietic stem cell transplant recipients. The work to be performed at the St. Louis, Missouri location will generate scientific knowledge and methodological advances to advance understanding of PBV pathogenic mechanisms and improve public health outcomes.