Project Grant R01AI193490

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases awarded Texas Biomedical Research Institute (doing business as Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research) $962,661 on September 1, 2026, under the Allergy and Infectious Diseases Research program (CFDA 93.855) to develop immunocompetent mouse models of chikungunya virus-induced neurological disease.

The project, which runs through August 31, 2031, uses the genetically diverse Collaborative Cross mouse population to elucidate genetic and immune factors mediating chikungunya virus neuropathogenesis. Chikungunya virus represents a re-emerging public health threat as mosquito vectors spread to new territories; over 3.7 million cases have been reported in the Americas over the last decade, including local transmission in the United States. While chikungunya typically induces arthritogenic disease, up to 25 percent of cases result in neurological disease such as encephalitis and meningitis. Previous chikungunya neuropathogenesis studies have relied on pre-weanling or immunocompromised mice because adult C57BL/6J mice are not susceptible to chikungunya neuroinvasion following subcutaneous inoculation. The funded research will develop neurodevelopmentally appropriate, immunocompetent mouse models that recapitulate chikungunya neuropathogenesis observed in humans and can be used to elucidate the role of the immune response, particularly T cells, in disease pathology. Work is performed in San Antonio, Texas.