Federal Grant Award Summary

Duke University's Office of Research Administration received a $829,735 Project Grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) under the Allergy and Infectious Diseases Research program (CFDA 93.855), effective April 1, 2026 through March 31, 2031. The award supports discovery and optimization of broadly protective Merbecovirus neutralizing antibodies targeting Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) and related betacoronaviruses. The research focuses on identifying cross-protective monoclonal neutralizing antibodies (NABs) from vaccinated rhesus macaques that demonstrate broad-spectrum binding capacity against multiple MERS-related receptor binding domains, determining the critical binding interface features of these cross-reactive NABs, and establishing cross-protective efficacy against diverse merbecoviruses with zoonotic potential.

This research addresses a significant public health priority by generating antibody-based therapeutics and vaccine candidates for a pathogen class that poses considerable pandemic risk. Unlike existing medical countermeasures developed for SARS-CoV-2, this project targets the broader merbecovirus family, which circulates globally and has been identified in mammals worldwide with demonstrated capacity to utilize human cellular receptors for viral entry. The work aims to enable rational design of broadly neutralizing antibody therapeutics to combat MERS-CoV and related viral threats with mortality rates exceeding 36 percent.