Federal Project Grant Award Summary

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) awarded a $439,250 Project Grant under the Allergy and Infectious Diseases Research program (CFDA 93.855) to the University of California, San Diego, with an award date of February 4, 2026, and completion date of January 31, 2028. The grant supports discovery and research into mammalian serpins (serine protease inhibitors) as host-encoded viral protease inhibitors. The research will investigate how serpins—proteins that naturally inhibit serine and cysteine proteases—have evolved in a species-specific manner to directly inhibit viral protease activity and suppress viral replication. The project builds upon preliminary evidence that several mammalian serpins contain rapidly evolving reactive center loops under positive selection and that primate serpins have independently evolved sequences mimicking the cleavage site preferences of proteases from picornaviruses and coronaviruses.

The deliverables under this grant include scientific research and analysis examining the mechanisms by which serpins inhibit viral protease activity during infection, with the ultimate objective of establishing serpins as a modular platform for evolution of host-specific antiviral activity. The work is being conducted at UC San Diego's La Jolla, California campus, leveraging the institution's research capabilities in virology, immunology, and molecular biology to advance understanding of natural antiviral defense mechanisms and potentially inform therapeutic development strategies against RNA and DNA viruses.