Federal Project Grant Award Summary

The University of North Dakota received $207,810 in federal funding from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) under the Allergy and Infectious Diseases Research program (CFDA 93.855) for a project initiated May 1, 2026, with completion targeted for April 30, 2028. This Project Grant supports research to evaluate isoxazoline drugs—a new generation of systemic insecticides currently used in veterinary medicine for flea and tick control—as potential mosquito control agents. The research will establish the duration of mosquitocidal efficacy for two specific isoxazoline compounds, fluralaner and lotilaner, when administered to relevant vertebrate reservoir species involved in the transmission of vector-borne diseases, specifically songbirds (amplifying hosts for West Nile Virus) and cattle (hosts for malaria-transmitting Anopheles mosquitoes).

This research initiative addresses the growing public health burden of vector-borne diseases in the United States by determining the feasibility of utilizing existing, proven pharmacological agents as an integrated mosquito control strategy. The project will generate scientific evidence on drug persistence and efficacy that informs whether isoxazoline-based vector control represents a viable complementary approach to existing mosquito management protocols, potentially expanding the toolkit available for reducing mosquito-borne disease transmission at the local population level.