Federal Grant Award Summary

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) awarded $224,857 to the University of Georgia Research Foundation on February 2, 2026, under the Allergy and Infectious Diseases Research program (CFDA 93.855) to establish a novel cystic fibrosis (CF) ferret model for chronic Mycobacterium abscessus (M. abs.) lung infection. The project, scheduled for completion by January 31, 2028, will develop and validate an animal model using CF ferrets carrying the human G551D CFTR mutation equivalent to demonstrate disease pathology, inflammatory responses, and infection profiles comparable to M. abs.-infected people with CF. This physiologically relevant model addresses critical gaps in current research capabilities, as existing mouse models cannot establish chronic M. abs. pulmonary infections and have significant respiratory physiology differences from humans.

The deliverables will provide the research community with a controlled experimental system to study M. abs. lung disease pathogenesis and evaluate potential antimicrobial therapeutics. This work supports NIAID's strategic objective to advance biomedical research on infectious diseases by enabling investigators to test novel treatment approaches against M. abs., a particularly challenging pathogen due to its high antibiotic resistance and association with accelerated lung function decline and lung transplantation ineligibility in CF patients. The ferret model will facilitate translational research bridging fundamental disease understanding with clinical therapeutic development.