Federal Grant Award Summary

The University of Florida's Division of Sponsored Research received a $230,250 Project Grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) under the Allergy and Infectious Diseases Research program (CFDA 93.855), awarded April 17, 2026, with completion targeted for March 31, 2028. The project, titled "Deciphering Human-KSHV Protein Interactions Driving Kaposi Sarcoma with AI Models," will develop an artificial intelligence-driven computational framework to systematically identify protein-protein interactions between Kaposi's Sarcoma-Associated Herpesvirus (KSHV) and human host proteins, with specific focus on identifying viral mechanisms that suppress the cGAS-STING antiviral signaling pathway.

The deliverables include three primary components: (1) development and validation of deep learning and protein language models to predict high-confidence viral-host interactions using large-scale protein sequences; (2) molecular identification and validation of KSHV proteins that inhibit cGAS/STING signaling; and (3) functional characterization of candidate viral open reading frames in relation to latency establishment and lytic replication. The resulting AI models and analytical tools will be open-sourced and disseminated to the scientific community, generating novel insights into KSHV-driven pathogenesis mechanisms and identifying potential therapeutic targets for KSHV-associated malignancies including Kaposi's sarcoma and primary effusion lymphoma.