Project Grant R21AI202210

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases awarded Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University $199,059 on August 19, 2026, under the Allergy and Infectious Diseases Research program (CFDA 93.855) to study competitive microbial interactions driving pathogen adaptation during biofilm-associated infections.

The research addresses polymicrobial chronic wound infections, which are predicted to affect 2 percent of the U.S. population and cost the healthcare system up to $97 billion annually. The project combines a porcine full-thickness thermal injury wound model with microbial single-cell lineage tracking and next-generation sequencing to analyze polymicrobial interactions in clinically relevant infection contexts. The work tests the hypothesis that competitive interactions in polymicrobial biofilms drive adaptation of traditional pathogens—particularly Pseudomonas aeruginosa, the second most common organism isolated from chronic wound infections—resulting in phenotypes that facilitate infection persistence and treatment failure.

Performance occurs in Blacksburg, Virginia, with a period of performance extending from August 19, 2026, through July 31, 2028. This is a Project Grant, an assistance type that funds developmental research in infectious disease at universities and research institutions.