Federal Grant Award Summary

North Carolina State University received a $239,429 Project Grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) under the Allergy and Infectious Diseases Research program (CFDA 93.855), awarded July 14, 2026, with completion targeted for June 30, 2028. The project focuses on cultivation, genomic characterization, and virulence assessment of U.S. Orientia species, the bacterium responsible for scrub typhus. This research addresses the emerging public health threat posed by chigger-transmitted pathogens in the United States, an area previously assumed to pose minimal risk but recently identified as a potential disease vector following preliminary findings in North Carolina.

The project deliverables include functional and genomic characterization of U.S. Orientia strains through two primary objectives: (1) assessment of transmissibility and virulence through species identification and in vitro functional assays, and (2) genomic evaluation of virulence factors in U.S. Orientia isolates. These outputs are intended to establish the foundation for development of public health diagnostics and enhance understanding of chigger-related disease transmission risk in the United States. The high-risk, high-reward research will provide critical baseline data on a pathogen affecting nearly a billion people globally and represents the first comprehensive functional and genomic analysis of U.S. Orientia strains.