Project Grant R21AI202507

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases awarded the University of Washington $296,414 on August 17, 2026, under the Allergy and Infectious Diseases Research program (CFDA 93.855) to investigate effector-triggered inflammasome activation in rotavirus host defense and viral pathogenesis.

The research addresses rotavirus as the primary cause of severe dehydrating diarrhea in children under age five, responsible for approximately two million hospitalizations and over 200,000 deaths annually. The project examines how the rotavirus non-structural protein NSP1 activates the human NLRP1 inflammasome—a cytosolic immune complex that initiates inflammatory responses and pyroptotic cell death upon pathogen recognition. Specifically, the research seeks to determine whether NSP1 recruitment of cullin-ring ubiquitin ligase complexes drives NLRP1 inflammasome activation, and whether the NLRP1 inflammasome influences rotavirus host range and tropism, particularly in enteroendocrine cells where NLRP1 is uniquely expressed among intestinal epithelial cells. The interdisciplinary team will employ comparative immunology, biochemistry, viral engineering, and human small intestinal analysis to assess rotavirus permissiveness and NLRP1's role as a determinant of viral host range.

The award carries an exploratory/developmental structure (R21) and runs through July 31, 2028. Work is performed in Seattle, Washington at the University of Washington's Office of Sponsored Programs, which administers the award.