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Center for Emerging, Zoonotic, and Arthropod-borne Pathogens

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To Foster and Promote a Cohesive and Synergistic Environment for Interdisciplinary and Collaborative Research

Center for Emerging, Zoonotic, and Arthropod-borne Pathogens to tackle infectious diseases

Center for Emerging, Zoonotic, and Arthropod-borne Pathogens affiliated faculty photo collage — Affiliated faculty members and students of the Center for Emerging, Zoonotic, and Arthropod-borne Pathogens. Clockwise from top left: Mari Martinez M.S.; Tanner Dehart, M.S.; Assistant Professor Brandon Jutras; University Distinguished Professor X.J. Meng; Associate Professor Xiaofeng Wang; Clinical Professor Tanya LeRoith; Professor Kathy Alexander; Assistant Professor Clement Vinauger; Assistant Professor Kate Langwig; Professor Dana Hawley; Assistant Professor Joseph Hoyt, Assistant Professor Chloe Lahondere (center).

Infectious diseases are constantly emerging and reemerging worldwide, causing immense threats to the health of humans, animals, and plants. This is especially clear now as researchers tackle the COVID-19 pandemic that has caused more than 16 million human infections worldwide.

To meet this challenge, Virginia Tech has created the Center for Emerging, Zoonotic, and Arthropod-borne Pathogens.

Read the full story here.

COVID-19 RESEARCH & OUTREACH

COVID-19 Outreach activities by CeZAP Affiliated Faculty

Linsey Marr is profiled by New York Times for her work on aerosol transmission of COVID-19.
Ron Fricker’s column in Richmond Times Dispatch on COVID-19 mortality.
X.J. Meng discussed COVID-19 vaccine with Newsweek.
Paul Skolnik discusses with various media such as WFXR about COVID-19 variants and their impact.
Tom Ewing offers prospective in Washington Post on the importance of social-control measures for COVID-19.
James Weger and Nisha Duggal establish SARS-CoV-2 reverse genetics system.
Katherine Alexander helps Botswana as a scientific advisor to the Botswana Presidential COVID Task Force.
Rana Ashkar work on Coronavirus interactions with membranes was featured in ORNL news.
Lauren Childs discuss on NPR Radio IQ about COVID-19 contact tracing and other intervention strategies.
Amy Pruden tests wastewater for SARS-CoV-2 contamination.
Linsey Marr speaks at the National Academy of Sciences, Medicine and Engineering’s Workshop on SARS-CoV-2 airborne transmission.
Andrea Bertke discusses on NBC12 how long SARS-COV-2 survives on surface of food supplies.
X.J. Meng speaks at the 2020 World Knowledge Forum on the root cause of pandemic and vaccine without border.
Nisha Duggal helps business test disinfecting cabinet against SARS-CoV-2.
Kate Langwig weighs in on the safety of the COVID-19 vaccine with WDBJ.
Laura Hungerford and Ron Fricker build COVID-19 models to guide decision making.

COVID-19 Research Grants Awarded to CeZAP Affiliated Faculty

Reza Ovissipour, Andrea Bertke and others receive $1 million USDA grant to study SARS-CoV-2 survival on surface of the food supply chain.
James Weger-Lucarelli receives a $300,000 NSF grant to study obesity and coronavirus disease.
Several CeZAP affiliated faculty receive OVPR COVID-19 research grants.
Nisha Duggal, Linsey Marr, and Stanca Ciupe receive CeZAP pilot grant to study SARS-CoV-2 aerosol transmission in exhaled breath.
Coy Allen and Pablo Sobrado receive a VTCDD $10,000 award to explore the role of NOD-like receptors in modulating inflammatory response in COVID-19.

COVID-19 Publications by CeZAP Affiliated Faculty

Airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2 Prather KA, Marr LC, Schooley RT, McDiarmid MA, Wilson ME, Milton DK. Science. 2020 Oct 16;370(6514):303-304.doi:10.1126/science.abf0521

SARS-CoV-2 infection in the gastrointestinal tract: fecal-oral route of transmission for COVID-19? Meng XJ, Liang, TJ. Gastroenterology 2021 Jan 7:S0016-5085(21)00030-5. doi:10.1053/j.gastro.2021.01.005

BCG vaccine protection from severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) Escobar LE, Molina-Cruz A, Barillas-Mury C. Proc Nal Acad Sci USA.2020 Jul 28;117(30):17720-17726.doi: 10.1073/pnas.2008410117

Covid‐19: One year on…. Fricker RD. Significance. (RSS and the ASA). 03 February 2021. doi: 10.1111/1740-9713.01485.

Individual quarantine versus active monitoring of contacts for the mitigation of COVID-19: a modeling study. Peak CM, Kahn R, Grad YH, Childs LM, Li R, Lipstitch M, Buckee CO. Lancet Infect Dis. 2020 Sep;20(9):1025-1033. doi: 10.1016/S1473-3099(20)30361-3.

Improved plaque assay for human coronaviruses 229E and OC43. Bracci N, Pan HC, Lehman C, Kehn-Hall K, Lin SC. PeerJ. 2020 Dec 21;8:e10639. doi: 10.7717/peerj.10639.

A selective sweep in the Spike gene has drive SARS-CoV-2 human adaptation. Kang L, G. He, A.K. Sharp, X. Wang, A.M. Brown, P. Michalak, J. Weger-Lucarelli. BioRxiv. doi:10.1101/2021.02.13.431090

PSGL-1 Inhibits the incorporation of SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoproteins into pseudovirions and impairs pseudovirus attachment and infectivity. He S, Waheed AA, Hetrick B, Dabbagh D, Akhrymuk IV, Kehn-Hall K, Freed EO, Wu Y. Viruses.2020 Dec 30;13(1):46; doi:10.3390/v13010046

Airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2: What We Know. Samet JM, Parther K, Benjamin G, Lakdawala S, Lowe JM, Reingold A, Volckens J. Marr LC. Clin Infect Dis. 2021 Jan 18:ciab039. doi: 10.1093/cid/ciab039

Additively manufactured respirators: quantifying particle transmission and identifying system-level challenges for improving filtration efficiency. LB, Pan J, Harb C, Zawaski CE, Molla B, Kubalak JR, Marr LC, Williams CB. J Manuf Syst. 2021 Jan 20. doi: 10.1016/j.jmsy.2021.01.002

Uniting infectious disease and physical science principles on the importance of face masks for COVID-19. Gandhi M, Marr LC, Med (N Y) Jan 15;2(1):29-32. doi: 10.1016/j.medj.2020.12.008.

Can indoor sports centers be allowed to re-open during the COVID-19 pandemic based on a certificate of equivalence? Bloken B, van Druenen T, van Hooff T, Verstappen PA, Marchal T, Marr LC. Build Environ. 2020 Aug 180:107022. doi: 10.1016/j.buildenv.2020.107022

Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 by inhalation of respiratory aerosol in the Skagit Valley Chorale super spreading event. Miller SL, Nazaroff WW, Jimenez JL, Boerstra A, Buonanno G, Dancer SJ, Kuritski J, Marr LC, Morawska L, Noakes C. Indoor Air. 2020 Sep 26:10.1111/ina.12751.doi: 10.1111/ina.12751

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Fralin Life Sciences Institute
Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center (CRC)
Integrated Life Science Building (ILSB)
1981 Kraft Dr, Room 2036
Blacksburg, VA 24060

Sarah Gouger
CeZAP Coordinator
sgouger@vt.edu
Phone: 540-231-6084
Integrated Life Sciences Building,
Room 2038