# Project 1 Viral Genomics: surveillance, epidemiology, host response, and viral immunogenicity

> **NIH NIH U19** · BROAD INSTITUTE, INC. · 2020 · $349,995

## Abstract

This proposal is intended to develop novel clinical diagnostics for, and increase our understanding of, the
diversity, evolution, and spread of the newly emerged SARS-related coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and other
respiratory disease-causing pathogens in the United States.
Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is associated with mild to severe respiratory disease, which can be
fatal. The novel viral etiological agent was first identified in December 2019 in Wuhan City, Hubei Province,
China following an outbreak of pneumonia in individuals associated with a seafood market, and has since
spread globally. Originally named “2019 novel coronavirus”, the virus has since been renamed severe acute
respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2). As of 10 February 2020, this includes 40,554
confirmed cases and 910 deaths within 25 countries1. There have been 12 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in
the United States2, one of which was identified in Boston, MA in an individual who recently returned from
China3. As public health agencies continue to monitor, track, and attempt to control its spread, it is most crucial
that they are equipped with the most effective tools to detect SARS-CoV-2 and distinguish it from other
common causes of similar respiratory illness.
This proposal addresses the critical gap in clinical diagnostics amidst the quickly moving COVID-19 outbreak
by advancing multiplexed and point of care tools for screening a large number of respiratory disease samples
in a public health lab setting. It builds upon the genomic disease surveillance aims of the Viral project within
our existing Genomic Centers for Infectious Disease (NIAID), but accounts for the increased costs based on
the scale of work related to outbreak response. The tools generated by this project specifically address a
glaring need at the public health laboratory level and have the potential to accelerate their investigative abilities
for undiagnosed respiratory disease.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10163684
- **Project number:** 3U19AI110818-07S1
- **Recipient organization:** BROAD INSTITUTE, INC.
- **Principal Investigator:** Pardis Christine Sabeti
- **Activity code:** U19 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $349,995
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2014-04-10 → 2024-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10163684

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10163684, Project 1 Viral Genomics: surveillance, epidemiology, host response, and viral immunogenicity (3U19AI110818-07S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10163684. Licensed CC0.

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