# COVID-19 Animal Testing Capacity

> **NIH FDA U18** · UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA · 2022 · $19,256

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY /ABSTRACT
 COVID-19 animal testing capacity
Severeacute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the causative agent of
Coronavirusdisease 19 (COVID-19), which is an ongoing global health concern. The
widespreadnature of this zoonotic disease and the susceptibilityof some animal species
includingcompanion animals (cats and dogs), zoo animals, farmed mink, and wildlifeto
infection emphasizes the need of expanding SARS-CoV-2 testing in animals. Understanding the
extent of SARS-CoV-2 infections of domestic and wild animals would provide the necessary
evidence to better assess the implications of widespread human SARS-CoV-2 infections for
animal health and welfare. Our lab already has an established protocol for testing animal samples
for SARS-CoV-2 using a real-time PCR panel, however, the presence of a single PCR
workstation to set up the PCR reagents for all the PCR diagnostic assays performed in our
laboratory limits our ability to expand our animal SARS-CoV-2 diagnostic and surveillance
testing capacity. We propose to purchase a PCR workstation and laboratory refrigerator. This
additional equipment will allow us to conduct large scale surveillance for detecting SARS-CoV-
2 infections among wild and domestic animals.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10609727
- **Project number:** 1U18FD007722-01
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
- **Principal Investigator:** Eman Anis
- **Activity code:** U18 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** FDA
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $19,256
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2022-09-01 → 2024-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10609727

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10609727, COVID-19 Animal Testing Capacity (1U18FD007722-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-21 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10609727. Licensed CC0.

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