# Center for Viral Systems Biology (CViSB)

> **NIH NIH U19** · SCRIPPS RESEARCH INSTITUTE, THE · 2024 · $2,544,897

## Abstract

Project Summary - Center for Viral Systems Biology (CViSB)
The COVID-19 pandemic is a stark reminder of the threat posed by infectious diseases, but other priority
pathogens, such as Lassa and Ebola viruses, continue to pose significant challenges in endemic areas.
Infection with Lassa, Ebola, and SARS-CoV-2 viruses can lead to diverse acute and long-term outcomes,
ranging from mild or asymptomatic disease to long-term sequelae or death. When we established the
Center for Viral Systems Biology (CViSB, cvisb.org) in 2018, we set a main goal of answering why. With a
focus on Ebola, Lassa, and via a scope expansion, COVID-19, we have achieved this goal by identifying
clinical, immunological, genetic, and virus molecular factors that determine the outcome of disease.
In this renewal application, we will move beyond standard systems biology data generation and analysis
and use a reverse translational approach to expand on our prior work with a focus on both fundamental
research and translational application. Our central hypothesis remains that complex networks of viral
and human factors, including distinct clinical, immunological, genetic, virological, and physiological
attributes play key roles in determining the outcome and spread of Lassa, Ebola, and COVID-19. Our
overall goal is to identify these molecular networks and provide a deep system-level understanding of the
virus, host, and environmental drivers of disease severity and spread to discover predictive markers of
human disease. We will successfully achieve this goal by applying ‘omics’ technologies, wearables, and
high-throughput experimental approaches to unique patient, vaccinee, and survivor cohorts in West
Africa and the United States. Built around two interconnected projects and four cores, we will complete
the following major goals: (1) we will integrate complex systems immunology, host genetic, physiological,
clinical, and metabolic datasets to perform predictive modeling and define biosignatures that describe
the risk, severity, and outcome of Lassa, Ebola, and COVID-19 using cohorts in West Africa and the United
States. (2) We will integrate large-scale host-virus genomic datasets with population data and
high-throughput experimental approaches to build multivariate network analyses and dynamic growth
models to elucidate the molecular epidemiology, functional evolution, adaptive immunity, and
host-pathogen dynamics of Lassa virus, Ebola virus, and SARS-CoV-2. (3) We will expand and develop
high-throughput experimental methods, open-source software, machine learning tools, and web-based
platforms to analyze and visualize large-scale datasets that enable real-time interrogation and
interpretation of complex host-pathogen-environment network structures and dynamics. (4) We will
continue to develop and maintain robust databases and application programming interfaces for
open-source CViSB generated systems biology datasets and perform outreach and training to promote
the use of systems bio...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10759405
- **Project number:** 5U19AI135995-07
- **Recipient organization:** SCRIPPS RESEARCH INSTITUTE, THE
- **Principal Investigator:** Kristian Graugaard Andersen
- **Activity code:** U19 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $2,544,897
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-02-01 → 2028-01-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10759405

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10759405, Center for Viral Systems Biology (CViSB) (5U19AI135995-07). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10759405. Licensed CC0.

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