# West African Emerging Infectious Disease Research Center (WA-EIDRC)

> **NIH NIH U01** · SCRIPPS RESEARCH INSTITUTE, THE · 2023 · $801,785

## Abstract

Prior studies have shown that prior to the pandemic, Sierra Leoneans had more frequent
exposures than Americans to coronaviruses with epitopes that cross-react with severe acute
respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), SARS-CoV, and Middle Eastern respiratory
syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV). Prior exposure to coronaviruses that induce cross-protective
immunity may contribute to the greatly reduced incidence of COVID-19 cases and deaths in Sierra
Leone compared to the United States. This supplement will (1) define the humoral immune
response of Sierra Leoneans that may protect against infection with SARS-CoV-2 through
isolation and characterization of pre-pandemic monoclonal antibodies, (2) develop diagnostic
tests for novel coronaviruses and (3) determine the protective responses of cross neutralizing
monoclonal antibodies in a nonhuman primate COVID-19 model.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10842168
- **Project number:** 3U01AI151812-04S1
- **Recipient organization:** SCRIPPS RESEARCH INSTITUTE, THE
- **Principal Investigator:** Kristian Graugaard Andersen
- **Activity code:** U01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2023
- **Award amount:** $801,785
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2020-05-21 → 2025-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10842168

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10842168, West African Emerging Infectious Disease Research Center (WA-EIDRC) (3U01AI151812-04S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-27 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10842168. Licensed CC0.

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