The Howard Hughes Medical Institute is committing $100 million to a new Emerging Pathogens Initiative to support basic research targeted at preparedness for emerging pathogens that could threaten human health in the future. Thirteen project teams involving 70 scientists from 29 institutions will collaborate on the research.
Valdivia’s project centers on the development of Akkermansia muciniphila as a mucosal vaccine platform for emerging pathogens. The award was made to a interdisciplinary team consisting of Gregory Barton and Russell Vance, HHMI, University of California, Berkeley; Lauren Davey, University of Victoria, and Aaron Schmidt, Harvard Medical School and the Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT, and Harvard.