Document text
Principal Investigator: Bruce W. BIRREN
Organization: BROAD INSTITUTE, INC.
Fiscal Year: 2024
Award: $12,121,843
Funding agency: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
Infectious diseases remain an important global threat despite the continuing invention of drugs, vaccines, and
other effective interventions. Two principal factors drive this continued threat: 1) efficacious interventions are
nearly always met with rapid evolutionary responses on the part of pathogens and disease-transmitting
vectors, reducing their potency over time, and 2) the threat of infectious diseases is dynamic and exacerbated
by the growing and increasingly connected human population, as evidenced by disruptive outbreaks,
epidemics and pandemics in recent years driven by Zika, Ebola, Candida auris, antimicrobial-resistant bacteria
and, of course, SARS-CoV-2.
Genomics, transcriptomics, and associated scientific tools for investigating pathogens in precise detail
and at tremendous scale offer new means to combat existing and emerging infectious diseases. Our GCID
combines deeply experienced Management, Administrative, and Technology and Data teams, with scientists
who have exceptional records in microbial genomics, to apply innovative approaches to crucial problems in
infectious disease research. Our four Research Projects, devoted to viral, bacterial, fungal, and parasitic
diseases, and vectors responsible for their transmission, will target high priority pathogens and
pathogen-host-vector systems with a major impact on the global burden of disease. To maximize synergy
between Projects, our research aims were developed with a common conceptual framework and shared
approaches, and leverage working relationships that have been developed through years of close collaboration
and scientific dialogue within our center and with the wider community of infectious disease research and
public health officials. Using those shared concepts and approaches, supported by our Cores, our GCID will
pursue three broad, long-range objectives across our four Projects:
Specific Aim 1: Identify and profile novel threats and therapeutic targets. We hypothesize that selectively
applying genomic methods to gather and prioritize information will accelerate counter measures against the
emergence of resistance to existing therapeutics and effective responses to new disease emergencies and
spillover events.
Specific Aim 2: Inform clinical treatments for the benefit of patients and populations. We hypothesize
that genomic and transcriptomic data will improve disease treatment by more rapidly and precisely defining the
basis of resistance and virulence.
Specific Aim 3: Drive precision public health surveillance and responses to disease emergence. We
hypothesize that genomic analyses will improve our responses to infectious threats to support public health.
Impact: We will develop innovative genomic approaches and datasets to address critical gaps in knowledge
and capacity across diverse infectious diseases, and disseminate data and tools to the wider community.
Terms: <2019 novel corona virus><2019 novel coronavirus><2019-nCoV><Acceleration><Address><Antimicrobial Resistance><Arboviral><Arboviruses><Arthropod-Borne Viruses><Bacteria resistance><Bacteria resistant><Bacterial resistant><Biologic Models><Biological Models><British Guiana><C auris><C neoformans><C. auris><C. neoformans><COVID-19 virus><COVID19 virus><CRISPR><CRISPR interference><CRISPR-dCas9-mediated repression><CRISPR/Cas system><CRISPR/dCas9 interference><CRISPR/dCas9-mediated transcriptional inhibition><CRISPRi><Candida auris><Cessation of life><Chromosome Mapping><Clinical><Clinical Treatment><Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats><Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats interference><CoV-2><CoV2><Collaborations><Communicable Diseases><Communities><Cryptococcus neoformans><Data><Death><Diagnostic><Disease><Disease Outbreaks><Disorder><Drugs><Ebola><Emergencies><Emergency Situation><Emerging Communicable Diseases><Emerging Infectious Diseases><Epidemic><Functional Metagenomics><Gene Localization><Gene Mapping><Gene Mapping Genetics><Generations><Genetic Diversity><Genetic Variation><Genomic Centers for Infectious Diseases><Genomic approach><Genomics><Gonococcus><Guyana><Human><Immune><Immunes><Infectious Disease Pathway><Infectious Diseases><Infectious Diseases / Laboratory><Infectious Diseases Research><Infectious Disorder><Infectious disease threat><Intervention><Intervention Strategies><Investigators><Knowledge><Linkage Mapping><Malaria><Measures><Medication><Metagenomics><Methods><Model System><Modern Man><Molecular><Monitor><Morbidity><Morbidity - disease rate><N gonorrhea><N gonorrhoeae><N. gonorrhea><N. gonorrhoeae><Neisseria gonorrhea><Neisseria gonorrhoeae><Organism><Outbreaks><P aeruginosa><P. aeruginosa><Paludism><Parasitic Diseases><Patients><Pharmaceutical Preparations><Phenotype><Plasmids><Plasmodium Infections><Population><Population Surveillance><Practice Management><Pseudomonas aeruginosa><Pseudomonas pyocyanea><Public Health><Public Health Surveillance><R Plasmids><R-Series Research Projects><R01 Mechanism><R01 Program><Records><Research><Research Grants><Research Personnel><Research Project Grants><Research Projects><Researchers><Resistance><SARS corona virus 2><SARS-CO-V2><SARS-COVID-2><SARS-CoV-2><SARS-CoV2><SARS-associated corona virus 2><SARS-associated coronavirus 2><SARS-coronavirus-2><SARS-related corona virus 2><SARS-related coronavirus 2><SARSCoV2><Sampling><Scientist><Severe Acute Respiratory Coronavirus 2><Severe Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome CoV 2><Severe Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome Corona Virus 2><Severe Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome Coronavirus 2><Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome CoV 2><Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-associated coronavirus 2><Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-related coronavirus 2><Severe acute respiratory syndrome associated corona virus 2><Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2><Severe acute respiratory syndrome related corona virus 2><Societies><System><Technology><Testing><Therapeutic><Time><Total Human and Non-Human Gene Mapping><Transmission><Vaccines><Vector-borne disease><Vector-borne infectious disease><Vector-transmitted disease><Vector-transmitted infectious disease><Viral><Viral Genetics><Virulence><Wuhan coronavirus><ZIKA><anti-microbial resistant><bacterial resistance><base editing><burden of disease><burden of illness><carbapenem resistance><carbapenem resistant><collaborative approach><combat><coronavirus disease 2019 virus><coronavirus disease-19 virus><design><designing><disease burden><drug/agent><effective intervention><efficacious intervention><emerging pathogen><empowerment><experience><filaria><filariae><gene function><genetic mapping><genomic data><genomic data-set><genomic dataset><genomic effort><genomic epidemiology><genomic strategy><hCoV19><improved><innovate><innovation><innovative><interventional strategy><invention><living system><malaria infection><malaria-infected><malarial infection><microbial genomics><nCoV2><new pathogen><novel><novel pathogen><pandemic><pandemic disease><pathogen><pathogenicity gene><pressure><priority pathogen><repressing CRISPR-dCas9 system><resistance factors><resistance gene><resistance locus><resistance to Bacteria><resistance to Bacterial><resistance to anti-microbial><resistance to carbapenem><resistant><resistant gene><resistant to Bacteria><resistant to Bacterial><resistant to antimicrobial><resistant to carbapenem><response><scRNA-seq><single cell RNA-seq><single cell RNAseq><single cell expression profiling><single cell transcriptomic profiling><single-cell RNA sequencing><spillover event><synergism><tech development><technology development><therapeutic target><tool><transcriptomics><transmission process><trial regimen><trial treatment><vector><vector-borne illness><vector-borne pathogen><vectorborne disease><vectorborne illness><vectorborne infectious disease><vectorborne pathogen><viral disease outbreak><viral epidemic><viral outbreak><virulence gene><virulent gene><virus disease outbreak><virus genetics>