MU Researcher Receives Grant to Research Bird Flu

A researcher from the University of Missouri School of Medicine and the College of Veterinary Medicine is on the receiving end of a $1.9 million grant to develop a novel vaccine and strategy to protect animals and humans from the bird flu.

Grant recipient Doctor Wenjun Ma, PhD, says the highly pathogenic infection, which currently cannot be controlled, has caused significant economic losses for farmers like egg shortages and other issues with food safety and international trade.

The research will also include developing safe and effective vaccines that provide protection against the Newcastle disease…another fatal and viral disease affecting poultry.

Human transmission of the bird flu is considered rare with only 71 confirmed cases and two deaths in the U.S. since 2024.

The grant is being awarded over three years from the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service under the office of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.