Better tools to detect and analyze airborne influenza
Advanced Bioaerosols Technology Core
This project builds new devices to capture and analyze influenza virus in the air to help patients and healthcare teams understand and reduce spread.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Univ of Maryland, College Park NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (College Park, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11103248 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
The team is creating a set of instruments to collect, separate by particle size, culture, and characterize influenza virus from air in clinical settings and from individual exhaled breath. They will develop compact samplers for distributed monitoring of ambient air and a high-resolution exhaled-breath sampler to pinpoint which particle sizes carry infectious virus. These devices will be paired with lab methods to grow and test whether collected particles are infectious. Results will be used by the larger research program to improve models of airborne transmission and guide infection-control measures.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal participants would include people with confirmed or suspected influenza and healthcare workers or others in clinical areas who can provide exhaled breath or be in monitored environments.
Not a fit: People without respiratory infections or those who cannot attend the participating clinical sites are unlikely to receive direct benefit from this project.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could enable earlier or more accurate detection of infectious influenza in the air and better strategies to prevent spread in hospitals and communities.
How similar studies have performed: Previous air-sampling methods have detected respiratory viruses and informed transmission studies, but the integrated, high-resolution exhaled-breath fractionation planned here is relatively novel.
Where this research is happening
College Park, United States
- Univ of Maryland, College Park — College Park, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Devoe, Don L — Univ of Maryland, College Park
- Study coordinator: Devoe, Don L
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.