How Weather and Seasons Change Bat Diseases and Protect People
Official title: Center for Transformative Infectious Disease Research (CTIDR)
Funded at Cornell University · NIH-11421466 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project studies how extreme weather and seasonal changes influence bat diseases to help prevent spillover to people.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Cornell University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Ithaca, United States) |
| Project start | September 17, 2024 |
| Project end | August 31, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $242,442 |
| NIH project number | 5P20AI186093-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11421466 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates include individuals living in regions where bat-associated spillover risk is being studied or people who live in areas identified as high-risk for disease emergence.
✕Less likely to help
People not living in areas impacted by bat spillover risk or not participating in related environmental health monitoring may not directly benefit.
What this research studies
If successful, this work will use existing bat pathogen datasets to understand how weather affects bat health, virus shedding, and bat movements, which in turn influences human exposure risk. Researchers will combine ecological, environmental, and virology data to build a clearer picture of when and where spillover is most likely. The goal is to identify evidence-based approaches and remote sensing signals to prioritize prevention efforts in real-world settings. The work focuses on bats in Australia and uses data that have already been collected, plus new analyses to link weather patterns to disease emergence.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If the findings are validated, communities and public health officials could better target surveillance and prevention efforts to reduce the risk of bat-related disease spillover to people.
How similar studies have gone: Prior research using ecological and environmental data has shown links between weather and bat pathogen dynamics, supporting the potential of this approach.
Where this research is happening
-
Cornell University
Ithaca, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Plowright, Raina — Cornell University
- Study coordinator: Plowright, Raina
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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.