NIH Grant Establishes New Flu/Bird Flu Center of Excellence
President Joel Seligman and Medical Center CEO
Bradford C. Berk (second and third from left) celebrate
the new Influenza Center of Excellence with John
Treanor, School of Medicine and Dentistry Dean David
Guzick, and David Topham.
A seven-year, $26 million grant from the
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious
Diseases will support establishment
of the New York Influenza Center of
Excellence (NYICE) at the University.
The center aims to make future influenza
pandemics less deadly.
Despite new vaccine technologies,
flu remains the most common cause of
vaccine-preventable death in the United
States, causing 40,000 deaths annually and
150,000 hospital stays. In addition, avian
flu viruses ("bird flu") continue to spread,
increasing the risk of bird-to-human infection.
The new center will seek to break
down the molecular and environmental
factors that influence flu transmission,
work to create new vaccines, and bolster
pandemic preparedness.