Research in the NSF COMPASS Center

The NSF COMPASS Center brings together experts from Virginia Tech, Cornell University, the University of Michigan, and Wake Forest University to tackle the grand challenge of uncovering the genetic, molecular, cellular, and chemical rules of life underlying virus-host interactions through community-based and ethically grounded research. These research pioneers will train the innovators of tomorrow, converging around the four thrusts: Jump, Replicate, Persist, and Empower.

Jump Thrust

The likely origin of new pandemic viruses is through the transfer (‘spillover’) of viruses from animals to humans followed by spread in humans. These viruses are called zoonotic. It seems likely that future pandemics will be of viruses not previously studied but similar to known and characterized viruses. It is challenging to identify the different possible pathways by which a specified virus can cause zoonotic infections and pose a serious threat of emerging epidemics or pandemics among humans. In the Jump thrust, our goal is to build machine learning (ML) models for pandemic prediction that integrate information about virus sequences and are scientifically guided by the knowledge of barriers to host shifts and emergence.

Replicate Thrust

All viruses depend on host cells for survival. However, the life cycle for a virus may not be completely understood since they are studied in two-dimensional cell cultures. An organoid is a miniature version of a complex tissue comprised of multiple cell types arranged in a three-dimensional (3D) architecture. COMPASS scientists will advance novel techniques to design organoids to dramatically improve our ability to investigate viral infections. Concomitantly, we will design innovative computational pipeline sto identify FDA-approved therapeutics that can be repurposed as antivirals and test their safety and efficacy in organoids.

Persist Thrust

A key factor in the ability of a virus to spread rapidly is its stability in the environment, including air, water, and surfaces. A virus that “survives” (i.e., maintains infectivity) for long periods of time under a range of environmental conditions is more likely to seed and expand a pandemic compared to one that is more easily inactivated. Our goal is to develop fundamental ML methods to identify the viral and environmental drivers of inactivation, and predict inactivation rates of new viruses under a range of conditions. These models will be coupled with those from the Jump thrust to predict the persistence of viruses that we expect to emerge in humans.

Empower Thrust

Public health measures developed to predict and prevent pandemics will be effective only if the public broadly accepts and trusts scientific information. This thrust seeks to undertake the key principles of ethical design and empowerment in community-academic partnerships to improve equity in pandemic research and preparedness. We will accomplish this by learning about public perceptions of and needs related to issues in Jump, Replicate, and Persist and developing best practices for community-academic research in pandemic science.