With excitement, we would like to announce the 2025-2026 PPP DA Speaker Series guests! Each meeting will be held on Zoom (https://virginiatech.zoom.us/j/84153577959) and all are welcome. Check back soon for updates to the speaker agenda as updates will be made as available. For questions or accessibility needs, please contact Leslie Thornton-O’Brien (lthornto@vt.edu).

Date	Name	Title
September 19, 2025	T. M. Murali	Pandemic Prediction and Prevention Destination Area  Looking back, Looking ahead
October 3, 2025	Luis Escobar	TBD
October 31, 2025	Lauren Childs	TBD
November 14, 2025	Kaylee Petraccione	TBD
December 12, 2025	Kylene Kehn-Hall	TBD
January 23, 2026	Naren Ramakrishnan	TBD
February 6, 2026	TBD	TBD
February 20, 2026	Navid Ghaffarzadegan	TBD
March 6, 2026	Patty Raun	TBD
March 20, 2026	TBD	TBD
April 3, 2026	Empower team	TBD
April 17, 2026	James Weger	TBD
May 1, 2026	Ethics team	TBD

Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known.

– Carl Sagan

The Pandemic Prediction and Prevention Destination Area (PPP DA) is seeking bold, interdisciplinary research ideas that push the boundaries of pandemic science. Thanks to funding from the Office of the Provost at Virginia Tech, we’re offering seed grants of up to $50,000 to help launch innovative projects that bring us closer to a future where pandemics can be predicted—and stopped—before they start. 

We’re especially excited about proposals that align with our Jump–Replicate–Spread–Empower framework (details below) and build strong, collaborative teams ready to pursue extramural funding in the next phase. 

🧑‍🔬 Who Can Apply? 

We’re looking for teams of two or more Virginia Tech faculty, with at least one team member who is affiliated with the PPP DA. We love seeing collaborations that cross disciplinary boundaries—so if your team spans two or more research fields, you’re already on the right track. 

We strongly encourage teams composed of faculty who have not worked together before. Fresh partnerships spark fresh ideas, and we’re all about catalyzing new connections that lead to groundbreaking science. 

🔬 What Kind of Research? 

Your proposal should be interdisciplinary and focused on the PPP DA’s mission: decoding the genetic, molecular, cellular, and chemical rules that govern virus-host interactions, all through community-driven and ethically grounded research. 

We’re especially interested in projects that dive into one (or more) of our four thrust areas: 

🧬 Jump thrust 

Build cutting-edge machine learning tools to spot new viral threats. 
Explore host biology to understand what makes cross-species transmission possible. 

🧪 Replicate thrust 

Engineer organoids to study how viruses infect and replicate cells. 
Fast-track the repurposing of FDA-approved drugs to fight emerging viruses. 

🌍 Spread thrust 

Model how viruses move through populations—and how to stop them. 
Monitor environments for early warning signs of outbreaks. 
Create forecasting tools and simulations to guide public health policy. 

🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Empower thrust 

Partner with communities to share pandemic science in ethical, accessible ways. 
Tackle misinformation and socioeconomic barriers to effective response. 
Co-design solutions that empower vulnerable populations. 

Got a game-changing idea that doesn’t fit neatly into these thrusts? We’re open to new directions! Reach out to T. M. Murali before submitting to discuss your concept. 

📋 What’s Expected? 

This seed grant program is all about building momentum. We want to help you to 

Form dynamic, interdisciplinary teams. 
Generate preliminary data. 
Submit a collaborative extramural grant proposal by December 2026. 

Awardees will submit annual updates on proposals, publications, and presentations and must acknowledge the Office of the Provost and PPP DA in all outputs. 

📅 Key Dates 

Proposal Deadline: October 17, 2025 
Notification of Awards: November 17, 2025 
Submit to: Leslie Thornton-O’Brien (send one PDF named: [PI-last-name]-PPP-DA-seed-grant.pdf) 

📑 Proposal Guidelines 

Use 11-point font and 1-inch margins. Your proposal should include: 

Cover Page 
PI and co-PI names, affiliations, emails 
Team expertise and budget request 
Three-Page Research Description 
Project summary (for announcements) 
Significance, innovation, hypothesis (if applicable) 
Research approach and expected outcomes 
Alignment with PPP DA goals 
Plan for extramural funding by Dec 2026 
References (not included in page limit) 
Budget Table (not included in page limit) 

Example: One GRA advised by [Name], 50% effort: $20,000   
Materials and supplies: $10,000   
Total: $50,000 
Allowable costs: summer salary, postdocs, grad students, supplies, computational services. 

🧪 How Proposals Will Be Reviewed 

We’ll evaluate based on: 

Intellectual merit 
Alignment with PPP DA goals 
Interdisciplinary collaboration 
Potential for future external funding 

Ready to share the future of pandemic science? Let’s make it happen! 

Dr. Navid Ghaffarzadegan’s National Science Foundation research was highlighted on the Virginia Tech news in February 2024. Way to go Navid!

In December 2022, the Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost awarded a Destination Area 2.0 grant to the Pandemic Prediction and Prevention group with Principal Investigator, T. M. Murali.

With close to 100 attendees, the first annual Pandemic Prediction and Prevention Destination Area symposium was filled with insightful conversation, scientific networking, and groundbreaking research!

Held on May 13, 2024, the first annual symposium created an atmosphere for faculty exchange, student and trainee networking, and dynamic presentations by both faculty and students.

The day began with a faculty planning meeting for PPP DA faculty members in the Data and Decision Sciences building. This portion of the symposium allowed our faculty to come together for team building, forecasting, and to discuss pressing matters in their research. Uninterrupted group time allows for future development of our destination area.

Our afternoon sessions began with an inspiring welcome from Dr. Dan Sui, Senior Vice President and Chief Research and Innovation officer at Virginia Tech. Dr. Sui touched on the points which make the PPP DA unique; transdisciplinary research, cutting edge work, and developing the future of pandemic science.

Keynote speaker, Dr. Anna Whitfield, from North Carolina State University, gave a compelling lecture titled “Emerging Vector-Borne Plant Diseases at the Intersection of Food Security and Health.” Dr. Whitfield is a Professor and the Director of Emerging Plant Disease and Global Food Security at North Carolina State University.

After a short break, the afternoon continued with presentations from Dr. Luis Escobar with Dr. Jonathan Auguste regarding the Jump theme research and Dr. Padma Rajagopalan with Dr. Webster Santos on the Replicate theme research. Each presentation was excellently presented and gave the university community an insight into the work of the PPP DA themes. Dr. Tom Ewing also gave a presentation titled “Not Here Yet: Pandemic Preparation and Prevention during the 1889 – 1890 Influenza Pandemic” which highlighted “clear, consistent, and trustworthy communication” practices in relation to Pandemic Preparation and Prevention.

Intermingled with the faculty presentations, several PPP DA trainees had the opportunity to present research during the lightning round. Tom Kasputis, Hannah Raso, Neeti Gandhi, Morgen VanderGiessen each spoke on different areas related to pandemic science. Following the lightning round presentations, the university community was welcomed at a poster session and networking reception featuring the atrium in the Data and Decision Sciences Building.

We look forward to you joining us for next year’s event!