Projects

Sponsor: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

Participating Institutions/Departments: UMD SPH, UMD Clark School of Engineering, UMD CBMG; UMSOM in Baltimore; University of Hong Kong School of Public Health; Icahn School of Medicine at Mt. Sinai; Global Health Institute at the University of Wisconsin-Madison; University of Michigan School of Public Health; Aerosol Dynamics

Project 1 (Evaluating Modes of Influenza Transmission using a Randomized Controlled Trial, EMIT-2-RCT)

Lead Investigator: Don Milton, UMD SPH
Co-Investigators: Ben Cowling, HKU SPH; Aubree Gordon, UMich SPH; Florian Krammer, Mt. Sinai School of Medicine

1. Identify the dominant mode of transmission using naturally infected influenza donors in an RCT of air sanitation-ventilation and hand hygiene-face shield interventions.
2. Determine the impact of aerosol exposure on disease severity.
3. Investigate the impact of serologic and mucosal antibody levels on influenza transmission, susceptibility and immunologic response to infection.

Project 2 (Developing and Applying Analytical Models of Influenza Transmission)

Lead Investigator: Jelena Srebric, UMD ENG
Co-Investigators: Aubree Gordon, UMich SPH; Gabriele Neumann, UWis GHI

1. Support the cohort study experimental setup: face shield, ventilation, UR-GUV application
2. Develop two analytical models for source characterization:
   - A high-fidelity model to identify variability in risk due to temporal and spatial distributions of virus concentration.
   - A well-mixed model (for well-mixed conditions) using CO2 as a stand-in to assess viral aerosol exposure and dose.
3. Apply the analytical models to house cohort & ferret studies

Clinical and Biostatistics Core (CBC)

Lead Investigator: Kate McPhaul, UMD SPH
Co-Investigators: Wilbur Chen, Justin Ortiz, Shuo Chen, UMSOM

1. Provide regulatory and safety infrastructure for a randomized controlled trial of influenza transmission.
2. Screen for health adult volunteers (Recipients), willing to be exposed to community acquired influenza during the influenza season, and index cases with acute influenza infection (Donors).
3. Expose un-infected eligible volunteers (Recipients) to influenza-infected index case patients (Donors).

Advanced Bioaerosol Technology Core (ABTC)

Lead Investigator: Don DeVoe, UMD ENG
Co-Investigators: Meg Scull, Gregg Duncan, UMD CMBG; Arantza Eiguren-Fernandez, Greg Lewis, Aerosol Dynamics; Yoshihiro Kawaoka, Gabriele Neumann, UWis GHI

1. Develop a compact platform for ambient sampling and culture.
2. Develop an instrument for efficient exhaled breath sampling.
3. Develop a hydrogel collection target and an optimized cell line for enhanced infectivity analysis.
4. Develop a digital culture microarray to study distribution of viable virus in aerosols.

Public Attitudes and Communications Research

A critical component essential to widespread GUV implementation is public understanding and acceptance of the technology. This project aims to conduct a number of focus groups with different audiences, that will then inform clearer messaging and communication strategies around the use of GUV. With this project, we’ll also develop a GUV Information Hub that will be accessible to the public.

Training and Certification of Technicians and Contractors

A major barrier of implementation is a lack of trained workforce. Funding for this program has facilitated the creation of The GUV Workforce Training Program, which entailed the design of course materials through expert consultation and training of trainers for educating and certifying professionals in the US and abroad in safe planning, design, implementation, and maintenance of GUV in public spaces. We have hosted three of the training sessions here in SPH within the last year and a half, and have also developed an apprenticeship level program that will be available to access online for free.

Optimization of Far-GUV Installation Designs

The GUV-optimization study aims to address some of the obstacles preventing its widespread use by identifying the best far-GUV installation designs. Lab experiments will aid in this process by exposing bacteriophages and influenza virus to different UV doses, and using those results to inform designs in a field trial to demonstrate real-world effectiveness of 222 nm GUV in inactivating viruses and other pathogens. This will also allow further inspection on the effect of GUV on indoor air chemistry. Furthermore, there are plans to conduct RCTs to provide evidence of its effectiveness.

StopCOVID (2020-2023)

Publications:

Lai J, Coleman KK, Tai SS, German J, Hong F, Albert B, Esparza Y, Rastogi D, Srikakulapu A, Kalliomäki P, Schanz M, Smith AA, Sierra Maldonado I, Oertel M, Fadul N, Gold TL, McPhaul K, Ma T, Cowling BJ, Milton DK. Relative efficacy of masks and respirators as source control for viral aerosol shedding from people infected with SARS-CoV-2: a controlled human exhaled breath aerosol experimental study. EBioMedicine. 2024 Jun;104:105157. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ebiom.2024.105157

Lai J, Coleman KK, Tai SH, German J, Hong F, Albert B, Esparza Y, Srikakulapu A, Schanz M, Sierra Maldonado I, Oertel M, Fadul N, Gold TL, Weston S, McPhaul K, Frieman M, Milton DK. Exhaled Breath Aerosol Shedding by Highly Transmissible Versus Prior SARS-CoV-2 Variants. Clinical Infectious Diseases (2022), ciac846, https://doi.org/10.1093/cid/ciac846

Lai J, German J, Hong F, Tai S-H, McPhaul K, Milton DK, University of Maryland StopCOVID Research Group. Comparison of Saliva and Midturbinate Swabs for Detection of SARS-CoV-2. Microbiology Spectrum (2022), https://doi.org/10.1128/spectrum.00128-22

Adenaiye O, Lai J, Bueno de Mesquita PJ, Hong F, Youssefi S, German J, Tai S-H, Albert B, Schanz M, Weston S, Hang J, Fung C, Chung HK, Coleman KK, Sapoval N, Treangen T, Maljkovic Berry I, Mullins K, Frieman M, Ma T, Milton DK, University of Maryland StopCOVID Research Group. Infectious Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in Exhaled Aerosols and Efficacy of Masks During Early Mild Infection, Clinical Infectious Diseases (2021), ciab797, https://doi.org/10.1093/cid/ciab797

Adenaiye O, Bueno de Mesquita PJ, Wu Q, Hong F, Lai J, Chen S, Milton DK; Prometheus@UMD Consortium. The effect of COVID-19 stay-at-home order and campus closure on the prevalence of acute respiratory infection symptoms in college campus cohorts. Influenza Other Respi Viruses (2021); 15: 331-335. https://doi.org/10.1111/irv.12837

Objectives: 

Find out how people transmit COVID-19 and how to prevent transmission:

1. How much airborne virus does an infected person exhale?
2. How much virus is released into the air when an infected person breathes, talks, or sings?
3. How well do surgical and homemade masks block release of airborne virus?

Another goal is to gather samples that can be used to better understand how the body fights the infection.

Sponsors:​​​​​​​

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
• FluLab 

Prometheus@UMD (2017-2020)

Publications:

Xiao J, de Mesquita JB, Leung NHL, Adenaiye O, Tai S, Frieman MB, Hong F, Chu DKW, Ip DKM, Cowling BJ, Milton DK; Prometheus-UMD Consortium. Viral RNA and infectious influenza virus on mobile phones of influenza patients in Hong Kong and the United States. J Infect Dis. (2021 Sep 17):jiab464. https://doi.org/10.1093/infdis/jiab464. PMID: 3453432

Adenaiye O, Bueno de Mesquita PJ, Wu Q, Hong F, Lai J, Chen S, Milton DK; Prometheus@UMD Consortium. The effect of COVID-19 stay-at-home order and campus closure on the prevalence of acute respiratory infection symptoms in college campus cohorts. Influenza Other Respi Viruses (2021); 15: 331-335. https://doi.org/10.1111/irv.12837

de Assis RR, Jain A, Nakajima R, Jasinskas, A, Felgner J Obiero JM, Norris PJ, Stone M, Simmons G, Bagri A, Irsch J, Schreiber M, Buser A, Holbro A, Battegay M, Hosmier P, Noesen C, Adenaiye O, Tai S, Hong F, Milton DK, Davies DH, Contestbable P, Corash LM, Busch MP, Felgner PL, Khan S. (2021) Analysis of SARS-CoV-2 Antibodies in COVID-19 Convalescent Blood Using A Coronavirus Antigen Microarray, Nature Communications 12, 6. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-20095-2

Zhu S, Jenkins S, Addo K, Romo S, Layne A, Ehizibolo J, Dalgo D, Matisse N, Hong F, Adenaiye OO, Bueno de Mesquita PJ, Albert BJ, Washington-Lewis R, German J, Tai S, Youssefi S, Milton DK, Srebric J. (2020) Ventilation and laboratory confirmed acute respiratory infection (ARI) rates in college residence halls in College Park, Maryland, Environment International 137: 105537. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2020.105537

 Objectives:

1. Identify and characterize contagious phenotype of acute respiratory infection (ARI)
2. Identify biomarkers of infection and contagiousness
3. Test wearable sensors for early detection of ARI & outbreaks
4. Collect PBMCs for identification of epigenetic markers of infection
5. Characterize the role of aerosols and built environment in ARI transmission

Sponsors:

• Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Biological Technologies Office
• Biomedical Advanced Research Development Authority (BARDA) ENACT: https://drive.hhs.gov/enact.html

Website (historical): https://catch.umd.edu