Virginia Tech virologist receives $2.01 million federal grant

James Weger-Lucarelli, an associate professor at Virginia Tech’s Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, has been awarded a $2.01 million federal grant from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS).

The five-year R35 MIRA award is designed to fund Weger-Lucarelli’s entire research program rather than a single hypothesis, allowing for more exploratory and innovative scientific inquiry. His research focuses on the cellular decision-making processes that occur during viral infections, specifically how infected cells live, die, and signal neighboring cells.

Understanding these biological interactions could lead to the development of improved antiviral medications and more effective virus-based cancer treatments. Weger-Lucarelli describes the interaction between a virus and a host cell as a “tennis match,” where the cell attempts to stop replication while the virus attempts to subvert the host’s defenses.