UCI Awarded $40 Million To Establish Regional Biodefense And Infectious Disease Research Center

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) has awarded UC Irvine $40 million over four years to establish the Pacific-Southwest Center for Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Diseases Research – one of only 10 federally funded regional centers dedicated to research for countering threats from bioterrorism agents and infectious diseases. The largest ever received by the university, the grant was awarded to UCI infectious disease expert Dr. Alan Barbour, who also will serve as director of the new center. Barbour is internationally known for first isolating the cause of Lyme disease.