A research grant of $5.6 million in the field of biodefense has been awarded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the US National Institutes of Health (NIH), to a Hebrew University of Jerusalem researcher for the development of a broadly effective drug against a family of toxins called superantigens. The award is the largest competitive grant ever made to the Hebrew University and to an Israeli researcher from the NIH. Funds were awarded under the NIAID Biodefense Challenge Grants program, which encourages private industry to work with academic investigators in order to develop countermeasures against potential agents of bioterrorism.
