Dr. Curtis Huttenhower, Professor of Computational Biology and Bioinformatics, and Dr. Yonatan Grad, Melvin J. and Geraldine L. Glimcher Assistant Professor of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, were selected for an Incubation Award from the Harvard Chan Dean’s Fund for Scientific Advancement. The goal of the Incubation Award is to support strategic investments that foster rapid innovation and advance the shared vision for a stronger, more dynamic, and more globally engaged school.
The award will support Dr. Huttenhower and Dr. Grad’s research which uses methods to better detect viruses like SARS-CoV-2, the cause of the coronavirus pandemic, and other viruses carried ‘silently’ within the human microbiome. This will both help to prevent sudden, new outbreaks in the future, as well as to understand the natural history of coronaviruses and similar microbes that can otherwise go undetected if they circulate without causing disease.