$3.7M NIH award fuels push against Chikungunya and other emerging alphaviruses

A team led by virologist Donghoon Chung, professor of microbiology and immunology at the University of Louisville, medicinal chemist Dr. Thomas Bannister at The Herbert Wertheim Institute for Biomedical Innovation and Technology and structural virologist Dr. Dahai Luo at Nanyang Technological University have been awarded a 5-year $3.7M grant (R01AI187483) from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). The project, “Development of novel antivirals for arthritogenic alphaviruses” emerged from a team originally formed as part of the Midwest antiviral drug discovery (AViDD) center. Outside of the AViDD effort, the team modified a compound class affecting only “new world” alphaviruses to one active vs. other “old world” alphaviruses, such as Chikungunya virus (CHIKV), targeting the nsP2, a viral replication complex protein crucial for viral spread.

CHIKV is a mosquito-borne virus causing long-term viral arthritis and is recognized as an emerging global threat, with risk growing as the range of the carrier mosquitos expands with climate change. From January-August 2025 alone, 317,000 CHIKV infections and 135 deaths were reported in 16 countries/territories across the Americas, Africa, Asia and Europe, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. According to the Pan American Health Organization, the countries in the Americas most affected, in descending order of confirmed 2025 cases, are Brazil, Bolivia, the USA, Paraguay, Cuba and Argentina. 

While having an overall low mortality rate (though the elderly and newborn are disproportionately impacted), CHIKV’s infection can be devastating for its acute effects of fever, rash and painful inflammation and longer-term deficits such as debilitating polyarthritis (lasting months to years), multi-organ dysfunction and compromised immune responses. 

Currently no therapeutic or prophylactic options are available, indicating a large unmet need. Aims of the program include mapping the site of drug / CHIKV-nsP2 interactions to aid lead refinement, to develop safe and effective antivirals vs. CHIKV and to identify broad spectrum agents also active vs. other old world alphaviruses that similarly lack treatment options.