Our mission at the Midwest Antiviral Drug Discovery (AViDD) Center is to quickly develop the next generation of antiviral drugs for pandemic-level viruses, including SARS-CoV-2, Ebola, Lassa and Zika viruses. The Center is part of a network of nine national centers established by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).
The Center is a key part of an overall initiative to bring expertise across disciplines to discover effective responses to pandemics, life-threatening infections, and antimicrobial resistance through basic, translational and clinical research. Embedded in an academic setting, we utilize a balance of innovative and proven approaches and technologies to develop inhibitors to established druggable processes and less conventional but equally essential viral processes. We aim to deliver novel inhibitors that can be developed into effective orally available drugs that potently and safely suppress virus replication and help prevent infections and adverse clinical outcomes including death.
