{"690028":{"#nid":"690028","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Georgia Tech Bird Flu Vaccine Project Lands $2M From USDA ","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe United States Department of Agriculture\u0026nbsp;(USDA) has awarded $2 million to a team of Georgia Tech and \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.gtri.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EGeorgia Tech Research Institute\u003C\/a\u003E (GTRI) researchers to develop a first-of-its-kind vaccine pill for bird flu.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFor decades, bird flu was uncommon in the U.S., but that has changed. In the past several years, epidemics have threatened poultry and dairy cattle operations across the country. Higher egg prices, driven largely by bird flu-related supply disruptions, have cost American consumers \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/aaes.uada.edu\/news\/bird-flu-analysis\/\u0022\u003Ebillions of dollars\u003C\/a\u003E in losses.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe H5N1 strain of the bird flu, which has driven recent and current outbreaks, is a highly lethal virus that kills domestic chickens and other bird species in droves,\u201d said David Pattie, GTRI research scientist and branch chief. \u201cIt can easily jump from birds to other animal species \u2014 and sometimes to humans.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe research team will leverage artificial intelligence (AI) to design and test a probiotic avian flu vaccine that, if successful, could be served to chickens in their feed. Currently, vaccinating a flock means individually injecting every bird.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe\u2019re focusing on\u0026nbsp;live bacterial vaccines, which means the vaccine comes from living bacteria you swallow, instead of an injection,\u201d said Mike Farrell, GTRI principal research scientist and the project\u2019s lead investigator.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThese probiotic vaccines would help protect birds and livestock from flu-like infections and lower the risk of those viruses spreading to humans,\u201d he added.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn addition to Farrell and Pattie, the team includes researchers from an array of disciplines across the Institute: \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/ece.gatech.edu\/directory\/faramarz-fekri\u0022\u003EFaramarz Fekri\u003C\/a\u003E, professor and John Pippin Chair in the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/ece.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESchool of Electrical and Computer Engineering\u003C\/a\u003E; \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/physics.gatech.edu\/user\/jc-gumbart\u0022\u003EJC Gumbart\u003C\/a\u003E, Dunn Family Professor in the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/physics.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESchool of Physics\u003C\/a\u003E; \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/biosciences.gatech.edu\/people\/brian-hammer\u0022\u003EBrian Hammer\u003C\/a\u003E, associate professor in the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/biosciences.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESchool of\u0026nbsp; Biological Sciences\u003C\/a\u003E; and Anton Bryksin, director of the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/research.gatech.edu\/bio\/research\/core-facilities\/molecular-evolution-core\u0022\u003EMolecular Evolution Core\u003C\/a\u003E at the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/research.gatech.edu\/bio\u0022\u003EParker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience\u003C\/a\u003E.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch4\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EBuilding on Human Influenza Research\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h4\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe project builds on Farrell\u2019s \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.gtri.gatech.edu\/newsroom\/common-probiotic-bacteria-could-help-boost-protection-against-influenza\u0022\u003Eongoing research\u003C\/a\u003E into developing probiotic vaccine adjuvants for human influenza. The goal is to use\u0026nbsp;probiotic bacteria \u2014 the \u201cgood bacteria\u201d found in foods like yogurt \u2014 to help create immunity for the flu vaccine.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIf the researchers can get probiotic bacteria to display pieces of the flu virus (called antigens) on their surface, then they could be swallowed like a normal probiotic pill.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe gut is a great place for building immunity. When these bacteria reach the gut, your body would recognize the virus pieces on the bacteria and start building flu antibodies,\u201d Farrell explained. \u201cThat way, when the chickens get exposed to flu, their immune system would already be prepared to fight it.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch4\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EPutting AI to the Test\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h4\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe idea behind this oral bird flu vaccine is to leverage artificial intelligence and the vast historical database for H5N1 available to us, because it\u0027s a very well-studied virus,\u201d Farrell said. \u201cThere is a ton of structural data out there.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGumbart is an expert in protein modeling and simulation. Part of his role is figuring out the best design for a\u0026nbsp;viral protein piece (antigen)\u0026nbsp;\u2014 one that looks and behaves like the real virus protein, so it triggers the right immune response. To do this, he will combine Fekri\u2019s AI-generated predictions with computer modeling.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThat\u2019s where my team adds real value,\u201d Gumbart said. \u201cWe use simulations to test how stable and realistic these protein designs are, which allows us to choose the best ones for lab experiments.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAI has already identified new medicines and antibiotics by studying chemical databases. If the team can use AI to help design virus proteins for vaccines, it could transform how vaccines are made.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EPattie says that any viral infectious disease with a high mortality rate has the potential to become a national security threat. \u201cAt that point, developing countermeasures becomes exceedingly important from a national security perspective,\u201d he said. \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThis is the first time several of the team members are working on poultry research. For Gumbart, the project is a full-circle moment.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI grew up in rural Illinois, and as a kid, one of my daily chores was to take care of chickens, and I kind of hated it,\u201d he said. \u201cIt is some sort of universal irony that I am back to taking care of chickens again.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EUsing artificial intelligence, the team is developing an edible vaccine that could protect birds from bird flu and reduce its spread to livestock and humans.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Using artificial intelligence, the team is developing an edible vaccine that could protect birds from bird flu and reduce its spread to livestock and humans."}],"uid":"36123","created_gmt":"2026-04-28 15:07:39","changed_gmt":"2026-04-30 15:52:02","author":"Catherine Barzler","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2026-04-28T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2026-04-28T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"680081":{"id":"680081","type":"image","title":"AdobeStock_272613329.png","body":"\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech researchers are working on an oral bird flu vaccine that could transform poultry vaccination. (Credit: Adobe Stock)\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1777391209","gmt_created":"2026-04-28 15:46:49","changed":"1777391209","gmt_changed":"2026-04-28 15:46:49","alt":"A man wearing a surgical mask and white coat examines a black and white chicken.","file":{"fid":"264320","name":"AdobeStock_272613329.png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/04\/28\/AdobeStock_272613329.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2026\/04\/28\/AdobeStock_272613329.png","mime":"image\/png","size":2273404,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2026\/04\/28\/AdobeStock_272613329.png?itok=SRCBIVZN"}}},"media_ids":["680081"],"groups":[{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"},{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"187915","name":"go-researchnews"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71891","name":"Health and Medicine"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ECatherine Barzler, Senior Research Writer\/Editor\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:catherine.barzler@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ecatherine.barzler@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["catherine.barzler@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}