The Minnesota Center of Excellence for Influenza Research and Surveillance (MCEIRS) represents a collaborative, multidisciplinary research team of scientists from universities, government laboratories, and organizations in North America, Africa, and Asia. MCEIRS conducts surveillance and research on the natural history, epidemiology, ecology, and transmission of influenza to enhance understanding of how influenza viruses are maintained in animal populations, reassort among species, transmit to human populations, and
pose pandemic threats.
Drawing on a wide range of technical expertise, MCEIRS also serves as a high level
scientific and technical resource to NIH in the event of a public health emergency involving the emergence of pandemic influenza viruses. Led by Principal Investigator /Director
Michael Osterholm, PhD, MPH, the center’s activities are coordinated at the University of Minnesota. Collaborating institutions include:
– Chulalongkorn University, Thailand
– Kenya Medical Research Institute/CDC
– National Wildlife Health Center/USGS
– The Ohio State University
– Southeast Poultry Research Laboratory/USDA
– University of California, Davis
– University of Georgia
– Wildlife Conservation Society
MCEIRS initiatives under way in North America, Africa, Northern Europe and Southeast Asia are aimed at identifying and analyzing AI viruses in wild birds, poultry, swine, and humans having close contact with animals at high risk of infection. Specific research priorities include:
• Epidemiology, ecology, transmission, and pathogenesis of influenza viruses and infections, both within the natural reservoir (primarily wild bird species) and outside the natural reservoir (primarily humans, poultry, swine, and other mammalian species)
• Methods for detecting and measuring influenza viruses and host immune responses
• Potential intervention and mitigation strategies for reducing the risk of influenza transmission across the animal-human interface
• Education and training to strengthen global capacity in animal and human virologic, epidemiologic, and disease surveillance
Established in 2007, MCEIRS is one of five Centers of Excellence for Influenza Research and Surveillance funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), NIH.
