Our Current Sponsors
Foundations of Quantitative Viral Ecology
Ongoing work aims to understand virus-host interactions across a continuum from lysis to latency, including:
- Cell-centric measures of viral fitness
- Coevolutionary dynamics of viruses and bacteria
- Linking individual infection outcomes to population and ecosystem dynamics.
Simons Foundation: Simon Investigator in Theoretical Physics and Life Sciences
Awarded by: Simons Foundation
Year(s) active: 2023-2027
Research support from the foundation, enabling to undertake the long-term study of fundamental questions in Life Sciences using mathematical and theoretical approaches.
NIH: Synergistic control of acute respiratory pathogens by bacteriophage and the innate immune response
Awarded by: National Institute of Health
Year(s) active: 2019-2024
The goal of this project (in collaboration with Laurent Debrabieux at the Pasteur Institute) is to develop a model-based approach to synergistic control of acute respiratory infections caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa, combining in vitro and mouse systems.
NSF: BEE: A dormancy refuge in host-parasite eco-evolutionary dynamics
Awarded by: National Science Foundation
Year(s) active: 2019-2022
In collaboration with Jay Lennon at Indiana University, the goal of this project is to develop a theory and model-data integration for virus interactions with a spore-forming bacillus.
Simons Foundation: Eco-Evolutionary Theories of Viral Fitness on a Continuum from Lysis to Latency
Awarded by: Simons Foundation
Year(s) active: 2020-2024
The goal of this project is to combine principles of ecology, evolution, and nonlinear dynamics to develop eco-evolutionary theories of viral persistence with microbial cells and populations, and collaboratively examine how non-lytic infections re-shape the core structure and functioning of complex marine ecosystems.
Simons Foundation: Viruses vs. zooplankton: quantifying the interplay between parasites and predators in the North Pacific Ocean
Awarded by: Simons Foundation Foundation
Year(s) active: 2014-2020
The goal of this project to develop models to characterize the role of lytic viruses in shaping microbial community structure in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre.
Additional Sponsors
We would also like to thank the A. James & Alice B. Clark Foundation and the Chaires Blaise Pascal program of the Île-de-France region for their generous support.
If you are interested in supporting Weitz Group research, please reach out to Megan Carnell (mcarnell@umd.edu), assistant dean for Development in the College of College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences.
Past Sponsors
Foundations of Quantitative Viral Ecology
Ongoing work aims to understand virus-host interactions across a continuum from lysis to latency, including:
- Cell-centric measures of viral fitness
- Coevolutionary dynamics of viruses and bacteria
- Linking individual infection outcomes to population and ecosystem dynamics.
ARO: Coevolutionary Dynamics and Control of Virus-Microbe Communities
Awarded by: Army Research Office
Year(s) active: 2019-2022
In collaboration with Sam Brown at Georgia Tech, this project seeks to identify evolutionary network principles associated with resilient dynamics of ecological communities, including the influence of complex microbial communities associated with chronic respiratory infections using phage, small molecules, and combination approaches informed by control theory.
NSF: Integrative Modeling of Intervention Serology and the Role of Shield Immunity in Reducing COVID-19 Epidemic Spread
Awarded by: National Science Foundation
Years active: 2020-2021
This is an NSF RAPID collaborative grant focused on modelling the effects of shield immunity on the spread of Covid-19
NSF: Inferring Cellular Lysis and Regeneration of Organic Matter by Marine Viruses
Awarded by: National Science Foundation
Year(s) active: 2018-2021
This collaborative project examines the role of marine viruses in reshaping the lysis of marine microbes and the regeneration of organic matter, combining theory, experiments and in vitro analysis of North Atlantic Ocean waters in collaboration w/ S. Wilhem (U of Tennessee-Knoxville) and M .Sullivan (Ohio State University).
NSF: Collective Dynamics of Collaborative Killing: Synergistic Elimination of Bacteria by Immune Cells and Viruses
Awarded by: National Science Foundation
Year(s) active: 2018-2021
This collaborative project (w/ Jennifer Curtis, Physics at Georgia Tech) examines the physics of tripartite dynamics among bacteria, viruses and neutrophils within in vitro biofilms.
Simons Foundation: Virus-picoplankton dynamics in the Southern Pacific Ocean
Awarded by: Simons Foundation
Year(s) active: 2019-2020
This collaboration focuses on leveraging the polony method to analyze diel dynamics of viruses and their picoplankton hosts.
Georgia Tech: Small Bets Seed Grant with Clio Andris
Awarded by: Georgia Tech
Year(s) Active: 2021
This collaborative project with Clio Andris, Schools of Design and Interactive Computing, focuses on mapping Covid-19 dynamics.