# ORIGIN OF PANDEMIC INFLUENZA VIRUSES

> **NIH NIH R01** · ST. JUDE CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITAL · 1988 · $151,733

## Abstract

In the past few years, considerable progress has been made in our
understanding of the sequence and structure of the genes and gene products
of influenza viruses.  Both surface glycoproteins of the virus that are
important in antigenic variation have been crystallized and the
three-dimensional structure determined by X-ray crystallography.  Despite
these achievements, influenza viruses still continue to appear that can
cause high mortality in animal species - most recently in chickens.
Influenza in humans has been relatively mild over the past decade, causing
only modest increases in morbidity and mortality, but the potential exists
for a virus of high pathogenicity to occur in humans.  There are clearly
gaps in our knowledge of influenza virus and the specific aims are the
following:  1) To define the antigenic areas on the neuraminidase of
influenza virus, especially the N9 subtype that possesses both
hemagglutinating and enzyme activity and is phenotypically similar to the
HN protein of paramyxoviruses.  2) To define the molecular basis of the
biological functions of the hemagglutinin (HA), including the antigenic
sites, receptor binding site and fusion peptide and relate them to
influenza virus variability.  3) To determine how antigenic drift occurs in
nature in the presence of a polyclonal antibody population and whether it
can reach an evolutionary endpoint.  4) To define the molecular changes
that permit an influenza virus to become virulent.  The outbreak of H5N2
influenza in chickens in Pennsylvania that "acquired" virulence offers a
natural system for such studies.  Recent advances in sequencing methods and
monoclonal antibodies now permit analysis of the important outstanding
biological questions such as the origin of influenza viruses, the molecular
basis of virulence and how antigenic drift occurs in nature.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 3124459
- **Project number:** 5R01AI008831-20
- **Recipient organization:** ST. JUDE CHILDREN'S RESEARCH HOSPITAL
- **SAM.gov UEI:** JL4JHE9SDRR3
- **Principal Investigator:** ROBERT G. WEBSTER
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 1988
- **Award amount:** $151,733
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 1975-02-01 → 1990-01-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/3124459

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 3124459, ORIGIN OF PANDEMIC INFLUENZA VIRUSES (5R01AI008831-20). Retrieved via MORVS 2026-10-25 from https://api.morvs.ai/grant/nih/3124459. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*