NIH Awards UAMS $3.7 Million in Quest for More Effective Tuberculosis Vaccine

By David Robinson

LITTLE ROCK — UAMS researcher Lu Huang, Ph.D., has received a $3.7 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to support his pursuit of a more effective tuberculosis (TB) vaccine, a feat that has eluded scientists for more than 100 years.

The five-year grant from the NIH National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases will allow Huang to explore new ways to help the body fight TB based on his recent findings.

Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) is the only approved vaccine available today and has been used since 1921. Although protective for children, its effectiveness when given to adults remains uncertain, and it is not commonly used in the United States.

NIH Awards UAMS $3.7 Million in Quest for More Effective Tuberculosis Vaccine

Lu Huang, Ph.D., center, with his lab team at UAMS (front, l-r): J. Tucker Andrews and Ananya Ranaraja; and (back): Grant Dawson and Jilliyn Jeu.