Midwest Antiviral Drug Discovery Center Center

05/12/2026

04/20/2026

A new paper published in PLOS Pathogens by the Midwest AViDD Center's Project 5 Helicase project shows that a novel benzamide anti-Zika compound has superior potency, and its target, , could hold the key to pan-flavivirus therapeutic development.

03/27/2026

Dr. Fang Li was interviewed by Infection Control today about his lab's Nature Portfolio study on how efficiently Marburg enters human cells and what that means for outbreak preparedness as researchers race to find solutions to prevent and control illness.

Paper: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-026-10240-0

New research shows the Marburg virus enters human cells far more efficiently than Ebola, highlighting increased outbreak risk and underscoring the need for rapid detection, strict infection control, and novel antiviral development.

03/26/2026

A major discovery by Dr. Fang Li’s lab and the Midwest AViDD Center, published in Nature Portfolio, shows that Marburg is 300 times more efficient at entering human cells than its cousin Ebola. The research sheds light on why Marburg is so deadly and establishes a therapeutic path to combat infection.

Marburgvirus glycoprotein binds to the endosomal receptor NPC1 in a distinct orientation with higher affinity compared with Ebola virus glycoprotein, accompanied by fusion-relevant rearrangements, enabling more efficient viral entry.

02/15/2023

Announcing the Midwest AViDD Center Lecture Series on the third Monday of every month. Our first speaker is Hongmin Li from the University of Arizona. He will present on inhibitors for the Zika virus, yellow fever virus, West Nile virus and Dengue virus. https://lnkd.in/d_yGe5gu

02/13/2023

2022 Blue Ridge Rankings Place the University of Minnesota Medical School's Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Biophysics Department as Number 1 Funded in the Nation

02/13/2023

The 2022 Blue Ridge Rankings announced the University of Minnesota Medical School as ranked #21 among all U.S. Medical Schools and #8 among public Medical Schools, with more than $340 million in funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), a 50% increase over 2021: https://med.umn.edu/news/u-m-medical-school-jumps-ahead-rankings-research-funded-nih University of Minnesota Physicians University of Minnesota Medical School

MINNEAPOLIS/ST. PAUL (02/10/2023) — Today, the 2022 Blue Ridge Rankings announced the University of Minnesota Medical School has moved to No. 21 among all medical schools with funding from the National Institutes of Health and No. 8 among all public medical schools. With more than $340 million in ...

02/09/2023

When it became abundantly clear that vaccination development to thwart pandemics was not enough to save lives, the NIAID launched an effort to accelerate the growth of antiviral therapeutics. To quickly develop drugs for pandemic-level viruses, the Midwest Antiviral Drug Discovery (AViDD) Center was created as part of a network of nine national centers. The Midwest AViDD Center includes over forty leading investigators across 16 universities working collaboratively to combat SARS-CoV-2, Ebola, Lassa, and Zika viruses by discovering novel inhibitors.

Our mission is to help end the current pandemic and prevent future ones. Discover more at:

Midwest Antiviral Drug Discovery (AViDD) Center Video file Our Mission Our mission at the Midwest Antiviral Drug Discovery (AViDD) Center is to quickly develop the next generation of antiviral drugs for pandemic-level viruses, including SARS-CoV-2, Ebola, Lassa and Zika viruses. The Center is part o...