US Geological Survey is offering a funding opportunity to a CESU Partner for a research project that will target filling gaps in the application of RT-QuIC to support CWD management and research.
Specifically, the project will support U. S. Geological Survey (USGS) efforts to establish a 1) bank
of well-characterized reference samples that are available for USGS CWD research and the wider research community to ensure proper assay functioning, 2) identify optimal tissues for ante-mortem sampling, 3) determine biological relevance of RT-QuIC results, 4) optimize extraction methods and the assay for detection of prions from incinerator products generated during carcass disposal, and 5) evaluate the effectiveness of incineration for inactivating prions.