Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, awarded its 2023 Future Insight Prize to Khalid Salaita, professor of chemistry at Emory University. The award comes with $540,000 to fund the next phase of research into an air sensor that can continuously monitor indoor spaces for pathogens that can cause pandemics.
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Emory University received a National Institutes of Health grant, for a total of $883,000 over two years, to develop a sensor capable of detecting SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, in the air of indoor spaces. The grant is part of the NIH RADx Radical initiative, which aims to support new, non-traditional approaches for rapid detection devices that address current gaps in testing for the presence of SARS-CoV-2, as well as potential future pandemic viruses.
“Our goal is to create a fully automated electronic sensor that continually measures for the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in the environment in real time,” says Khalid Salaita, principal investigator of the grant and an Emory professor of chemistry. “The sensor could be used in schools, airports or any high-traffic indoor areas.”