Influenza research at Mizzou is thriving with big plans for exploring better vaccines and the intricacies of viral infection.
In May, Mizzou’s NextGen Center for Influenza and Emerging Infectious Diseases (CIEID) wrapped up its Phase 2 expansion of biocontainment space to bolster research and industry partnerships. These improvements will double its research capacity, positioning Mizzou as a national leader in the fight against influenza and future pathogens.
Xiu-Feng (Henry) Wan, director of the center and Bond LSC principal investigator, has seen his lab’s work bear fruit with multiple studies published in Nature Communications in spring 2026. One study takes aim at ways to make vaccines more effective against new strains of the fast-mutating flu virus. By targeting distinct regions of proteins, called epitopes, on the surface of the flu virus, new vaccines have potential to be effective for longer.
A second Nature Communications study looks at the effect of poor sleep on immune responses. Wan’s lab found that chronically fragmented sleep, like in sleep apnea sufferers, reduces both the strength and quality of immune responses, limiting the effectiveness of influenza vaccination.
Primary CIEID faculty also are showing growth.
Wenjun Ma gained momentum this year for furthering influenza research. The schools of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine researcher received nearly $2 million to study bird flu from the U.S. Department of Agriculture in February.
John Driver — also a Bond LSC principal investigator and an associate professor in the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources — heavily utilizes the center's pig models in his work to better understand which immune cells are most responsive to an influenza infection using single-cell RNA sequencing.
With these investments and research projects, the future for influenza research at Mizzou promises to be productive.