Dr. Stanley Perlman and his lab and will be participating in research for the Midwest Antiviral Drug Discovery (AViDD) Center. The Center is based on a recent NIAID five-year U19 grant ($66 million) to the University of Minnesota.In May 2022, the NIAID had awarded approximately $577 million to establish nine AViDD Centers for Pathogens of Pandemic Concern in the USA. These nine AViDD Centers conduct innovative, multidisciplinary research to develop candidate COVID-19 antivirals, especially those that can be taken in an outpatient setting, as well as antivirals targeting specific viral families with high potential to cause a pandemic in the future. Congratulations Dr. Perlman!