We’re glad to share that our manuscript, “VILLA: Versatile Information Retrieval From Scientific Literature Using Large LAnguage Models,” has been accepted to #KDD2026 (AI for Sciences track). The 2026 conference will take place August 9–13, 2026 in Jeju, Korea. 🌟 arxiv.org/abs/2603.23849

📢 A new Pathogems episode is out! In this episode of Pathogems, we sit down with Dr. Luis Escobar to discuss hantavirus, including what it is, how it spreads, and some of the most common misconceptions surrounding the virus. youtu.be/KxcbDTkrec0?...

Planning our Next Cruise with Dr. Luis Escobar

YouTube video by Pathogems

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We are pleased to congratulate Kylene Kehn-Hall on receiving the Dean’s Professional Award from the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine at Virginia Tech! 👏 @vtcezap.bsky.social #VeterinaryMedicine #InfectiousDisease #BiomedicalScience Photo Courtesy of VMCVM

Please join us in congratulating the NSF COMPASS students at @virginiatech.bsky.social who graduated during this May’s commencement ceremony, including Blessy Antony, Marissa Buccilli, PhD, Rafaela Flor, Vasundhara Gatne, and Lauren Tucker. 🎓 Congratulations to the Class of 2026! 🎉

I spoke about the potential for airborne transmission of hantavirus, and Josh Santarpia talked about the National Quarantine Unit. I visited it last year; it's a critical resource for the country. @virginiatech.bsky.social @pppda.bsky.social

Tanya Lewis@tanyalewis.bsky.social · 3mo ago

The hantavirus outbreak is reviving questions about airborne transmission from the early days of COVID. Hantavirus is not COVID, but we shouldn't rule out the possibility that it can spread through the air. My story @sciam.bsky.social 🧪 www.scientificamerican.com/article/can-...

As conversations around Hantavirus continue to grow, researchers at Virginia Tech, including PPP DA member Luis Escobar, are studying Hantavirus and how viruses move between animals and humans. news.vt.edu/articles/202...

What the Andes hantavirus outbreak reveals about pandemic risk

Luis Escobar, a disease ecologist at Virginia Tech, said the outbreak of Andes hantavirus aboard the international MV Hondius cruise ship underscores how little scientists still know about the viruses...

news.vt.edu

📢 A new Pathogems episode is out! This month, we interviewed Dr. Kylene Kehn-Hall, Tune in for a discussion of her role and responsibilities, new publication on VEEV neurological sequelae, and Caroline's battle with Skeeter Syndrome... www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLlw...

Skeeter Syndrome Awareness with CeZAP Director, Dr. Kylene Kehn-Hall

YouTube video by Pathogems

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We’re proud to see one of our students, Lauren Tucker, featured in @virginiatech.bsky.social news, for her work in translating public health research into accessible, community-focused communication. 🔗 Read the article: news.vt.edu/articles/202...

@corsiaq.bsky.social and I wrote a viewpoint on Indoor Air Quality: An Overdue Awakening addressing 1. policies for public vs. private spaces 2. ultrapure vs. "clean enough" air 3. simple vs. complex solutions @arpa-h.bsky.social pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...

Indoor Air Quality: An Overdue Awakening

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At the 2026 PPP DA Symposium, we celebrated the opening of the PPP DA exhibit! The exhibit invites visitors to explore all four research themes and how scientists, engineers, clinicians, humanists, and communities work together to understand how viruses emerge, spread, and can ultimately be stopped.

Congratulations to Center members Brian Wasik and Colin Parrish from Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine on their newly published paper, “Distinct evolutionary patterns of endemic and emerging parvoviruses and the origin of a new pandemic virus”! 🔗 www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

We received a fantastic response to the 2026 COMPASS Undergraduate Summer Program application. Thank you to all of the students who applied. We're excited to welcome these students and support their research experiences this summer. Congratulations to the 2026 cohort! 🙌

Last week, the NSF COMPASS Center held its annual Community Advisory Board meeting. 🗓️ Thank you to everyone who contributed. We’re excited for what the next year of work will bring!

I recorded a @virginiatech.bsky.social Curious Conversations podcast about stuff in the air that makes us sick and our project funded by @arpa-h.bsky.social on a smart building system to ensure cleaner, healthier indoor air. news.vt.edu/articles/202...

‘Curious Conversations’ podcast: Linsey Marr airborne pathogen detection and mitigation

Marr joined Virginia Tech’s “Curious Conversations” to talk about the complexities of airborne pathogens, their impact on health, and a project she’s leading aimed at developing a smart air quality ma...

news.vt.edu

That’s a wrap for the PPP DA 2026 Symposium! 👋 Today was full of collaboration and new ideas. Thank you to everyone who participated in advancing the work of pandemic prediction and prevention.

The afternoon breakout sessions are taking place now at the PPP DA 2026 Symposium! 💬 Faculty and trainees are collaborating and exchanging perspectives across disciplines. Trainees have the opportunity to join the career panel to learn more from pandemic scientists.

Before we head to lunch, we’re excited to hear from 7 PPP DA Faculty members during the “Where Are We Now?” portion of the day! Learn more about the speakers here: ppp-vt.org/event/2026-p...

Today’s speakers at the PPP DA 2026 Symposium include Dan Sui, Catherine Amelink, T.M. Murali, and Michael Imperiale. We look forward to hearing their perspectives on the future of pandemic prediction and prevention. To learn more about each speaker, visit ppp-vt.org/event/2026-p...

2026 Pandemic Prediction and Prevention Destination Area Symposium – Pandemic Prediction and Prevention Destination Area

2026 Pandemic Prediction and Prevention Destination Area Symposium

ppp-vt.org

The PPP DA 2026 Symposium is finally here! We’re so excited to welcome faculty and trainees for a day of talks, breakout sessions, and conversations about the future of pandemic prediction and prevention. 💡 Follow along as we share highlights from the day!

🧠 Meet Dr. Naren Ramakrishnan, Professor of Computer Science and Director of the Sanghani Center for AI and Analytics at Virginia Tech!

📣 Meet Dr. Padma Rajagopalan – Robert E. Hord Jr. Professor of Chemical Engineering at Virginia Tech and co-Lead of the Replicate Thrust with the NSF COMPASS Center.

Proud moment for COMPASS! 🎉 Congrats to Hannah Brown (1st – Curious Questioner) and Blessy Antony (2nd – Methods Master) at Flip the Fair for turning complex viral research into stories kids could wonder at. It’s an honor to turn complex viral research into stories that sparks wonder in kids!🧪✨

📣 Meet Dr. Colin Bishop, Professor at Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine and COMPASS co-investigator. His research spans fertility genetics, stem cell biology, and organoids (human Organ Tissue Equivalents) used for toxicity testing and disease modeling.

🧬 Meet Dr. Laura Goodman, NSF COMPASS Co-Investigator and Assistant Professor at Cornell University. Her lab studies pathogen genomics, tackling antimicrobial resistance, tick-borne diseases, and virus discovery at the intersection of human, animal, and environmental health.

📣 Meet Dr. Julie Gerdes, Assistant Professor of Technical & Scientific Communication at Virginia Tech and COMPASS Co-Investigator.

Meet Dr. Yian Yin, Assistant Professor at Cornell and computational social scientist helping COMPASS understand how science works (and how to make it work better).

🦠 Meet Dr. Adam Lauring, COMPASS Jump co-lead, Professor of Internal Medicine, and Chief of Infectious Diseases at the University of Michigan.

🤖 Meet Dr. Anuj Karpatne, AI researcher, COMPASS co-investigator, and Jump thrust co-lead! He’s an Associate Professor in Computer Science at Virginia Tech, and his work focuses on knowledge-guided machine learning–AI tools designed with science in mind.

🧫 Meet Dr. Colin Parrish, COMPASS Co-Investigator and Professor of Virology at Cornell’s College of Veterinary Medicine.

🦠 Say hi to Dr. Kelly Speer–COMPASS co-investigator and Assistant Professor at Northern Arizona University, where she studies host-parasite interactions through the lens of biodiversity and history.