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Karius Announces the Clinical Investigator Award for Applied Pediatric Infectious Disease Genomics

Company to Award $50,000 in Clinical Research Grant Funds for Novel Applications of Pediatric Infectious Disease Diagnostics Using Genomics

October 31, 2018

Redwood City, CA – Karius, the leading infectious disease genomics company, is offering a new award for talented researchers using next-generation sequencing to study human pathogens in pediatric patients.

One grant of up to $50,000 will be awarded to a research institution for a novel application of the Karius cell-free DNA test for infectious diseases.

In addition to the funding, Karius will cover the cost of sequencing a limited number of specimens for this program. The purpose of these grants is to accelerate research focused on infectious disease diagnostics and to positively impact pediatric health.

This is the second grant program of its kind from Karius. The first Clinical Investigator Award winners were announced during IDWeek™ 2018. Grants were awarded to investigators from Indiana University and The University of Pittsburgh in the fields of severe pneumonia and musculoskeletal infections.

The closing date for applications is December 21, 2018. The winner will be announced in March 2019. Researchers based in the United States may apply to the Karius Clinical Investigator Award for Applied Pediatric Infectious Disease Genomics.

Information concerning the terms of participation in the Clinical Investigator Award are available on the awards website.

The Challenge
One of the greatest challenges facing humanity is the continuing global impact of infectious diseases: infections cause roughly 20% of all human deaths each year. Antimicrobial resistance, rapidly evolving pathogen genomes, and increasing numbers of immunocompromised patients make infectious diseases a vital area of future research. Children can be particularly vulnerable to infection. There are a number of unique infectious etiologies and syndromes that disproportionately affect children given their developing immune systems.

The Opportunity
Mickey Kertesz, co-founder and CEO of Karius, says this is a call for innovators. “We are passionate about helping pediatric patients. It can be difficult to precisely identify pathogens in children with severe, deep infections because invasive procedures in this population can be challenging. The possibilities of the Karius Test to help these patients is tremendous.”

Dr. David Hong, Vice President of Medical Affairs and Clinical Development at Karius, will lead the review committee to select the award winners. “Karius has already collaborated on studies with UCSF, Duke University, and Stanford, with several other studies in progress. We are keen to apply the power of sequencing cell-free pathogen DNA to the biggest infectious disease challenges. Given the small blood volumes required for the Karius Test, we hope to fund projects that can use the test to positively impact children with severe infections.”

Grant requests must be supported by a detailed study protocol and budget, and funds will be awarded to the selected research institution upon execution of a letter of agreement.

About the Karius Test
The Karius® Test is a plasma-based next-generation sequencing test to help clinicians rapidly diagnose infectious diseases. It allows precise, broad-based detection of more than a thousand bacteria, DNA viruses, fungi, molds, and protozoa from a single non-invasive blood draw. Results are typically available within one day of sample receipt for approximately 80% of specimens received by 8:30 am Monday to Saturday. The full list of microorganisms detected by Karius is available here. Through Karius’ CAP-accredited and CLIA-certified laboratory service, the test empowers doctors to diagnose infections quickly and provide more targeted treatment to their patients.

Widespread applications of Karius technology include:

  • Detecting pathogens in culture-negative infections (including sepsis, endocarditis, pneumonia and fastidious organisms, as well as for patients pre-treated with antibiotics)
  • Identifying deep-seated infections such as invasive fungal infections that would otherwise require invasive biopsies
  • Enabling targeted antimicrobial therapy and stewardship
  • Monitoring immunocompromised patients susceptible to a broad range of pathogens (including stem-cell transplant recipients and patients with febrile neutropenia)

About Karius
Karius is a life sciences company focused on transforming infectious disease diagnostics through the innovative use of next-generation sequencing to analyze microbial cell-free DNA. The Karius laboratory is CLIA-certified and CAP-accredited to perform high-complexity clinical laboratory testing. The company’s genomics platform and clinically-curated pathogen database deliver deep insight into the microbial landscape, providing clinicians with a comprehensive, quantitative test capable of identifying more than a thousand pathogens directly from blood.

For more information, visit kariusdx.com and follow @kariusdx on Twitter.

All researchers interested in the Karius Clinical Investigator Award for Pediatric Applied Infectious Disease Genomics are invited to submit their proposals before December 21, 2018.