Colorado State University receives $6.7M grant to build bat research facility in Fort Collins
Colorado State University is building on its longstanding research and breeding program of bats at its northern Colorado campus. CSU received $6.7 million from the National Institute for Health to expand its program, which facilitates breeding and research of bats.
"We have actually been working with bats for over 15 years and have one of the only established families of bats that we have been using for that research," said Rebecca Moritz, biosafety director for CSU in Fort Collins.
CSU was at the forefront of studying bats before the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic. Researchers at CSU were able to use what they already knew about bats to help contribute to the early responses to the pandemic in 2020. The expansion of the facility and program will allow researchers to further investigate bats beyond just their ability to host viruses.
"Essentially we are going to have families of bats that are going to be from a variety of different species," Moritz said.
Moritz said the university is already researching how bats contribute to our ecosystems.
"For example, bats actually pollinate over 500 different plants, including agave, which gives us tequila," Moritz said.
Moritz said researchers are also wanting to learn more about bats and their abilities to not only host and transfer viruses but to also be able to withstand them.
"The counterpoint is how can they harbor these viruses? How can they not get sick?" Moritz said.
Illnesses transferring from animals such as bats is not new, though it has become of greater concern for many people after the pandemic.
"We have epidemics," Moritz said. " We have outbreaks every couple of years if you look at the course of history."
CSU said the facility will allow them to research bats in a way no other lab can in the entire country. Moritz said researchers have many approvals and training they have to complete before breeding and research are permitted. She said such requirements will make sure the lab continues to operate in a safe manner for all as it has for more than a decade already.
Moritz said she's thrilled to have the opportunity to further study the bats in Colorado and help CSU be a leader in research on the topic moving forward.
"When we have the next pandemic, we will hopefully be more prepared and develop vaccines in less than a year like we did last time," Moritz said. "All of us here at CSU are really excited. It is a fascinating piece of research."
CSU said it's working to be as transparent and informative as possible for the public. They have provided more information on their plans for the research facility expansion at batresearch.colostate.edu.
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