In case you missed it: Last week Dr. Xiu-Feng “Henry” Wan – MU professor, Bond Life Sciences Center researcher and director of the NextGen Center for Influenza and Emerging Infectious Diseases – was included in a New York Times story about a significant new finding.

Dr. Wan is part of a study that suggests SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, spread from humans to white-tailed deer, and possibly back to humans. This important discovery could shape future public health responses to the disease. The first author of the study is Dr. Aijing Feng, an MU postdoctoral fellow, and co-authors include Cynthia Tang, an M.D.-Ph.D. student in Mizzou’s Institute for Data Science and Informatics, and researchers from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Their paper was published in Nature Communications, a major research journal. In addition to The New York Times, it’s also been covered by CBS News and other outlets around the world.

I’m proud to see the outstanding work of our groundbreaking researchers.

— Mun