**AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** HUMAN NOROVIRUSES ARE THE LEADING CAUSE OF FOODBORNE ILLNESS AND FOURTH LEADING CAUSE OF FOODBORNE DEATH IN THE U.S. ONE OF THE BIGGEST ROADBLOCKS TO THE STUDY OF HUMAN NOROVIRUSES HAS BEEN THE HISTORICAL LACK OF AN EFFECTIVE MODEL FOR CULTIVATING THESE VIRUSES. ALTHOUGH MAJOR BREAKTHROUGHS, TWO MODELS HAVE RECENTLY BEEN REPORTED AND ARE BEING UTILIZED; HOWEVER THEY HAVE SOME LIMITATIONS, INCLUDING COST, THAT HINDER THEIR ABILITY TO BE MORE WIDELY UTILIZED FOR APPLIED SCIENTIFIC STUDY. THE CURRENT PROPOSED PROJECT INVOLVES DEVELOPMENT AND INVESTIGATION OF THE POTENTIAL FOR CAENORHABDITIS ELEGANS TO SERVE AS AN ANIMAL MODEL FOR NOROVIRUS CULTIVATION/STUDY. C. ELEGANS IS A FREE LIVING NEMATODE THAT IS WIDELY UTILIZED AS A MODEL IN MANY LIFE SCIENCE AREAS BASED ON ITS MANY CONSERVED MOLECULAR AND BIOCHEMICAL PATHWAYS WITH HUMANS. C. ELEGANS HAS A NUMBER OF MAJOR ADVANTAGES OVER OTHER ANIMAL MODELS, INCLUDING: THE ABILITY TO MORE READILY MANIPULATE ITS GENOME, THE HIGH DEGREE TO WHICH ITSGENOME HAS BEEN CHARACTERIZED, LOW COST, EFFICIENT CULTURE, AND THE ABILITY TO READILY DEFINE ITS MICROBIOTA. IN THIS PROJECT, WE WILL DEVELOP A C. ELEGANS MUTANT WE HYPOTHESIZE WILL ALLOW FOR NOROVIRUS INFECTION TO SERVE AS A MODEL TO BETTER COUNT THE NUMBER OF INFECTIOUS NOROVIRUSES IN SAMPLES. THE RESULTS GENERATED FROM THIS WORK HAVE POTENTIAL TO RESULT IN A VALUABLE TOOL FOR NOROVIRUSES THAT CAN BE READILY ADOPTED BY LABS AND USED FOR A VARIETY OF APPLICATIONS, RANGING FROM UNDERSTANDING NOROVIRUS BIOLOGY TO IDENTIFYING BETTER DISINFECTANTS AND/OR ANTIVIRAL DRUGS FOR NOROVIRUSES.