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Biochemistry

The Effect of Covid-19 from a Biochemistry Senior’s Perspective – The University News

2020 has been an eventful year as we kick off the new decade. One month ago, I was living on campus and taking classes, participating in extracurriculars and hanging out with my friends. Today, I am sitting at home, trying to comprehend the outbreak of COVID-19. This pandemic affected thousands of students and took a big hit on seniors. For those graduating this spring, the news of school closures was a shock to many. I am glad that the university is concerned for our safety and health, but at the same time, this was my last opportunity to enjoy SLU to the fullest.

Many events unique to seniors have been canceled, such as senior legacy symposium, senior night at the ballpark, department night for seniors and many more. We have worked hard these last three and a half years, and now, when we are about to celebrate our hard work, we are hit with a pandemic and are left with nothing but just sitting in our rooms and wondering if things will ever get better. In addition to the cancellation of events, many seniors didnt get a chance to say goodbye to their friends and their professors. I never imagined that March 6 would be my last day on campus. What makes SLUs education unique is the experiences that come with it, such as volunteerism, leadership, extracurricular involvement and research. It is essentially the whole package. While SLU is taking proper health precautions, the university can do a better job with handling the transition to virtual learning and figure out ways to make events occur virtually rather than being canceled.

While on-campus instruction is terminated, we are still able to attend classes online via Zoom. I personally think it is difficult to learn online because the quality of content transmission decreases. A lot of the meetings are Q and A or discussion-based. My classes are asynchronous, so we watch videos during our own time. It becomes harder to stay organized and on track when everything becomes virtual. In-person contact is the norm and students know what they have to do. When things go virtual, then goals become a little harder to achieve. As a biochemistry major, it is hard to transition online because it is tedious to do mathematical calculations and hard to draw structural and molecular formulas. Professors should give out more interactive exercises that help gauge our understanding of the material. Examples include projects related to the topics studied in class and writing reflections on video lectures. I also think professors should make note sheets that highlight the important takeaways of each chapter. That way, we can understand the main ideas.

Certain classes have been hard to transition to virtual class-settings. While lectures can be done online, how are labs supposed to be done virtually? Professors are giving students the data but, unfortunately, students cannot get the in-lab exposure. Doing the lab is a crucial part of learning and producing data. It becomes difficult to understand why the lab is meaningful and the purpose of doing the lab. In-lab exposure is important because doing the experiment allows us to visualize the theoretical principles. Phase changes and color changes can only be observed by doing the lab. These are changes that can only be observed by the human eye; these changes are fascinating and intriguing. Assessments are also hard to administer virtually. While multiple choice and short answer questions can be assessed on Blackboard, it does not prevent students from using their notes or the internet.

Currently, SLU students can choose for their classes to be pass/fail. There is no point assessing the students mastery of content using the letter grade system if they are going to use resources during examinations. Professors should assign more projects, as these can assess the students knowledge and how to apply it in real-world settings. If there are more critical thinking assignmentsprojects, group presentations, essaysthen there wont be a need to transition to pass/fail. I plan on using the letter grade system because I am confident that I will do well in classes and pass/fail doesnt look as good to professional and graduate schools. When an employer or admissions committee sees pass, they cant tell if the student passed with a C or an A.

Remote learning is also limited, and does not match the expectations of most employers. Remote courses do not assess the soft skills and other skills that are assessed on campus. Online learning should be a piece of the overall learning experience, not the whole picture. If online learning was the whole picture, students wouldnt go to college; they would just watch Khan Academy and YouTube. Clearly, learning content is not sufficient for success. College builds relationships, helps discover new extracurricular and volunteer opportunities and expands students horizons. Online programs provide little opportunity to build skills necessary for promising careers. Learning is only part of the process; one must also apply the skills in the real world.

Currently, we are not getting reimbursed for tuition. I think this is not fair because tuition costs reflect more than learning content. Also, online classes are not as efficient as on-campus instruction. As previously stated, labs and research cannot be done online which is why I believe a portion of students tuition should be reimbursed. Also, the tuition accounts for the resources used on campus like the laboratories, the computers, the study rooms, etc. What makes SLUs education unique is the experiences that happen on campus. Academics, volunteerism, leadership, extracurricular involvement and research are offered on campus, so it is essentially the whole package.

While the cancellation of senior events, the switch to remote learning, debates on refunds and limited post-graduation opportunities affect millions of students, we should be blessed to be staying healthy. SLU cares about us and wants us to stay isolated from others until things get better. Faculty and administrators are trying to make the learning process as smooth as possible, but should realize that there needs to be more strategies and resources to learn and succeed in this alternative setting. Virtual learning provides students with something to learn, but it should not be considered the gold standard of academic and personal development.

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The Effect of Covid-19 from a Biochemistry Senior's Perspective - The University News

Biochemistry

How Do You Teach The Most Hands-On Subject Science Without A Lab? – WBEZ

Marcie Gutierrezs first and second graders had just planted lima beans and grass seed for a unit about the life cycle of plants when Chicago Public Schools announced it was shifting classes online to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus.

She wondered how to continue when they wouldnt be together at John Hay Academy in Austin to watch the seeds grow. Then she thought of a solution.

Why dont I send it home with them? she said.

She prepared little packages of dirt and seeds for students to grow and post photos on their class website. One student jumped right in. Seven-year-old Alex Orsornio is taking photos and documenting his plants progress in his journal daily.

It is growing slow, he wrote one day. Mom thinks its growing fast.

As kindergarten through college students across Chicago and the country adjust to online classes during the COVID-19 pandemic, one course that can be difficult to teach remotely is science.

Science teachers are getting creative as they take a hands-on subject and teach it from a distance. Experts encourage science teachers to think about how students homes could be used as a laboratory and to get students off the computer to learn science concepts.

Theres lots of stuff that can be done in nature and in the world without any kind of sophisticated equipment, especially for younger children, said Maria Varelas, a professor of science education at the University of Illinois at Chicago. How can we really use this moment to actually do some things that we wouldnt be able to do in the classroom?

Varelas said just noticing birds or insects on a walk around the neighborhood can help students learn about behaviors. It can also reduce inequities caused by the digital divide; students dont need an internet connection to walk around the block.

For older students, it can be tougher to shift science online. Equipment is more expensive, and the topics are much more complex.

Earlier this month, Loyola University Chicago professor Carissa Hipsher walked her environmental chemistry class through a lab on Zoom using materials she sent home with them.

This wasnt an activity I had originally planned for today but obviously things had to change a little bit, Hipsher told her students as she explained how they could measure how porous materials are when filled with water.

Then, she split students into small groups on Zoom to complete the experiment.

Student Hannah Sather tuned in from her home in Seattle, where the time difference means shes starting classes much earlier than normal. She and a friend drove back to Seattle after Loyola shut down, stopping at her family cabin in South Dakota so she could complete the previous lab for this class before continuing the drive west. She and her lab partner discuss each step over Zoom, and Hipsher periodically jumps in to see if they have questions.

Their next lab will require students to gather a soil sample from their homes, which now means the class will have a wide variety from across the country. Hipsher is choosing to see this as a silver lining during all of this chaos.

We werent going to get that kind of opportunity before, she said. So [were] kind of making something cool out of it.

Other science professors are also finding new ways to continue class.

At UIC, a human evolution class did a virtual scavenger hunt at the Field Museum where you can take tours of the museum on their website since students cant visit in person. One biochemistry class is studying reactions of carbohydrates at home by using carbs that students can find in their kitchens.

And the teaching assistants in another UIC biochemistry class are asking students to take them through an experiment as if theyre in the lab.

For the students to get the most out of their online lab experience, I believe they need to visualize the details of each experiment in their minds, said teaching assistant Maryna Salkovski. If theyre not visualizing themselves performing every detail of the experiment, then their takeaway becomes a lot less than what it could be.

As the shutdown continues, teachers have started to think about new projects. Gutierrez spent last weekend driving flower kits to her elementary students homes for the next unit on plant life, including Alex. He said he misses his friends and teacher, so he enjoys looking at their plants and flowers progress online. Gutierrez said thats the goal.

Once I post one video, then like seven others come right away in the next half hour, Gutierrez said. I think theyre liking that engagement, so they can see how their classmates are doing.

For those who dont have good internet access at home, she hopes they can share what they grew once students can return to school. Right now, thats tentatively slated for May 1.

Kate McGee covers education for WBEZ. Follow her on Twitter @WBEZeducation and @McGeeReports.

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How Do You Teach The Most Hands-On Subject Science Without A Lab? - WBEZ

Biochemistry

Virologist to research antiviral and vaccine targets in SARS-Cov-2 – Mirage News

Joyce Jose

Image: Nate Follmer, Penn State

Joyce Jose, assistant professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at Penn State, has been awarded seed funding from the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences at Penn State to apply her expertise in studying potentially deadly viruses to developing targeted therapeutic intervention strategies against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.

Jose is a virologist with extensive experience working with biosafety level 3+ (BSL-3+) pathogens, including the West Nile virus. Working directly with these pathogens, which can cause serious and potentially lethal disease through inhalation, requires a bio-containment facility. BSL-3 laboratories are relatively rare at universities, but in 2014 Penn State opened the Eva J. Pell ABSL3 Laboratory for Advanced Biological Research to facilitate this vital research.

Jose and her research team have been working in the Pell Lab since 2018, but her proposed research with SARS-CoV-2 will start in her BSL-2 lab using non-pathogenic virus proteins that can be made in cell culture using synthetic DNA constructs.

We developed at strategy where we can safely fast-track tests for antiviral agents against SARS-CoV-2 and develop a system to evaluate potential vaccine candidates in our BSL-2 laboratory before moving to the BSL-3 lab, said Jose.

Jose will use synthetic DNA to make cells grown in the lab produce two SARS-CoV-2 proteins that are required by the virus for replication. She can then test the ability of small molecules to inhibit the activity of these proteins. Her team will begin by testing small molecules that are already in use as antivirals against other viruses and have been shown to have low levels of toxicity to human cells, in the hopes of identifying an antiviral agent that could be effective against SARS-CoV-2 and can be developed and approved relatively quickly.

Joses team can also trick cells into making the four main proteins that compose the structure of the virus shell and then assemble the proteins into particles that look, from outside, just like the virus, but lack the ability to cause disease. These virus-like particles can then be used to test the efficacy of potential vaccine candidates before testing the vaccines against the actual virus in the BSL-3 lab.

Compared to the viruses I am used to working with, the SARS-CoV-2 has an extremely large and complex genome, said Jose. In addition to trying to develop strategies to stop its spread as quickly as possible, we also want to begin building genetic systems that allow us to better understand how this virus works. This knowledge can facilitate our understanding of the virus pathogenesis, which will be required for the development of future therapeutics and vaccine candidates.

On March 3, the Penn State Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences launched a rapid-response, internal call-for-proposals across the University to address the emerging COVID-19 outbreak, with support from the Materials Research Institute, Social Sciences Institute, Institutes for Energy and the Environment, and the Institute for Computational and Data Science.

Over the course of five weeks, units across Penn State stepped up to assist. To date, more than 120 faculty members in 45 research teams from across eight colleges at Penn State have been granted an overall $2.25 million in seed funding to initiate their vitally important work.

The projects span six core areas: Diagnostics and Detection, Therapeutics and Vaccines, Transmission-blocking Interventions, Social Sciences, Cohort Studies, and Predictive Modeling.

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Virologist to research antiviral and vaccine targets in SARS-Cov-2 - Mirage News

Biochemistry

Remdesivir Q&A: Cautious Optimism for Coronavirus Treatment – American Council on Science and Health

Stat News just broke a story that has been picked up by the wider press and has generated quite a bit of excitement1. The gist is that early clinical trial results from Gilead show that its antiviral drug, remdesivir, has promise in treating patients with severe COVID-19.

But, as always, science advances in fits and starts. There are rarely any truly groundbreaking discoveries that happen overnight. So, let's discuss why we can be cautiously optimistic, but with caveats.

Does remdesivir successfully treat patients with COVID-19?

It appears the answer is "yes," but there are two major caveats: (1) Patients already requiring ventilators were excluded; and (2) There was no control group. The first caveat means that the absolute sickest patients -- people literally on their death beds -- were not included in the study. The second caveat is puzzling. Perhaps Gilead thought it was unethical to give the control group a placebo.

So, this is why it's not clear just how excited we should be. Still, there is reason to be hopeful: 113 patients in this part of the clinical trial were severely ill, but only two died.

Are there side effects?

Oh yes, and possibly very unpleasant ones. According to BioSpace:

"[A]bout 25% of patients receiving it have severe side effects, including multiple-organ dysfunction syndrome, septic shock, acute kidney injury and low blood pressure. Another 23% demonstrated evidence of liver damage on lab tests."

This is one of the problems with developing antivirals. Viruses, by their nature, hijack our cells and take over their machinery. Therefore, any drug that targets a virus also (usually) inadvertently targets our own cellular machinery. It's sort of like having a terrorist holding you hostage inside your own house. The police could throw in some grenades to kill the terrorist, but they would also damage the house and possibly kill you, too.

On the other hand, it's possible that what are thought to be "side effects" of the drug are actually sequelae of COVID-19. It's now thought that the coronavirus may be causing damage to other organs, including the heart and kidneys.

If remdesivir didn't work against Ebola, why would it work against coronavirus?

That's a great question, and it's one that was expertly handled by my colleague, Dr. Josh Bloom2. The answer involves fairly sophisticated biochemistry, but the punchline is that the drug is far better at binding to a particular kind of coronavirus enzyme than to the equivalent Ebola enzyme.

When will we know for sure if remdesivir works?

There are several ongoing trials, some of which won't be completed for a couple of years. One trial for patients with moderate COVID-19 will be completed this May, and it does have a proper control group. So, we should have a clearer answer next month.

When will the drug be ready?

According to FiercePharma, Gilead will have enough of the drug to fully treat 140,000 patients very soon, as in some of the product is ready to be shipped right now. Gilead plans another 360,000 courses by October and 1 million by the end of the year. A company in India is already working on a generic version of the drug.

Why does remdesivir have such a stupid name?

Blame the FDA and branding consultants. There are elaborate rules for the naming of drugs. But here's an easy one: Any drug that ends in "-vir" is an antiviral.

Notes

(1) Bizarrely, one of the article's authors, Matthew Herper, also retweeted a complaint that it is a "violation of trial integrity" to report on partial results. Apparently, Mr. Herper is condemning his own role in reporting the story.

(2) Dr. Bloom is so good at writing, that he'll make you think you're an expert in biochemistry and toxicology. But you are not. (And neither am I.) His explanations are simply that good.

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Remdesivir Q&A: Cautious Optimism for Coronavirus Treatment - American Council on Science and Health

Immunology

Temperatures and pollen counts both predicted to rise this week in Seattle area – Seattle Times

Its on, allergy sufferers. Especially if youre sensitive to tree pollen.

Pollen counts are predicted to soar for the rest of this week as temperatures through most of the Puget Sound region climb toward 70 degrees on Thursday and Friday.

Pollen count is predicted to be very high Thursday through Sunday, according to theNorthwest Asthma & Allergy Center.

Seattle-area allergy experts say that once your allergies are activated and apparently Western Washington is one of the best places to discover whether youre allergic to tree pollen you take a deep breath on a beautiful spring day, and instantly your mast cells jump into action.

The key feature of allergies and our immune system in general is also the reason they are persistent and frustrating, said Dr. Jakob von Moltke, an assistant professor of immunology at the UW School of Medicine. You can go a whole winter without any issues, and then your immune system is triggered in seconds.

And allergists say the masks many people are wearing lately havent really mitigated pollen allergy symptoms: sneezing, runny noses, postnasal drip, and itchy, puffy, watery eyes. (That said, you should wear one when youre out in public, to protect yourself and others from the novel coronavirus especially if youre sneezing, which launches your germs into the air.)

If there is a difference (for allergy sufferers during the pandemic), it may be because people are not walking around outside a lot and are staying indoors, which is what we recommend, said Dr. Lahari Rampur, a UW Medicine allergy and immunology professor.

It can help to keep your windows closed, saidDr. Scott Itano, medical center chief at Kaiser Permanente Northgate Medical Center.

Most plants release their pollen in the middle of the night, so leaving windows open at night as many people do when the weather gets warm is one of the worst things you can do, he said. Then, you will be allergic inside and outside your house.

And if you are taking medicine to combat allergies, such as allergy pills and nasal steroid sprays, Itano recommends taking it at night before bed to help suppress the allergic reaction before it happens.

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Temperatures and pollen counts both predicted to rise this week in Seattle area - Seattle Times

Immunology

LJI Scientists Awarded New Funding to Combat COVID-19 – Times of San Diego

Share This Article:To aid vaccine design, researchers at LJI will investigate how a diverse population fights off viral attack

The coronavirus behind COVID-19 is new in the human population, meaning few have any natural immunity to the disease. Yet many people are able to fight off the disease through an effective immune system response. Scientists at theLa Jolla Institute for Immunology(LJI) are working to figure out how to help everyone combat the virus.

Support Times of San Diego's growthwith a small monthly contribution

The laboratory of LJI professorAlessandro Sette, Dr. Biol. Sci., has been awarded $500,000 from the National Institutes of HealthsNational Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseasesto study how the human immune system recognizes the novel coronavirus. The research team will hunt for sites on the coronavirus surface that trigger an immune system responsesites which may be important to target through a COVID-19 vaccine.

This will further allow us to tackle key issues for research right now, Sette said. The funding will allow us to measure immune responses and ask questions related to how immune responses translate in more or less severe disease, which response we want, which response we want to avoidand what response should a vaccine induce? We are also eager to make all data available to the scientific community, basic researchers, industry, and vaccine developers as fast as we possibly can.

At the end of this, we want a map of the virus that tells us what parts of the virus are recognized by the immune system, and that will guide vaccine design, said LJI research assistant professor Daniela Weiskopf, a member of the Sette lab.

The new project will take advantage of LJIs expertise in identifying epitopes, small molecular structures on the surface of a pathogen. When immune cells spot foreign epitopes, they step up to defend the body. This means that scientists designing vaccines need to know which epitopes the immune system can see. Past studies in the Sette lab have shed light on vulnerable epitopes on pathogens responsible for diseases such as dengue fever, malaria and tuberculosis.

We already have everything in house: methods, technical set-ups and expertise. We just have to look at a different virus now, Weiskopf said.

The labwill investigate epitopes targeted by a diverse group of COVID-19 survivors. They will also analyze samples from uninfected donors. These donors may harbor immune memory against other types of coronavirus that only cause the common cold, and researchers are curious whether these immune cells may also recognize epitopes of the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2).

The researchers will add their findings to theImmune Epitope Database(IEDB), a free online resource run by Sette and LJI professorBjoern Peters, Ph.D.Through the IEDB, researchers worldwide can access this coronavirus epitope data and even add their own.

Learn more about COVID-19 research underway at LJI:https://www.lji.org/covid-19/research-efforts-underway/

The new supplement is part of NIH contract #75N93019C00065.

LJI Scientists Awarded New Funding to Combat COVID-19 was last modified: April 17th, 2020 by Debbie L. Sklar

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LJI Scientists Awarded New Funding to Combat COVID-19 - Times of San Diego

Immunology

Zania Stamataki – The Conversation UK

Profile Articles Activity

Dr Stamataki is interested in applying immunology and cell biology methodologies to understand liver diseases from autoimmune, viral or metabolic injury. Her team is using authentic human liver tissues to develop new therapies that restore immune regulation in liver inflammation and cancer.

Her team is fascinated by the intricate architecture of the liver and they are investigating how cells of the immune system influence and are influenced by the liver microenvironment to coordinate immune regulation.

They use cell biology, immunology and virology experiments to understand and quantify interactions between immune cells and liver resident cells. They build models to manipulate these interactions using human tissues and they develop novel drug candidate molecules, in collaboration with industrial partners.

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Zania Stamataki - The Conversation UK

Immunology

Birmingham experts join forces to improve COVID-19 antibody diagnosis – University of Birmingham

Coronavirus

Birmingham experts are working together on improving detection of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies the best way of fighting the disease as the search for a vaccine continues.

Working with the Binding Site, and through Birmingham Health Partners alongside colleagues at University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust experts at the University of Birminghams Clinical Immunology Service aim to improve antibody diagnosis.

This will help to identify patients where prompt medical intervention can prevent them having to go into intensive care, whilst guiding relaxation of the COVID-19 lockdown by identifying the proportion of communities at large that are now immune.

David Adams, Head of the College of Medical and Dental Sciences and Director of Birmingham Health Partners, commented: The current COVID-19 pandemic represents a previously unimaginable global challenge. Without vaccination, the role of antibody testing, as a means to assess community infection, is of paramount importance.

By bringing together unrivalled academic, clinical and commercial expertise in antibody testing this collaboration has the potential to deliver a reliable test to detect antibodies against coronavirus. If successful, this will be a game changer in our fight against Covid-19.

He added that commercial and academic collaborative partnerships would be required to rapidly develop, verify and validate such tests.

With over 40 years experience in developing novel in vitro diagnostics (IVD) based on the generation of highly-specific monoclonal and polyclonal immunoglobulins, the Clinical Immunology Service is well-placed to coordinate such an effort.

The Binding Site leads the way in specialist protein diagnostics. Built on strong scientific foundations with extensive expertise in antibody specificity technology, Binding Site gives clinicians and laboratory staff the tools to significantly improve diagnosis and management of patients across a range of cancers and immune system disorders.

Charles de Rohan, CEO, The Binding Site, commented: Binding Site came out of the University of Birmingham in the 1980s and now produces more than 30 million IVD tests for worldwide sale every year.

Weve maintained our close collaboration with the University of Birmingham and researchers such as Professor Mark Drayson, Dr. Alex Richter and Dr. Aarnoud Huissoon. We share their scientific passion and are delighted to continue our partnership with them during this unprecedented time.

University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust (UHB) is one of the largest teaching hospital trusts in England, serving a regional, national and international population.

Professor Simon Ball, Chief Medical Officer, University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, commented: We are proud of our long-standing association with the Binding Site. I have no doubt that this collaboration will provide significant assistance to our efforts to deliver the best care possible to patients affected by Covid-19.

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Birmingham experts join forces to improve COVID-19 antibody diagnosis - University of Birmingham

Immunology

Coronavirus immunity permits for Washingtonians? ‘We’re not quite there yet’ – KUOW News and Information

As the Covid-19 death toll rises, scientists are racing to understand the human body's response to the disease.

While some coronavirus antibody tests have been approved for use in the U.S., several key questions remain: What happens to the immune system after a person recovers from the virus? Could they be reinfected, and are they still a risk to others?

The Trump administration and some European countries have proposed allowing nonessential employees to return to work if they can prove they're no longer capable of spreading the virus.

This would be done by testing for coronavirus antibodies, the proteins created by the immune system in response to the presence of a virus. U.S. officials said last week that coronavirus antibody tests would soon hit the national market.

As of April 15, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has authorized three coronavirus antibody tests. But some scientists argue that not enough is presently known about how novel coronavirus antibodies work, in order to correctly determine whether someone is immune.

"It's very likely that there are a large number of people out there that have been infected have been asymptomatic and did not know they were infected," said Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases during an April 10 appearance on CNN's New Day. Fauci is also a member of the federal coronavirus task force.

"If their antibody test is positive, one can formulate kind of strategies about whether or not they would be at risk or vulnerable to getting reinfected, this will be important for healthcare workers for first line fighters those kinds of people," he said. But those tests need to be validated, he added.

Fauci also stated that the prospect of people receiving immunity permits "is something that's being discussed" and that such a policy "might actually have some merit under certain circumstances."

But before the feasibility of such a policy can be weighed, the research must first catch up, said Dr. Helen Chu with the University of Washington's epidemiology department.

"We do think that having immunity to the virus may be protective," Chu told KUOW's The Record. "We don't know what an antibody test, at this point, means though. People who are currently infected and then recover from the virus we don't actually know what the immune signature of recovery is."

Chu said it's not clear which particular antibodies could protect a person against Covid-19.

Researchers also have yet to discover how high those antibody levels would need to be to provide immunity, or how long they would last, she said. Moreover, having antibodies for the novel coronavirus wouldn't necessarily mean a person isn't still infectious to others.

"The idea of being able to have a test to say that you're protected and you can go back and work we're not quite there yet," she said.

While there's still a great deal of uncertainty surrounding the immune system's response to Covid-19, Chu said seasonal flu epidemics could offer a window of insight.

"Once you get infected [with influenza] and you develop a protective response, that doesn't last for very long," she said. "And by the next year, you're going to be reinfected again or you're going to get another vaccine and that'll protect you for a certain amount of time but then you become susceptible again. And we don't know how coronavirus behaves."

The University of Washington's Clinical Immunology Laboratory has set out to help answer some of the looming questions about coronavirus antibodies.

"Basically, we're looking for antibodies that bind to the coronavirus proteins," said Dr. Susan Fink, assistant director of the University of Washington's Clinical Immunology Laboratory.

Thus far, the tests conducted by Fink's team have yielded varying outcomes.

"We've looked at a number of different assays, basically to look for performance characteristics are they sensitive, are they specific? And one of the things that we found is that [with] the different sort of ways that you can measure antibodies, we get very different results," she said.

Samples collected prior to the pandemic have provided some insight, albeit inconclusive, Fink said. Her team is still trying to figure out the best method for measuring coronavirus antibodies.

"We see reactivity and the way we're interpreting that is we think that those are probably false positives," Fink said, adding that her team attributes this to the presence of antibodies for other coronavirus strains not the one at the center of our current pandemic.

The Clinical Immunology Laboratory is also probing the potential for herd immunity against Covid-19: The concept of vaccinating a high percentage of people in a community to prevent them from contracting or transmitting an infectious disease, thus suppressing it.

"If we can develop an assay that we know is pretty specific for the novel coronavirus, as opposed to other coronaviruses that people have been infected with, then we can start to ask the questions about, 'Well how many people have actually developed these antibodies?'"

However, Fink said a lot more research is needed before drawing any conclusions about who might be immune to the virus.

The University of Washington's Virology Lab on Friday announced that it will begin performing widespread antibody tests starting early next week. The tests are manufactured by the Illinois-based health care company Abbott Laboratories, Inc. and people will be able to get them through their health care provider.

Read more about the new antibody tests here.

Bill Radke contributed to this report. Additionally, this report was updated on Friday, April 17 to include new information about antibody tests that will be available to Washingtonians in the coming week.

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Coronavirus immunity permits for Washingtonians? 'We're not quite there yet' - KUOW News and Information

Immunology

Yuan He wins Provost’s University Research Grant for inflammation project – The South End

The research of Yuan He, Ph.D., is getting a boost from the Wayne State University Office of the Provost in the form of a 2020-2021 University Research Grant from Associate Provost for Faculty Development and Faculty Success Annmarie Cano.

I feel very happy to be selected for this grant, which will provide the essential resource for pursuing my research projects, he said.

Dr. He, an assistant professor of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology in the School of Medicine, will use the grant to support his project, Molecular Mechanism of NEK7-mediated NLRP3 inflammasome activation.

Excessive inflammation is associated with many human diseases. Inflammation is initiated by sensor proteins of our innate immune cells that detect microbial infection and tissue injury. NLRP3 belongs to one type of sensor proteins that are activated to form intracellular multiple protein complexes called inflammasomes, and its aberrant activation is implicated in several human diseases, such as arthritis, Alzheimers disease, diabetes and atherosclerosis, he said.

NEK7 has emerged as a critical regulator of NLRP3 inflammasome activation. However, how NEK7 mediates NLRP3 inflammasome activation remains unclear.

Our studies aim to decipher the underlying molecular mechanism of NEK7-mediated NLRP3 inflammasome activation and might facilitate the development of novel treatment strategies for NLRP3-driven diseases, Dr. He said.

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Yuan He wins Provost's University Research Grant for inflammation project - The South End