Category Archives: Immunology

Immunology

Contract Research Organizations (CROs) Market Worth $64.4 Billion by 2027- Exclusive Report Covering Pre and Post COVID-19 Market Analysis by…

London, Oct. 06, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- According to a new market research report titled Contract Research Organizations Market by Services (Clinical Research [Phase II, Phase III], Pre-Clinical [Pharmacokinetics, Toxicology], Laboratory Services, and others), Therapeutic Area (Oncology, Immunology), End User (Pharma and Biotech, Medical Device), and Geography - Forecast to 2027 published by Meticulous Research, the contract research organizations market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 6.5% from 2020 to 2027 to reach $64.4 billion by 2027.

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A contract research organization (CRO), also known as a clinical research organization, is a service provider organization, which supports pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies for drug development and medical device companies by providing outsourcing services. Also, CROs assist in conducting clinical trials, with services ranging from site selection and patient enrollment to the final regulatory approvals from the Food and Drug Administration and the European Medicines Agency. Growing demand for biopharmaceuticals, an increasing number of clinical trials, and rising government support for biopharmaceutical manufacturing are the key factors driving the steady growth of the overall contract research organizations market. Also, significant opportunities from emerging markets, increasing demand for biosimilars, and continuous advancements in bioprocessing techniques further support the growth of this market.

According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), in the past five years, the approval of biopharmaceuticals has increased, accounting for more than 25% of total drug approvals. As per the estimations, the number of biologics approved has almost tripled from 6 in 2012 to 17 in 2017. Frequent outbreaks of pandemics such as COVID-19, Ebola, and other infectious diseases burden the healthcare sector, ultimately boosting the demand for biopharmaceuticals and resulting in increased contract-based R&D and clinical trial activities. Similarly, according to Pharmaprojects (a drug development database), the count of drugs entering the pipeline increased to 16,181 in 2019 compared to 10,452 drugs in 2012. The number of companies with active pipelines increased from 2,705 in 2012 to 4,323 in 2019. Due to this increase in numbers, pharmaceutical production has increased globally, boosting the number of clinical trials. As per clinicaltrials.gov (a clinical trial database), in 2012, 137,502 studies were recorded, which increased to 325,846 by 2019. However, the clinical trial data during 2019-2020 showed a drastic fall due to disruptions in the activities as a reflection of the COVID-19 pandemic and are estimated to hinder the market growth to an extent.

Impact of COVID-19 on the Overall CROs Market

The outbreak of COVID-19 has changed various healthcare market functions. With the analysis of the clinical trials database and considering the operations of key players functioning in the CROs market, it has been observed that, during 2019-2020, the CROs market experienced hindrances in its growth. This crisis has imposed a huge burden on the pharmaceutical industry to develop vaccines, diagnostic assays, and breakthrough drugs. The pandemic has affected 208 countries with 2,000-5,000 new cases per day and shifted the healthcare industrys focus only on the diagnosis and treatment of COVID-19.

As a result of which, the previously planned and on-going research & development and clinical trial studies were put on hold or disrupted, and the number of clinical trials declined in the past few months. According to the Clinical Trials Online Magazine, the number of clinical trials was 1,210 in June 2020, which has decreased to 1,180 in August 2020. The majority of the investors are focusing on research and development of treatments and diagnosis for COVID-19, and the planned or on-going contract-based R&D and clinical trial activities are lagging due to the suspension of enrolments, slow enrolment process, delayed initializations, and shortage of funding for non-COVID-19 drugs.

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The global contract research organizations market study presents historical market data in terms of values (2018 and 2019), estimated current data (2020), and forecasts for 2027 - by services (clinical research [phase II and phase III], pre-clinical [pharmacokinetics and toxicology], laboratory services, and others), therapeutic area (oncology and immunology), end user (pharma & biotech and medical device), and geography. The study also evaluates industry competitors and analyzes their market shares at the global and regional levels.

Based on service type, the clinical research services segment is estimated to account for the largest share of the overall contract research organizations market in 2020. The large share of this segment is mainly attributed to an increase in the number of clinical trials globally, growth in outsourcing activities to conduct clinical trials at low costs, and growth in collaborations between key players and clinical service providers to reduce failures.

Based on therapeutic area, the oncology segment is estimated to account for the largest share of the overall contract research organizations market in 2020. The large share of this segment is mainly attributed to an increase in the number of oncology clinical trials globally, growth in government investments for the development of personalized medicines for oncology, and high demand for biosimilars for cancer.

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Based on end user, the pharmaceutical & biotechnology companies segment is estimated to account for the largest share of the overall contract research organizations market in 2020. The major share of this segment is primarily attributed to an increase in R&D investments for drug development, growing collaborations of pharmaceutical companies with CROs to conduct clinical trials, and government initiatives to support the growth of pharmaceutical companies.

The report also includes an extensive assessment of the key strategic developments by leading market participants in the industry over the past four years (2016-2020). The contract research organizations market has witnessed several agreements, collaborations, partnerships, and alliances in recent years. For instance, in March 2020, IQVIAHoldings Inc. (U.S.) and the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB)collaborated to develop a novel assay for COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) tests. Similarly, in March 2020, Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (U.S.) and Deciphex (Ireland)partnered to co-develop deep learning-enabled tools to support accelerated pathology analytics in drug discovery and development.

The contract research organizations market is a highly consolidated market with the presence of major players, such as IQVIA Holdings Inc. (U.S.), Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings (U.S.), Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (U.S.), Wuxi Apptec Co., Ltd. (China), Medpace Holdings, Inc. (U.S.), PRA Health Sciences, Inc. (U.S.), Syneos Health, Inc. (U.S.), PARAXEL International Corporation (U.S.), Envigo RMS LLC (U.S.), ICON plc (Ireland), PPD, Inc. (U.S.), and SGS S.A. (Switzerland) among others.

To gain more insights into the market with a detailed table of content and figures, click here:https://www.meticulousresearch.com/product/CRO-market-5129/

Scope of the Report:

Contract Research Organizations Market, by Service

Contract Research Organizations Market, by Application

(Note: Other therapeutic areas include hepatology, gastroenterology, ophthalmology, gastroenterology, respiratory diseases, dermatology, and muscular disorders)

Contract Research Organizations Market, by End User

Contract Research Organizations Market, by Geography

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Amidst this crisis, Meticulous Researchis continuously assessing the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on various sub-markets and enables global organizations to strategize for the post-COVID-19 world and sustain their growth. Let us know if you would like to assess the impact of COVID-19 on any industry here-https://www.meticulousresearch.com/custom-research.php

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The name of our company defines our services, strengths, and values. Since the inception, we have only thrived to research, analyze and present the critical market data with great attention to details. With the meticulous primary and secondary research techniques, we have built strong capabilities in data collection, interpretation, and analysis of data including qualitative and quantitative research with the finest team of analysts. We design our meticulously analyzed intelligent and value-driven syndicate market research reports, custom studies, quick turnaround research, and consulting solutions to address business challenges of sustainable growth.

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Contract Research Organizations (CROs) Market Worth $64.4 Billion by 2027- Exclusive Report Covering Pre and Post COVID-19 Market Analysis by...

Immunology

A systems-level approach to understanding the immunology of COVID-19 in adults and children on SelectScience – SelectScience

This webinar will present recent studies from Dr. Petter Brodin's group at Karolinska Institute in Stockholm that provide important new insights into the immune system responses to SARS-CoV-2 infection. These studies took a systems-level approach to analyze both the cellular and protein components involved, using methodologies including mass cytometry, flow cytometry and high-multiplex proteomics.

A longitudinal study of severe COVID-19 patients identified distinct patterns of immune cell coregulation in four different stages of the disease and demonstrated a shared trajectory of immunological recovery that may provide future biomarkers of disease progression. In an investigation of Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C), a relatively rare complication of SARS-CoV-2 infection in children, important differences in inflammatory response were seen between MIS-C and severe COVID-19 in adults. Moreover, while some similarities were observed between inflammatory responses in MIS-C and Kawasaki disease, important differences were also apparent, particularly in the T-cell subsets involved.

Key Learning Objectives

Who Should Attend

Certificate of attendance

All webinar participants can download a certificate of attendance for continuing education purposes from the webinar auditoriums resources section.

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A systems-level approach to understanding the immunology of COVID-19 in adults and children on SelectScience - SelectScience

Immunology

Eck Institute members host webinar to combat COVID-19 myths, misinformation – Observer Online

Heidi Beidinger-Burnett and Mary Ann McDowell, both of the University of Notre Dames Eck Institute for Global health, are taking on misinformation and misunderstanding of the coronavirus pandemic with their new webinar series called Consider This! Simplifying the COVID-19 Conversation.

Beidinger-Burnett serves as the director of the Eck Institute for Global Health and president of the St. Joseph County Board of Health. McDowell, an associate professor of biological sciences and a member of the Eck Institute for Global Health, is an expert in infectious disease and immunology. Through their combined backgrounds, the two doctors said they hope to increase the scientific literacy of the Notre Dame community regarding the virus and public health policies.

We were finding misconceptions or myths about the science and public health of COVID-19, Beidinger-Burnett said. The idea for us is to simplify the conversation for people to be more comfortable with the terminology and to be more in control of the information.

Consider This! aims to cut through the growing distrust in the media and correct the common myths of the virus so that the Notre Dame and St. Joseph County communities can better protect themselves.

McDowell said the myths that concern her the most are the beliefs that herd immunity should be embraced, that the coronavirus pandemic is over and that a widely available vaccine will arrive prior to election day or early next year.

You have to model the behavior. This is leadership 101, Burnett-Beidinger said. We have a president who was saying, We dont need a mask, oh, its not masculine, I dont need it. Remember, he made fun of Joe Biden. Well, Joe Biden was adhering to what CDC and all the others were telling us that we needed to be doing to safeguard ourselves. So that void in leadership has significantly contributed to the myths and the rumors that have been spread about this, and the distrust in the science.

The webinar series will be conversational in tone while also drawing upon the expertise of over 15 specialists in immunology, public health and public policy.

I think that we have a science literacy problem all over the world but [also] in the United States, McDowell said. And you know, I would say thats really a fault of the scientists, in some ways, because we havent done a good job of communicating our work and making it accessible.

The two co-hosts want their series to be as accessible and conversational as possible to students and community members. They hope this approach can alleviate fears and increase cooperation with community guidelines set by teams of public health experts. McDowell also encouraged students to contact [emailprotected] with any questions or myths they want the series to address.

Monday night, Consider This! went live for the first time. The two co-hosts began by discussing the current virus statistics in St. Joseph County. They continued on to a segment titled Rumor Has It, in which they confronted herd immunity parties on college campuses and the dangers they pose to young adults.

The episode concluded with a conversation with University Provost Marie Lynn Miranda. Miranda has a background in the field of childrens environmental health and, while provost, teaches in the applied and computational mathematics and statistics department at Notre Dame.

The inaugural episode emphasized one thing: COVID-19 is still around and something that communities will have to learn to live with. Next week, Beidinger-Burnett and McDowell will talk with Brian Baker, department head in the department of chemistry and biochemistry, and Jeffery Schorey, a professor in the department of biological sciences.

Registration for the webinars can be found under the Eck Institute for Global Healths website.

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Eck Institute members host webinar to combat COVID-19 myths, misinformation - Observer Online

Immunology

Skyhawk Therapeutics Expands Leadership Team with Chief Medical Officer and Head of Chemistry, and adds to its Scientific Advisory Board – BioSpace

Joseph Duffy PhD brings 20+ years of small molecule discovery chemistry and operations to his role as SVP Chemistry of Skyhawk Therapeutics, Elliot Ehrich MD brings 20+ years of clinical development for novel pharmaceuticals to his role as Chief Medical Officer of Skyhawk Therapeutics,and Rob Hershberg MD-PhD with 25+ years of biotech and pharma experience has joined Skyhawk's Scientific Advisory Board.

WALTHAM, Mass., Oct. 5, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Skyhawk Therapeutics today announced that Dr. Elliot Ehrich has joined the Company as Chief Medical Officer and Dr. Joseph Duffy has joined as Senior Vice President of Chemistry. The Company also strengthened its Scientific Advisory Board with the addition of Dr. Rob Hershberg.

"We are delighted that Joe and Elliot have come on board at Skyhawk," said Bill Haney, co-founder and CEO of Skyhawk Therapeutics. "Their combined scientific and clinical accomplishments will be invaluable in shepherding our novel RNA-targeting small molecule drug candidates successfully into the clinic. We are also excited to welcome Rob to our Scientific Advisory Board. His clinical and scientific insight and deep experience as a drug developer will be a tremendous addition to Skyhawk."

Elliot Ehrich, MD most recently served as a Venture Partner at 5AM Ventures and Chief Medical Officer (CMO) at Expansion Therapeutics, a 5AM Ventures portfolio company. Previously, Dr. Ehrich spent 17 years at Alkermes ultimately as Executive Vice President of R&D and CMO. At Alkermes he led the development and successful FDA registration of multiple new medicines. Dr. Ehrich has also worked in clinical pharmacology and clinical research at Merck &Co, Inc..

Dr. Ehrich received a BA in biochemistry from Princeton University and an MD from Columbia University. He completed a residency in internal medicine and a fellowship in immunology and rheumatology at Stanford University Medical School followed by postdoctoral research the Department of Microbiology and Immunology.

Over the past four years, Joseph Duffy PhD, served as Executive Director of Discovery Chemistry atMerckResearch Laboratories in Rahway and Kenilworth, New Jersey, where he oversaw multiple preclinical drug discovery teams. Dr. Duffy's contributions over 24 years at Merck included all phases of drug discovery, from lead identification through clinical phase candidate development. He directed successful lead optimization efforts for multiple indications, resulting in clinical candidates and Investigational New Drug (IND) applications from both internal projects and international collaborative research with biotech organizations. Dr. Duffy received his B.Sc. in Chemistry from Kent State University and his Ph.D. from Harvard University.

Rob Hershberg MD-PhD began his career as an Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School and an Associate Physician at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. Later, Dr. Hershberg co-founded VentiRx Pharmaceuticals and, as President and Chief Executive Officer, led the company through its transformational partnership with Celgene. Dr. Hershberg joined Celgene in 2014 to lead their efforts in Immuno-Oncology, was promoted to Chief Scientific Officer in 2016, and was subsequently Executive Vice President and Head of Business Development & Global Alliances and served as a member of the Executive Committee until the acquisition of Celgene by Bristol-Myers Squibb in 2019. Rob is currently a Venture Partner on the Frazier Life Sciences team. He completed his undergraduate and medical degrees at the University of California, Los Angeles and received his Ph.D. at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies.

Dr Hershberg joins Skyhawk's distinguished Scientific Advisory Board which includes:

Skyhawk Therapeutics is committed to discovering, developing and commercializing therapies that use its novel SkySTARTM (Skyhawk Small molecule Therapeutics for Alternative splicing of RNA) platform to build small molecule drugs that bring breakthrough treatments to patients.

For more information visit: http://www.skyhawktx.com, https://twitter.com/Skyhawk_Tx, https://www.linkedin.com/company/skyhawk-therapeutics/

SKYHAWK MEDIA CONTACT:Anne Deconinckanne@skyhawktx.com

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SOURCE Skyhawk Therapeutics

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Skyhawk Therapeutics Expands Leadership Team with Chief Medical Officer and Head of Chemistry, and adds to its Scientific Advisory Board - BioSpace

Immunology

CSU scientists work to curb the spread of COVID-19 with targeted testing – Source

Susan DeLong, associate professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and students Nicholas Mohammed and Thomas Anderson, sample wastewater that will be tested by Professor Carol Wilusz lab on campus.

After move-in week, CSU pivoted its efforts to wastewater surveillance from 17 locations tied to residence halls on campus. Coronavirus is shed in the feces before it can be identified from the standard swab test and days before a person would develop symptoms.

Two CSU professors, Carol Wilusz from the Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Pathology and Susan DeLong from the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, developed a method to collect wastewater in a 24-hour composite sample and return results for SARS-CoV-2 30 hours later.

Wastewater testing is supplemental to and helps drive nasal-swab testing, since it is used to help identify target populations to test. Targeted surveillance in helping to reduce the spread of the virus also can help reduce the overall cost of testing. The process used for each COVID-19 nasal swab costs $100 and includes collection and analysis by an independent company.

When you have limited funds and limited access to tests, (wastewater monitoring) is one way that you can make the most of the funding that you have, said Wilusz.

When a wastewater sample shows a spike in viral counts, the university focuses nasal-swab testing efforts on the people in those areas and its working, according to Wilusz.

There was a bit of a signal from one residence hall at the beginning of September, she said. It wasnt a huge one, and (through individual testing) they found six people in there that had it.

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CSU scientists work to curb the spread of COVID-19 with targeted testing - Source

Immunology

Ludwig Study Finds a Common Nutritional Supplement Might Boost the Effects of Cancer Immunotherapy – Newswise

Newswise OCTOBER 5, 2020, NEW YORK A Ludwig Cancer Research study has uncovered a mechanism by which the tumors harsh internal environment sabotages T lymphocytes, leading cellular agents of the anticancer immune response. Reported in Nature Immunology, the study describes how a variety of stressors prevalent in the tumor microenvironment disrupt the power generators, or mitochondria, of tumor-infiltrating T lymphocytes (TILs), pushing them into a permanently sluggish state known as terminal exhaustion.

The study, led by Ludwig Lausanne Associate Member Ping-Chih Ho, also found that a widely available nutritional supplementnicotinamide riboside (NR)helps TILs overcome the mitochondrial dysfunction and preserves their ability to attack tumors in mouse models of melanoma and colon cancer.

TILs often have a high affinity for antigens expressed by cancer cells, says Ho. This means that, in principle, they should attack cancer cells vigorously. But we often dont see that. People have always wondered why because it suggests that the best soldiers of the immune system are vulnerable when they enter the battlefield of the tumor. Our study provides a mechanistic understanding of why this happens and suggests a possible strategy for preventing the effect that can be quickly evaluated in clinical trials.

The inner recesses of tumors are often starved of oxygen and essential nutrients, such as the sugar glucose. Cells in these stressful conditions adjust their metabolic processes to compensatefor example, by making more mitochondria and burning their fat reserves for energy.

In tumors, prolonged stimulation by cancer antigens is known to push TILs into an exhausted state marked by the expression of PD-1a signaling protein that suppresses T cell responses and is targeted by existing checkpoint blockade immunotherapies. If sustained, such exhaustion can become permanent, persisting even when the stimulus of cancer antigens is removed.

Ho and his colleagues found that exhausted TILs are packed with damagedor depolarizedmitochondria. Like old batteries, depolarized mitochondria essentially lack the voltage the organelles require to generate energy.

Our functional analysis revealed that those T cells with the most depolarized mitochondria behaved most like terminally exhausted T cells, said Ho.

Ho and colleagues show that the accumulation of depolarized mitochondria is caused primarily by the TILs inability to remove and digest damaged ones through a process known as mitophagy. The TILs can still make new mitochondria but, because they dont remove the old ones, they lack the space to accommodate the new ones, said Ho.

The genomes of these TILs are also reprogrammed by epigenetic modificationschemical groups added to DNA and its protein packagingto induce patterns of gene expression associated with terminal exhaustion.

The researchers found that the breakdown in mitophagy stems from a convergence of factors: chronic stimulation by cancer antigens, PD-1 signaling and the metabolic stress of nutrient and oxygen deprivation. They also show that the epigenetic reprograming that fixes TILs in a terminally exhausted state is a consequence, not a cause, of the mitochondrial dysfunction.

Related work done by other researchersincluding co-authors in the current study, Ludwig Lausanne Investigator Nicola Vannini and Ludwig Lausanne Branch Director George Coukoshas shown that NR, a chemical analogue of vitamin B3, can boost mitophagy and improve mitochondrial fitness in a variety of other cell types.

With this in mind, the researchers explored whether NR might also prevent TILs from committing to terminal exhaustion. Their cell culture experiments showed that the supplement improved the mitochondrial fitness and function of T cells grown under stressors resembling those of the tumor microenvironment.

More notably, dietary supplementation with NR stimulated the anti-tumor activity of TILs in a mouse model of skin cancer and colon cancer. When combined with anti-PD-1 and another type of checkpoint blockade, anti-CTLA-4 immunotherapy, it significantly inhibited the growth of tumors in the mice.

We have shown that we may be able to use a nutritional approach to improve checkpoint blockade immunotherapy for cancer, said Ho.

He and his colleagues are now exploring the signals from depolarized mitochondria that epigenetically reprogram TILs for terminal exhaustioninformation that could be more generally applied to improve cancer immunotherapy.

Ho is an Associate Member of the Lausanne Branch of the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research and an Associate Professor at the University of Lausanne.

This study was supported by Ludwig Cancer Research, the Swiss National Science Foundation, the Swiss Institute for Experimental Cancer Research, European Research Council, the Kristian Gerhard Jebsen Foundation, the Austrian Science Fund, the Austrian Academy of Sciences, the European Research Council, the Swiss Ministry of Science and Technology, the National Health Research Institute in Taiwan and the Swiss Cancer League.

About Ludwig Cancer Research

Ludwig Cancer Research is an international collaborative network of acclaimed scientists that has pioneered cancer research and landmark discovery for nearly 50 years. Ludwig combines basic science with the ability to translate its discoveries and conduct clinical trials to accelerate the development of new cancer diagnostics and therapies. Since 1971, Ludwig has invested $2.7 billion in life-changing science through the not-for-profit Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research and the six U.S.-based Ludwig Centers. To learn more, visit http://www.ludwigcancerresearch.org.

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Ludwig Study Finds a Common Nutritional Supplement Might Boost the Effects of Cancer Immunotherapy - Newswise

Immunology

New immunology study of UM employees seeks answers on coronavirus reinfections – University of Michigan Health System News

In ancient Greece, people who were sick would seek the help of IASO, the goddess of cures, remedies and modes of healing. Now, University of Michigan researchers are counting on a different IASOthe Immunity Associated with SARS-CoV-2 studyto provide a path to recovery from COVID-19.

The IASO study will investigate the level and duration of protection afforded by natural infection with the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 among U-M employees, including first responders, essential workers and anyone regularly working on campus.

Researchers hope to learn details about the level and duration of protection afforded by natural infection with the novel coronavirus, and examine immunological risk factors for infection outcome and the immune response to infection across the disease spectrum.

This will include exploring potential correlates of protection as well as examining the duration of detectable antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 following infection.

"Basically we want to answer the question of if you've had SARS-COV-2 or been exposed to before, can you get it again? And if you can get it again, what does that infection look like?" said Aubree Gordon, associate professor of epidemiology at U-M's School of Public Health, who is leading the project along with pathologist Riccardo Valdez from Michigan Medicine.

"Maybe you can get infected again, but you don't really get sick and you don't shed virus. Maybe you don't get sick but can transmit the virus. And then, of course, there's the possibility that it doesn't protect or that the protection period is limited."

The study also aims to look at correlates of protection, measurable signs that someone is immune. While typical correlates of protection against viruses are antibodies, the study will also examine T-cells, an important cell of the immune system.

Correlates of protection are important for vaccine development and production, Gordon says. They are used to evaluate whether a new vaccine will likely be effective and can help prioritize vaccine candidates. For influenza, for example, because the virus changes every year, a correlate of protection is used on a yearly basis to license the vaccine.

"Thus, it is very important that we identify correlates of protection against SARS-CoV-2 infection to aid in SARS-CoV-2 vaccine development and monitoring," Gordon said.

For the study, researchers hope to enroll 5,000 U-M workers who regularly work on campus or at U-M facilities, including health care providers and essential workers. They will be followed for at least a year. Researchers will collect a blood sample every other month to be tested for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. Since the study will use U-M pathology labs for the main serological testing, results will be returned to participants throughout the study.

"Our clinical laboratories are excited to provide the testing and lab medicine expertise for this study aimed to help answer important outstanding questions about the durability of our immune response to COVID-19 infection," Valdez said. "The studies we performed while validating our clinical serology tests showed that people do produce antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 after infection, and this study will now provide information on the longevity of that response in a much larger cohort of individuals."

The study is funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in cooperation with the National Cancer Institute through Mount Sinai (federal contract 75N93019C00051). It also received $452,409 from the U-M Biosciences Initiative and Office of the Vice President for Research.

For more information: IASOstudy@med.umich.edu

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New immunology study of UM employees seeks answers on coronavirus reinfections - University of Michigan Health System News

Immunology

Immunology and Infectious Disease Seminar Series – Gazette

Immunology and Infectious Disease Seminar Series

Thursday, Oct. 1, 12-1 p.m.

Online

Self-amplifying RNA SARS-CoV-2 lipid nanoparticle vaccine candidate induces high neutralizing antibody titers in mice presented by Joseph Duncan (Dr. Ken Hirasawas Lab)

https://mun.webex.com/mun/j.php?MTID=m1c6fe8fb181d44946dd6948e790448b6

Presented by Division of BioMedical Sciences

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Immunology and Infectious Disease Seminar Series - Gazette

Immunology

Researchers Identify Key Biomarker That Predicts Who Will Have Severe COVID-19 – SciTechDaily

Low glucocorticoid receptor (GR) expression led to excessive inflammation and lung damage by neutrophils through enhancing the expression of CXCL8 and other cytokines. Credit: Professor Heung Kyu Lee, KAIST. Created with Biorender.com

Airway cell analyses showing an activated immune axis could pinpoint the COVID-19 patients who will most benefit from targeted therapies.

KAIST researchers have identified key markers that could help pinpoint patients who are bound to get a severe reaction to COVID-19 infection. This would help doctors provide the right treatments at the right time, potentially saving lives. The findings were published in the journal Frontiers in Immunology.

Peoples immune systems react differently to infection with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, ranging from mild to severe, life-threatening responses.

To understand the differences in responses, Professor Heung Kyu Lee and PhD candidate Jang Hyun Park from the Graduate School of Medical Science and Engineering at KAIST analysed ribonucleic acid (RNA) sequencing data extracted from individual airway cells of healthy controls and of mildly and severely ill patients with COVID-19. The data was available in a public database previously published by a group of Chinese researchers.

Our analyses identified an association between immune cells called neutrophils and special cell receptors that bind to the steroid hormone glucocorticoid, Professor Lee explained. This finding could be used as a biomarker for predicting disease severity in patients and thus selecting a targeted therapy that can help treat them at an appropriate time, he added.

Severe illness in COVID-19 is associated with an exaggerated immune response that leads to excessive airway-damaging inflammation. This condition, known as acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), accounts for 70% of deaths in fatal COVID-19 infections.

Scientists already know that this excessive inflammation involves heightened neutrophil recruitment to the airways, but the detailed mechanisms of this reaction are still unclear.

Lee and Parks analyses found that a group of immune cells called myeloid cells produced excess amounts of neutrophil-recruiting chemicals in severely ill patients, including a cytokine called tumour necrosis factor (TNF) and a chemokine called CXCL8.

Further RNA analyses of neutrophils in severely ill patients showed they were less able to recruit very important T cells needed for attacking the virus. At the same time, the neutrophils produced too many extracellular molecules that normally trap pathogens, but damage airway cells when produced in excess.

The researchers additionally found that the airway cells in severely ill patients were not expressing enough glucocorticoid receptors. This was correlated with increased CXCL8 expression and neutrophil recruitment.

Glucocorticoids, like the well-known drug dexamethasone, are anti-inflammatory agents that could play a role in treating COVID-19. However, using them in early or mild forms of the infection could suppress the necessary immune reactions to combat the virus. But if airway damage has already happened in more severe cases, glucocorticoid treatment would be ineffective.

Knowing who to give this treatment to and when is really important. COVID-19 patients showing reduced glucocorticoid receptor expression, increased CXCL8 expression, and excess neutrophil recruitment to the airways could benefit from treatment with glucocorticoids to prevent airway damage. Further research is needed, however, to confirm the relationship between glucocorticoids and neutrophil inflammation at the protein level.

Our study could serve as a springboard towards more accurate and reliable COVID-19 treatments, Professor Lee said.

Reference: Re-analysis of Single Cell Transcriptome Reveals That the NR3C1-CXCL8-Neutrophil Axis Determines the Severity of COVID-19 by Jang Hyun Park and Heung Kyu Lee, 28 August 2020, Frontiers in Immunology.DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2020.02145

This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea, and Mobile Clinic Module Project funded by KAIST.

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Researchers Identify Key Biomarker That Predicts Who Will Have Severe COVID-19 - SciTechDaily

Immunology

UConn Funds Five COVID-19 Research Projects, Announces Additional Funding – UConn Today

The Office of the Vice President for Research (OVPR) recently announced a new internal funding program to support researchers at all of UConns campuses who are using their expertise in fields as diverse as wastewater and chemosensory testing to find novel solutions to help the nation and the world address this crisis. The program will award up to $50,000 to recipients.

The OVPR awarded five awards to researchers from UConn and UConn Health:

James Cole, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, Departments of Molecular and Cell Biology, $43,439Targeting the Endoribonuclease of CoronavirusesCo-PIs: Mark Peczuh, Chemistry

Bahram Javidi, School of Engineering, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, $49,999Compact Field Portable Biophotonics Instrument for Real-Time Automated Analysis and Identification of Blood Cells Impacted by COVID-19

Changchun Liu, Schools of Engineering and Dental Medicine, Department of Biomedical Engineering, $49,149Rapid and Ultrasensitive SARS-CoV-2 Detection in Wastewater by SmartphoneCo-PIs: Maroun Sfeir, Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

Rachel ONeill, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, $50,000An integrated surveillance program for improved detection, containment and mitigation of COVID-19Co-PIs: Kendra Maas, UConn MARS; Joel Salisbury, Digital Media and Design; Michael Vertefeuille, UConn Digital Media and Design; Suzanne Onorato, UConn Student Health and Wellness; Mike Jednak, Facilities Operations; Jessica Healthcote, Information Technology Services; Emily Wilson, Center for Land Use Education and Research; Dan Schwartz, COR2E

Penghua Wang, School of Medicine, Department of Immunology, $50,000Elucidation of E3 ligases in SARS-CoV2 pathogenesisCo-PIs: Anthony Vella, Immunology; Tingting Geng, Immunology; Duomeng Yang, Immunology

In addition to these five awards, the OVPR has decided to rapidly launch a second funding cycle to provide additional support for promising projects.

This second funding cycle is expanded in scope. Researchers with proposals for earlier-stage COVID-19 seed projects, small scale pilot projects, projects related to the social and medical impact of COVID-19, and other relevant topics are encouraged to apply. The OVPR anticipates funding an additional 10 awards of up to $10,000 each.

Many researchers at UConn and UConn Health came forward with promising ideas to tackle this virus, says UConn Vice President for Research, Innovation and Entrepreneurship Radenka Maric, PhD. We are hopeful that these two cycles of UConn COVID-RSF will help advance as many research projects as possible to help address this crisis and support citizens in our state and the nation.

The UConn COVID-19 Rapid Start Funding Program (COVID-RSF) follows the example of several federal funding agencies that are providing emergency support to address key scientific problems related to the detection, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of COVID-19.

The program aims to fund high-impact projects that will be ready to launch in a short period of time in areas that have been identified by funding agencies like the National Institutes of Health as high priority. These include, but are not limited to, wastewater detection of SARS-COV-2, novel biosensing from skin and mouth, surveillance methods for high risk populations, automatic detection and tracing, use of artificial intelligence, and data management.

The UConn COVID-RSF program has an expedited submission schedule to quickly address this urgent societal need. Researchers interested in applying should submit proposals no later than Friday October 16, 2020 at 12PM EST. Award notices are expected to be issued by October 30, 2020 and awards will be issued by November 1, 2020, upon completion of compliance review.

To learn more, visit the UConn COVID-RSF website.

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UConn Funds Five COVID-19 Research Projects, Announces Additional Funding - UConn Today