Coronavirus Research

Gloved hand in a lab dropping blood sample from a pipette into a petri dish.

Researchers find three distinct immune responses for sicker COVID-19 patients

Researchers from the Penn Institute of Immunology discovered three distinct immune responses to the SARS-CoV2 infection that could help predict the trajectory of disease in severe COVID-19 patients and may ultimately inform how to best treat them.

Philly families live with crushing heartbreak as COVID-19, gun violence crises collide

Zaffer Qasim of the Perelman School of Medicine led a study about the intersection of rising COVID cases and incidents of gun violence. “There’s a significant contribution from COVID-19, but how tight that association is and whether there’s a direct effect of one or the other, that needs a little bit more study,” he said.

Scientists focus on how immune system T cells fight coronavirus in absence of antibodies

John Wherry of the Perelman School of Medicine spoke about the crucial role of T cells in controlling viral infections like COVID-19.

Study of coronavirus in pregnant women finds striking racial differences

Carmen Guerra, Karen Puopolo, and Scott Hensley spoke about research from the Perelman School of Medicine that found that Black and Latinx pregnant Philadelphians are five times as likely as white counterparts to have been exposed to the coronavirus.

Illustration of a T cell releasing signaling molecules, IL-4, IL-5, IL-6, IL-10, and IL-13

Q&A

Navigating cytokine storms

Pairing their expertise, Nilam Mangalmurti of the Perelman School of Medicine and Christopher Hunter of the School of Veterinary Medicine have been working to understand the protective and harmful aspects of the immune response, including in COVID-19.

close-up image of bat on a tree trunk; three bare trees are in the right background

Bats and COVID

A new study from Penn Vet's New Bolton Center tests the guano of North American bats currently in Pennsylvania wildlife rehabilitation centers for the presence of COVID-19.

Philadelphia needs more contact tracers

Lyle Ungar of the School of Engineering and Applied Science and Angela Duckworth of the School of Arts & Sciences called for Pennsylvania to hire thousands more contact tracers to slow the spread of COVID-19. While it’s an expensive proposition, they say it’s still less costly than “the $225 million in grants to small businesses affected by the pandemic and the estimated $5 billion in tax revenue that Pennsylvania is expected to lose through June of next year.”

Hui Chen at work in a medical laboratory.

High sensitivity tech offers a potential COVID-19 testing solution

A new diagnostic tool developed at Penn by Ping Wang uses highly sensitive and portable technology for rapid antigen testing.

How the coronavirus short-circuits the immune system

The Perelman School of Medicine’s John Wherry and Carl June spoke about Wherry’s lab’s research into the immune systems of patients with COVID-19.

screen shot of zoom call of moderator and three panelists

The business of sports without fans

Wharton professor Adi Wyner led a live, online panel discussion on the future of sports in a post-pandemic world, and how leagues are pivoting their plans and business models to move forward without fans in attendance.

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