COVID-19 Research
COVID-19 Research
Faculty in EHE have been at the forefront of response to the COVID-19 pandemic, from policy approaches to health security to foundational biomedical research. In particular, faculty have been engaged to develop new testing tools, surveillance approaches in water and wastewater, and to understand how essential workers are supported to respond to this emerging threat.
Research Highlights
Wastewater Surveillance for COVID-19
Monitoring wastewater to fight COVID-19 is a valuable public heath surveillance tool. When an individual is infected with SARS-CoV-2, in many instances the virus will be shed from feces, which can be a leading indicator of infection. The Schwab lab is undertaking sewage surveillance for SARS-CoV-2 RNA to identify sources of infection in a population upstream of wastewater treatment plants. This work aims to detect COVID-19 infections in the pre-symptomatic and asymptomatic phase that will guide mass testing strategies at the building level with the goal to prevent future outbreaks of infections.
Sex Differences and the Cytokine Storm Associated with COVID-19 Mortality
The Sille laboratory, in collaboration with Ramana Sidhaye, MD and Andy Pekosz, PhD, is working to identify inflammatory profiles among patients with COVID-19, with particular attention to differences in this response between males and females.
Veterinary and Animal Care Workers' Perceived Risk and Willingness to Respond to the Coronavirus Pandemic (CoVET Study)
Zoonotic diseases like COVID-19 highlight the importance of animal care workers for pandemic response. The Davis research team is investigating the readiness, willingness, and ability of this workforce to respond to COVID-19, with the goal to develop and maintain a resilient animal care workforce capable of responding to this and future crisis situations.
Associated Faculty
- Jacqueline Agnew, PhD
- Daniel Barnett, MD
- Meghan Davis, DVM, PhD*
- Natalie Exum, PhD
- Shima Hamidi, PhD*
- Thomas Hartung, PhD
- Chris Heaney, PhD*
- Helena Hogberg, PhD
- Jennifer Nuzzo, PhD
- Kellogg Schwab, PhD*
- Fenna Sillé, PhD*
- Lena Smirnova, PhD
* Denotes faculty who are currently accepting PhD students.