Current COVID-19 research projects include:

The labs of Professor Bertie Göttgens, and Dr Elisa Laurenti, working in collaboration with Professor Ken Smith from the Department of Medicine, are performing single cell profiling of COVID-19 patient samples. By mapping the results against patient data, they aim to discover new gene and protein signatures which will allow the prediction of COVID-19 disease progression. An interview with members of the research can be viewed here.

Dr Cédric Ghevaert’s lab, working in collaboration with Professor Alistair Poole and Professor Andrew Davidson at the University of Bristol, is responding to abnormal blood clotting occurring in very ill COVID-19 patients by investigating viral interactions with megakaryocytes and looking at the effect of the disease on platelet release. An interview with members of the research can be viewed here.

Dr Ingo Ringshausen‘s lab is aiming to harness the inherent immunosuppressive properties of allogenic mesenchymal stem cells to treat severe inflammation in the lungs. They are evaluating small molecules as possible therapeutics that could address patients experiencing severe COVID-19 inflammation in their lungs without the need for cell transplantation.

Professor George Vassiliou’s lab are investigating the hypothesis that clonal haematopoiesis may be linked to increased severity of COVID-19. Clonal haematopoiesis increases with age and so it could explain the age-related rise in COVID-19 severity. As well as improving understanding of the disease, their work may help identify at-risk individuals and identify appropriate therapeutic approaches. Professor Vassiliou has received a European Hematology Association COVID-19 in Hematology Research Grant for their project.