Research Projects in SARS-CoV-2 Serological Sciences
As part of the NCI Serological Sciences Network (SeroNet), NCI awarded researchers at 13 institutions U01 grants to conduct research projects on basic and applied serological research.
| Project Title | Description | Principal Investigator(s)/Institution |
|---|---|---|
| High-Throughput Dried Blood Spot (HT-DBS) Technologies in SARS-CoV-2 Serology and Vaccinology | Improve dried blood spot serological technologies to be able to detect additional components of the immune response, detect multiple viruses, and expand testing to nonblood fluids | Nicholas J. Mantis Wadsworth Center |
| Immunologic Signatures of SARS-CoV-2 Vaccination and Disease | Better understand features of the immune response that correlate to long-term immunity in patients who have recovered from COVID-19 and in vaccinated individuals | Dan H. Barouch, Galit Alter Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center |
| Early Drivers of Humoral Immunity to SARS-CoV-2 Infections | Characterize the early immune response prior to onset of symptoms to identify features that predict symptomatic vs. asymptomatic cases, disease severity, and long-term immunity | Christopher L. King Case Western Reserve University |
| SARS-CoV-2 Serological Antibody Testing for Disease Surveillance and Clinical Use | Develop and implement a large-scale platform to assess SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence and associated risk factors using electronic health records and longitudinal follow-up | Jacek Skarbinski Kaiser Foundation Research Institute |
| Immuno-Serological Assays for Monitoring COVID-19 in Patients with Hematologic Malignancies | Develop novel assays to measure the immune response in patients with blood disorders and identify features that correlate with the risk and severity of COVID-19 in these patients | Rong Fan, Stephanie Halene Yale University |
| Culturally Targeted Communication to Promote SARS-CoV-2 Antibody Testing in Saliva: Enabling evaluation of inflammatory pathways in COVID-19 racial disparities | Better understand factors that influence knowledge of and participation in SARS-CoV-2 antibody testing among African Americans in order to identify and reduce racial disparities in COVID-19 outcomes | Todd William Lucas Michigan State University |
| DISCOVAR: Disparities in Immune Response to SARS-CoV-2 in Arkansas | Monitor the immune response to SARS-CoV-2 infection over time in a racially/ethnically diverse population and determine how behavioral factors affect this response | Wendy N. Nembhard University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences |
| SARS-CoV-2-Reactive Tissue-Resident in Memory T Cells in Healthy and Cancer Subjects | Study how tissue-resident memory T cells could contribute to successful clearance of the virus and to adverse immune events in both cancer and noncancer patients | Pandurangan Vijayanand, Ferhat Ay, Christian Hermann Heinrich Ottensmeier La Jolla Institute for Immunology |
| Pre-exposure Immunologic Health and Linkages to SARS-CoV-2 Serologic Responses, Endothelial Cell Resilience, and Cardiovascular Complications: Defining the mechanistic basis of high-risk endotypes | Test how pre-existing immune dysregulation and/or cardiovascular disease could impair immune pathways required for an effective response to SARS-CoV-2 infection | David Zidar, Timothy A. Chan Case Western Reserve University |
| SARS-CoV-2 Correlates of Protection in a Latino-Origin Population | Develop novel serological assays to understand the mechanism of immune response and correlates of immunity to SARS-CoV-2 among the underrepresented and highly affected Latino-origin population | Carlos A. Sariol, Marcos Lopez, Daniela Weiskopf University of Puerto Rico, Medical Sciences |
| Adaptive Immunity and Persistent SARS-CoV-2 Replication | Characterize the immune response to SARS-CoV-2 infection in pediatric cancer patients and children with blood disorders | Suresh B. Boppana, William Jarvis Britt, Swetha Geetha Pinninti University of Alabama at Birmingham |
| Enhancing Racial and Ethnic Diversity in COVID-19 Research Participation through Storytelling (COVIDstory) | Develop innovative communication strategies to address community-identified barriers to COVID research participation among minority groups in the greater Worcester, Massachusetts area | Ann M. Moormann University of Massachusetts Medical School Worchester |
| Causal, Statistical, and Mathematical Modeling with Serologic Data | Develop methods and approaches to leverage serological data at the population level, to adjust for data biases and imperfections and make it more accurate to improve our understanding of the COVID-19 pandemic | Marc Lipsitch, Michael J. Mina Harvard School of Public Health |