Feature Channels: Infectious Diseases

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Amid southern california’s recent record-breaking heat wave and fast-moving wildfires, public health officials reported the third locally acquired case of dengue fever in the los angeles area. Although the events seem unrelated, they actually are connected—and for troubling reasons.

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The new study, led by researchers in the Saphire Lab at LJI, reveals the inner workings of the Ebola virus nucleocapsid. LA JOLLA, CA—At this moment, the world has few tools to combat deadly filoviruses, such as Ebola and Marburg viruses. The only approved vaccine and antibody treatments protect against just one filovirus species.

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Wistar Institute scientists have successfully isolated and cloned fully human antibodies that can block specific Type-I interferon molecules in vitro; their discovery has an array of potential clinical & research applications, enabling scientists with a new way to investigate the role of specific Type-I interferons in a variety of diseases.

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Tufts University researchers have received a $20.7 million grant to lead the largest NIH-funded prospective study of patients with chronic Lyme disease to date, following patients from their earliest diagnosis to better identify why some people go on to develop debilitating symptoms later on.

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The LJI team uncovered important similarities between H5N1 and these common viruses, which allowed them to predict that many people already have "cross-reactive" T cells that are ready to target H5N1—should it ever mutate to cause widespread disease in humans.

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WashU Medicine scientists lead two large, multicenter programs to develop vaccines and antibody-based therapies for understudied viruses with pandemic potential. The programs are supported by two grants from the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) totaling more than $30 million a year for three years.

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In a study of 12 participants, researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) have demonstrated that a cocktail of three broadly neutralizing antibodies (bNAb) successfully suppressed virus in people living with HIV. A subset of participants also demonstrated long-term control of the virus months after antibody levels declined to low or undetectable.

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With flu season just around the corner and COVID-19 cases on the rise, a new nationwide survey from The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center reveals hesitancy around vaccines this fall. The new data comes just as this year’s flu shot rolls out and following the FDA’s approval of an updated round of COVID-19 vaccines.

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La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI) has been selected as a spoke for the Investor Catalyst Hub, a regional hub of ARPANET-H, a nationwide health innovation network launched by the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H).

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New research from the University of Washington found lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in unusually accelerated brain maturation in adolescents. This maturation was more pronounced in girls. When measured in terms of the number of years of accelerated brain development, the mean acceleration was 4.2 years in females and 1.4 years in males.

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With Latiné individuals now representing the largest racially minoritized group in the U.S., promotores, or community health workers (CHW), are crucial in addressing systemic health inequities that have historically affected Latiné communities, especially working-class Latinés.

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For the past three years, Corewell Health researchers have been studying the genetic code of the virus that causes COVID-19 to better understand how it is changing and how to avoid another pandemic. Much of the world’s focus has been on the development of vaccines to prevent the spread of the virus; however, vaccines primarily target the portion of the virus that constantly changes, requiring vaccines to be regularly updated.

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Dr. Jatuwat Sangsanont from the Department of Environmental Science at the Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University, has been awarded the United Nations Public Service Awards (UNPSA 2024) in the ‘Innovation in Public Institutions’ category.

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Perry N. Halkitis, dean of the Rutgers School of Public Health, has received the 2024 Helen Rodriguez-Trías Social Justice Award from the American Public Health Association for his advocacy work and research aimed at improving the health of LGBTQ+ people and populations.

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A catalyst that converts waste CO₂ to chemical products. A monoclonal antibody that could revolutionize the detection of tuberculosis. Both innovations were developed at rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, and both have received 2024 Edison Patent Awards.