COVID-19 video series

Scripps Research teams are looking for anti-viral drugs that could be given to people already exposed to the novel coronavirus causing the COVID-19 pandemic. One priority is to test already approved drugs, or drugs with significant safety data in humans available, which could be made available to treat coronavirus patients on a much quicker timescale than new therapies. To do this, Calibr—the drug development division of Scripps Research—is leveraging a unique resource, the ReFRAME drug repurposing collection. With support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Calibr compiled ReFRAME, the world’s leading collection of known drugs, comprising over 14,000 compounds that have been approved by the FDA for other diseases or have been extensively tested for human safety.

Besides vaccines and antiviral drugs, a group of medicines called biologics offer great potential in the battle against COVID-19. Serum from recovered patients can be used to protect others and also to identify useful antibodies, our immune system’s precision germ-targeting system. In Jupiter, Florida, Scripps Research Molecular biologist Christoph Rader, PhD, explains.

An extended conversation between Dr. Eric Topol, Director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute, and Professor Dennis Burton, Chair of the Department of Immunology and Microbiology at Scripps Research. Listen as they talk about antibody cocktail treatments, the mystery of “longhaul” COVID-19 symptoms and how close we are to developing a coronavirus vaccine. Full transcript and podcast version.

Scripps Research chemist Matthew Disney, PhD, and colleagues have created drug-like compounds that, in human cell studies, bind and destroy the pandemic coronavirus’ so-called “frameshifting element” to stop the virus from replicating. The frameshifter is a clutch-like device the virus needs to generate new copies of itself after infecting cells.

Scripps Research scientists are working toward developing vaccines and treatments for the novel coronavirus. Andrew Ward, PhD, a professor of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology at Scripps Research, has a longstanding interest in understanding immune responses to coronaviruses, particularly how the body responds to the surface spike protein on the virus. Ward’s team revealed the first structure of a human coronavirus spike protein in 2017 from the HKU1 virus, and subsequently went on to describe spike proteins from SARS and MERS—the latter when it was connected with a neutralizing antibody. They are now investigating the structure of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein and working with collaborators in the United States who are isolating antibodies from infected patients. Lastly, Ward’s group has developed new imaging methods that work as a diagnostic tool to directly probe blood samples from infected patients.

The Scripps Research Translational Institute has launched an app-based research program that will analyze participants’ wearable health data—including heart rates, sleep and activity levels—to more quickly detect the emergence of influenza, coronavirus and other fast-spreading viral illnesses. Members of the public who are 18 or older and use a smartwatch or activity tracker, such as a Fitbit, Apple Watch, Amazfit or Garmin Watch, can join the study and consent to share their data by downloading the MyDataHelps mobile app. By harnessing key data points from these users’ wearable devices, scientists believe they can improve real-time surveillance of contagious respiratory illnesses. Early detection is critical for effective public health response to infectious disease outbreaks and for improving treatments.

Scripps Research scientists are pursuing multiple lines of research aimed at understanding and helping to mitigate the impact of the novel coronavirus behind the COVID-19 epidemic that has spread across the globe. They are tracing how the virus originated and spreads, exploring how it invades the body and how the immune system responds, and working to develop potential vaccines and medicines against the virus.

Examining data from the first six weeks of their landmark DETECT study, a team of scientists from the Scripps Research Translational Institute sees encouraging signs that wearable fitness devices can improve public health efforts to control COVID-19. The DETECT study, launched on March 25, uses a mobile app to collect smartwatch and activity tracker data from consenting participants, and also gathers their self-reported symptoms and diagnostic test results. Any adult living in the United States is eligible to participate in the study by downloading the research app, MyDataHelps.

The pandemic strain of coronavirus infects cells in the lung, leading to an aggressive immune response that can be life-threatening. Virologist Hyeryun Choe, PhD, at Scripps Research, Florida answers common questions about COVID-19.

Around the world, scientists are sharing data, sharing insights, pushing for the best possible vaccines and medications against COVID-19. Virologist Michael Farzan, PhD, describes the scale of the effort underway at Scripps Research.

Scientists reveal structural details of spike protein used in leading COVID-19 vaccine.

One scientist’s inventive tools for repairing toxic RNA now reveal ways to fight pandemic coronaviruses, which store their genetic information in RNA. Scripps Research, Florida chemist Matthew Disney, PhD, takes you inside his lab’s fight against COVID-19.

An extraordinary percentage of people infected by the virus behind the ongoing deadly COVID-19 pandemic—up to 45 percent—are people who never show symptoms of the disease, according to the results of a Scripps Research analysis of public datasets on asymptomatic infections. Chest CT Images source: Inui S, Fujikawa A, Jitsu M, et al. Chest CT findings in cases from the cruise ship “Diamond Princess” with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Radiology: Cardiothoracic Imaging doi:10.1148/ryct.2020200110. Published online March 17, 2020. © Radiological Society of North America.

Scripps Research is looking for coronavirus survivors to help develop treatments or a vaccine for COVID-19. Dennis Burton, PhD and Thomas Rogers, MD, PhD are studying the human immune response to SARS-CoV-2 infections. They are also working to identify potent broadly neutralizing antibodies, which might serve as the basis for vaccines or antiviral therapies against COVID-19. They need volunteers who have recovered from COVID-19, preferably two months ago, to help with their research. If you are interested in helping, email Karen Westfall at kwestfall@scripps.edu.