Pathways Issue 4: COVID-19 and Seniors' Health | Page 22

FROM VACCINES TO GENOMICS,
ACCELERATING CUTTING-EDGE RESEARCH
In pursuit of a vaccine
GLOBAL NEWS
Dr. Wilfred Jefferies, UBC professor of medical
genetics, is designing, creating and testing unique
vaccine candidates for COVID-19.
WATCH VIDEO
Stopping early infection with
a trial drug
CBC
An international team, led by UBC researcher,
Dr.  Josef Penninger, a professor of medical genetics,
director of the Life Sciences Institute and the Canada
150 Research Chair in Functional Genetics, has found
a trial drug that can significantly block early stages of
COVID-19 in engineered human tissues.
RE AD ARTICLE
Repurposing blood-pressure and
diabetes drugs
UBC FACULTY OF MEDICINE
Dr. James Russell, UBC professor of medicine, is leading
a team examining the safety and effectiveness of using
a class of drugs commonly prescribed to treat high
blood pressure and diabetes to improve outcomes for
patients with COVID-19.
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Testing antibodies to block COVID-19
UBC FACULTY OF MEDICINE
Dr. Horacio Bach, UBC adjunct professor of infectious
diseases, is principal investigator of a team developing
antibodies to neutralize and block the entrance of the
virus into cells.
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Examining the effectiveness of
previously-known medications Identifying anti-viral drug molecules
CBC Using “deep docking” — a virtual screening protocol
enabled by artificial intelligence — a research team led
by Dr. Artem Cherkasov, UBC professor of urologic
sciences, is applying an algorithm to search through
massive databases of chemical compounds to identify
those that could target the new coronavirus.
Dr. Srinivas Murthy, UBC clinical associate professor
of pediatrics and co-chair of the World Health
Organization’s clinical research committee for
COVID-19, is leading a national study of hospitalized
patients with confirmed COVID-19. His team — which
includes Dr. Manish Sadarangani, UBC assistant
professor of pediatrics — is conducting research on
how best to treat the disease using existing drugs and
working to develop formal treatment guidelines for
the World Health Organization.
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