COVID-19 Research at CSU

While the rest of the world moved to quickly develop a vaccine for COVID-19, teams of undergraduate and graduate students and four members of CSU’s Center for Gene Regulation in Health and Disease (GRHD)  joined the effort.

“[COVID-19] is one new research area where GRHD researchers are making contributions, locally and nationally, to addressing this urgent problem,”
— Meredith Bond, Ph.D., dean of the College of Sciences and Health Professions 

Working Toward New Medications

Under a microscope, the COVID-19 virus presents as a ball with spikes containing an “S-protein” that latches to receptors on healthy cells and makes way for the virus to enter the body. Dr. Barsanjit Mazumder’s lab discovered that S-protein binding to its receptor on these cells triggers unique signaling events within cells. Understanding the impact of these signaling events may help develop medications that prevent the virus from replicating inside cells.

Working to Combat Inflammation

High COVID-19 fatality rates are largely due to severe inflammation leading to respiratory distress and multiple organ failure. Dr. Bin Su’s lab sought to develop newer, more effective anti-inflammatory drugs that also prevent COVID-19 from spreading to other cells.

Feline Versus Human Coronavirus

Taking a unique approach, Dr. Anthony Berdis’s lab studied feline coronavirus, which does not cause the disease in humans. Because of its similarities to COVID-19, Berdis’s team hope their research will help reveal more about COVID-19’s properties and how it is transferred among humans.

Working Toward a Better Vaccine

In collaboration with the Food and Drug Administration, GRHD Director Dr. Anton Komar’s lab analyzed the virus’ RNA genes to develop approaches for a more effective vaccine design.