2020 Archive - UM School of Medicine Researchers Receive Federal Funding to Rapidly Test New Treatments for COVID-19 | University of Maryland School of Medicine

June 16, 2020 | Deborah Kotz

Long-time Coronavirus Researcher Joins Collaboration to Rapidly Repurpose FDA-approved Drugs for COVID-19

Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) will be partnering on an agreement funded by the federal government’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to rapidly test hundreds of drugs, approved and marketed for other conditions, to see whether any can be repurposed to prevent or treat COVID-19. The compounds will be tested in studies using state-of-the-art technologies in the laboratory of coronavirus researcher Matthew Frieman, PhD., Associate Professor of Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. UMSOM will receive up to $3.6 million over the next year to fund this effort.

Other faculty from UMSOM will collaborate on this project including William Jackson, PhD, Associate Professor of Microbiology and Immunology at UMSOM, David Rasko, PhD, Professor of Microbiology and Immunology at the Institute for Genome Sciences at UMSOM, and Robert Ernst, PhD, Professor and Vice Chair of the Department of Microbial Pathogenesis in the School of Dentistry.

The funding is part of a new award totaling up to $16 million over the next year DARPA awarded to the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University, which created computational drug discovery pipelines and human Organ Chip technologies that will enable the new research.

“The new technologies we now have in place in our laboratory will allow us to test more drugs at a much faster rate to determine whether they have the potential to stop the novel coronavirus from replicating in cells and causing Covid-19,” said Dr. Frieman.

In a preliminary study posted last month, he and his colleagues tested 20 FDA-approved drugs and found that 17 showed promise against blocking the virus that causes COVID-19. In previous research, Dr. Frieman found these drugs also had anti-viral effects against two other deadly coronaviruses, SARS-CoV-1, which emerged in 2003 in China and MERS-CoV, which emerged in 2012 in the Middle East.

With new innovative Organ Chip technologies installed in his laboratory, Dr. Frieman and his team now plan to rapidly test dozens of drugs to determine how they interact with the virus that causes COVID-19. Organ chips are microdevices that contain human organ cells in sophisticated cell cultures; the cells replicate the function of full-size organs with tiny vasculature for fluid flow and mechanical forces to mimic the breathing motions of lungs, for example, or the filtration of kidneys.

The benchwork will include infecting human Lung Chips with the novel coronavirus to study the host responses occurring in lungs as a result of the infection. Drugs that appear to have the strongest effect at reversing these inflammatory processes in Dr. Frieman’s laboratory will next be tested in animal studies.

“Through our cell and lung-on-a-chip-based anti-viral testing system, we will be able to better predict candidate therapeutics for priority testing in animal models and eventually human trials,” said Dr. Frieman.

He and his collaborators will use a combined global “omics” approach to investigate the body’s response to infection by SARS-CoV-2. They will study changes in gene expression and the role of certain proteins and cytokine chemicals involved in the immune response. This will be accomplished using various cell-based models, including human Organ Chips.

“We will do this during anti-viral testing to more rapidly identify and potentially increase the success of the identified drugs in future animal studies and human trials,” said Dr. Ernst.

Added Dr. Rasko, “This type of interdisciplinary approach highlights the innovative and cutting-edge research at UMB and demonstrates that while we each have our own specialties, there are opportunities, such as these where we can come together to rapidly advance science.”

The team is collaborating and sharing his research findings with a team at the Wyss Institute, led by Wyss Founding Director Donald Ingber, M.D., Ph.D, and with Benjamin tenOever, Ph.D. at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York. The team plans to engage with other federal entities like the Food and Drug Administration to expedite the translation of promising discoveries into effective treatments for Covid-19 patients.

“One of the bright spots that has come out of this horrible pandemic has been the acceleration of innovations by some of the most talented researchers here at the School of Medicine and elsewhere throughout the country,” said Dean E. Albert Reece, MD, PhD, MBA, who is also Executive Vice President for Medical Affairs, UM Baltimore, and the John Z. and Akiko K. Bowers Distinguished Professor, University of Maryland School of Medicine. “Our nation is in such dire need of vaccines and therapies against Covid-19, and I am proud of our unprecedented role in these efforts.”

About the University of Maryland School of Medicine

Now in its third century, the University of Maryland School of Medicine was chartered in 1807 as the first public medical school in the United States. It continues today as one of the fastest growing, top-tier biomedical research enterprises in the world -- with 45 academic departments, centers, institutes, and programs; and a faculty of more than 3,000 physicians, scientists, and allied health professionals, including members of the National Academy of Medicine and the National Academy of Sciences, and a distinguished two-time winner of the Albert E. Lasker Award in Medical Research. With an operating budget of more than $1.2 billion, the School of Medicine works closely in partnership with the University of Maryland Medical Center and Medical System to provide research-intensive, academic and clinically based care for nearly 2 million patients each year. The School of Medicine has more than $540 million in extramural funding, with most of its academic departments highly ranked among all medical schools in the nation in research funding. As one of the seven professional schools that make up the University of Maryland, Baltimore campus, the School of Medicine has a total population of nearly 9,000 faculty and staff, including 2,500 student trainees, residents, and fellows. The combined School of Medicine and Medical System (“University of Maryland Medicine”) has an annual budget of nearly $6 billion and an economic impact more than $15 billion on the state and local community. The School of Medicine faculty, which ranks as the 8th highest among public medical schools in research productivity, is an innovator in translational medicine, with 600 active patents and 24 start-up companies. The School of Medicine works locally, nationally, and globally, with research and treatment facilities in 36 countries around the world. Visit medschool.umaryland.edu

Contact

Deborah Kotz
Director of Media Relations
Office of Public Affairs & Communications
University of Maryland School of Medicine
o: 410-706-4255
c: 410-804-0054
t: @debkotz2

In the two years since the first COVID-19 vaccines were given to patients in the U.S., the vaccines had the cumulative effect of preventing 18 million hospitalizations and 3 million deaths. That is based on a new modeling analysis conducted by a researcher at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) and her colleagues. Results of the analysis were published by the Commonwealth Fund.

Friday, October 07, 2022

Other SARS-CoV-2 Proteins are Important for Disease Severity, Aside from the Spike

University of Maryland School of Medicine researchers have identified how multiple genes of SARS-CoV-2 affect disease severity, which could lead to new ways in how we develop future vaccines or develop newer treatments. The genes control the immune system of the host, contributing to how fiercely the body responds to a COVID-19 infection.

Wednesday, February 16, 2022

Study Shows New Drug Combination More Effective Against SARS-CoV-2

Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) and University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine have identified a powerful combination of antivirals to treat COVID-19. The researchers showed that combining the experimental drug brequinar with either of the two drugs already approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for emergency use, remdesivir or molnupiravir, inhibited growth of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in human lung cells and in mice. Their findings suggest that these drugs are more potent when used in combination than individually.

Wednesday, January 26, 2022

Trial Co-led by University of Maryland School of Medicine Scientist Confirms Safety of “Mix-and-Match” COVID-19 Vaccine Booster Dosing

A University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM), Center for Vaccine Development and Global Health (CVD), expert is co-leading an ongoing study that was pivotal in recommending adults and teens receive booster COVID-19 shots of their choosing starting in fall 2021. The preliminary clinical trial results, reported today in The New England Journal of Medicine, found that is safe and effective to receive boosters that are the same or a different one from the person’s primary vaccine(s).

Thursday, December 16, 2021

Novavax COVID-19 Vaccine Found to be Safe and Effective in Phase 3 Trial Conducted by UM School of Medicine Researchers

An investigational COVID-19 vaccine made by Novavax was found to be 90 percent effective at preventing COVID-19 illness, according to results from a Phase 3 clinical trial published today in the New England Journal of Medicine. The University of Maryland School of Medicine’s (UMSOM) Center for Vaccine Development and Global Health served as one of the trial sites, and Karen Kotloff, MD, Professor of Pediatrics at UMSOM, served as Co-Chair for the trial protocol.

Tuesday, December 14, 2021

UM School of Medicine’s Office of Public Affairs and Communications Honored with 2021 PRSA ‘Best In Maryland’ Award

The University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM)'s Office of Public Affairs & Communications received the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) 2021 “Best in Maryland Award,” the PRSA’s highest honor, for its COVID-19 Communications program. The award was given at the PRSA Maryland Gala, held on December 9, 2021.

Wednesday, September 08, 2021

UM School of Medicine Reaching Underserved Communities Through Grass Roots Efforts to Increase COVID-19 Vaccination Rates

In an effort to increase COVID-19 vaccination rates among children and families, and ultimately help bring the pandemic under control, the Department of Family & Community Medicine (DFCM) and the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) are partnering with key community and faith-based groups in Baltimore city to reach the most vulnerable and underserved communities. This partnership will also extend across Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, and West Virginia.

Wednesday, July 07, 2021

UM School of Medicine Researchers Develop Two Rapid Tests for COVID-19 Using Innovative Techniques

Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) have developed two rapid diagnostic tests for COVID-19 that are nearly as accurate as the gold-standard test currently used in laboratories. Unlike the gold-standard test, which extracts RNA and uses it to amplify the DNA of the virus, these new tests can detect the presence of the virus in as little as five minutes using different methods.

Wednesday, June 09, 2021

Global Study of Microbes in 60 Cities Finds Each Has Unique Fingerprint of Viruses and Bacteria

Each city has its own unique microbiome, a “fingerprint” of viruses and bacteria that serves as type of city profile, according to a new study from an international consortium of researchers that included a team from the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM). The international project, which sequenced and analyzed samples collected from public transit systems and hospitals in 60 cities around the world, was published today in the journal Cell.

Monday, March 29, 2021

Cancer Drug Lessens the Toxicity of a Protein from the Virus that Causes Covid-19, UM School of Medicine Study Finds

University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) researchers have identified the most toxic proteins made by SARS-COV-2—the virus that causes COVID-19 – and then used an FDA-approved cancer drug to blunt the viral protein’s detrimental effects. In their experiments in fruit flies and human cell lines, the team discovered the cell process that the virus hijacks, illuminating new potential candidate drugs that could be tested for treating severe COVID-19 disease patients. Their findings were published in two studies simultaneously on March 25 in Cell & Bioscience, a Springer Nature journal.

Tuesday, March 16, 2021

New Study Finds Healthcare Settings Do Not Pose Added Risk Factor for Covid-19 Infection Spread Among U.S. Healthcare Personnel

Healthcare personnel who were infected with COVID-19 faced stronger risk factors outside of the workplace than in their hospital or healthcare settings. That is the finding of a new study published today in the Journal of the American Medical association's JAMA Network Open conducted by University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) researchers and colleagues at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and three other universities.

Friday, February 05, 2021

UM School of Medicine Researchers Demonstrate Strong Immune Response for New COVID-19 Vaccine in Pre-Clinical Tests

Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) have found promising results in pre-clinical studies for a new experimental vaccine against COVID-19 made by Novavax. The vaccine was found to generate a robust immune response in animals exposed to the vaccine with strong data indicating safety and efficacy, according to the study published recently in the journal Nature Communications. The results have been used to begin testing the vaccine in human trials in the U.S. with a Phase 3 trial that recently launched at the UMSOM’s Center for Vaccine Development and Global Health.

Thursday, January 21, 2021

UM School of Medicine Hosted Media Availability for Ensuring Trust in COVID-19 Vaccine Event

On January 22, 2021 at 2 p.m., the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) hosted Black faith-based leaders, COVID-19 research volunteers, and “America’s Doctor,” Anthony Fauci, MD. The event provided straight talk about fears, trust issues, and why we need our Black and Brown community to be a part of COVID-19 vaccine research.

Tuesday, January 05, 2021

Dr. Kathleen Neuzil, World-renowned Leader in Vaccine Research, Receives Moderna Vaccine

Kathleen Neuzil, MD, MPH, FIDSA, the Myron M. Levine, MD, DTPH, Professor of Vaccinology and Director of the University of Maryland School of Medicine’s (UMSOM)’s Center for Vaccine Development and Global Health (CVD), received her first injection of the Moderna vaccine for COVID-19 on December 31. Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) played an integral part in the dedicated work that led to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issuing an Emergency Use Authorization for the Moderna vaccine in December.

Tuesday, January 05, 2021

University of Maryland School of Medicine Begins Phase 3 Trial of Novavax COVID-19 Vaccine Candidate

Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) will participate in a Phase 3 clinical trial of an investigational COVID-19 vaccine to protect against SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus causing COVID-19 that continues to impact millions of people around the world. The clinical trial will test the safety and effectiveness of NVX-CoV2373, being developed by U.S. biotechnology company, Novavax, Inc., based in Gaithersburg, MD.

Tuesday, December 22, 2020

Largest Study of Its Kind Identifies Which COVID-19 Patients Face the Greatest Risk of Mortality During Hospitalization

Hospitalized COVID-19 patients have a greater risk of dying if they are men or if they are obese or have complications from diabetes or hypertension, according to a new study conducted by University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) researchers. In a study published in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases, the researchers evaluated nearly 67,000 hospitalized COVID-19 patients in 613 hospitals across the country to determine the link between certain common patient characteristics and the risk of dying from COVID-19. Their analysis found that men had a 30 percent higher risk of dying compared to women of the same age and health status. Hospitalized patients who were obese, had hypertension or poorly managed diabetes had a higher risk of dying compared to those who did not have these conditions. Those aged 20 to 39 with these conditions had the biggest difference in their risk of dying compared to their healthier peers.

Thursday, November 19, 2020

Promising Results Seen in Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine After Phase 1 Trial by University of Maryland School of Medicine

Just six months after beginning a clinical development program that first enrolled here at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM), Pfizer and BioNTech report interim results showing an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine had no serious safety concerns and has been found to be 95 percent effective in protecting individuals from COVID-19.

Friday, November 13, 2020

UM School of Medicine and School of Pharmacy Researchers Identify Promising New Compounds to Potentially Treat Novel Coronaviruses

Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) and School of Pharmacy (UMSOP) have discovered new drug compounds to potentially treat the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19. The compounds disrupt the functioning of a protein complex inside human cells that the researchers discovered is critical for the replication and survival of coronaviruses. This finding could lead to the development of new broad-spectrum antiviral drugs that target viruses such as influenza, Ebola and coronaviruses, according to a new study published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) journal.

Thursday, October 22, 2020

New Landmark Study at UM School of Medicine Finds Aspirin Use Reduces Risk of Death in Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients

Hospitalized COVID-19 patients who were taking a daily low-dose aspirin to protect against cardiovascular disease had a significantly lower risk of complications and death compared to those who were not taking aspirin, according to a new study led by researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM). Aspirin takers were less likely to be placed in the intensive care unit (ICU) or hooked up to a mechanical ventilator, and they were more likely to survive the infection compared to hospitalized patients who were not taking aspirin, The study, published today in the journal Anesthesia and Analgesia, provides “cautious optimism,” the researchers say, for an inexpensive, accessible medication with a well-known safety profile that could help prevent severe complications.

Monday, June 15, 2020

UM School of Medicine Researchers Help Identify Potent Antibody Cocktail with Potential to Treat COVID-19

Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) evaluated several human antibodies to determine the most potent combination to be mixed in a cocktail and used as a promising anti-viral therapy against the virus that causes COVID-19. Their research, conducted in collaboration with scientists at Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, was published today in the journal Science. The study demonstrates the rapid process of isolating, testing and mass-producing antibody therapies against any infectious disease by using both genetically engineered mice and plasma from recovered COVID-19 patients.

Tuesday, June 02, 2020

UM School of Medicine’s Institute of Human Virology Awarded Grants to Strengthen COVID-19 Response in Sub-Saharan Africa

The Center for International Health, Education and Biosecurity (Ciheb) at the University of Maryland School of Medicine’s Institute of Human Virology was awarded $4 million from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to support coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) response activities in Botswana, Nigeria, Malawi, and Mozambique.

Monday, June 01, 2020

In A COVID-19 World, Another Threat to the Health of Our Children

In the U.S., our children rarely fall ill to grave infections because they are protected by vaccines. Serious illnesses like measles, mumps, congenital rubella syndrome, chickenpox, diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, rotavirus diarrhea, hepatitis (A and B), polio and bacterial meningitis are all preventable through routine childhood vaccinations.

Thursday, May 28, 2020

UM School of Medicine Researchers Develop Experimental Rapid COVID-19 Test Using Innovative Nanoparticle Technique

Scientists from the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) developed an experimental diagnostic test for COVID-19 that can visually detect the presence of the virus in 10 minutes. It uses a simple assay containing plasmonic gold nanoparticles to detect a color change when the virus is present. The test does not require the use of any advanced laboratory techniques, such as those commonly used to amplify DNA, for analysis. The authors published their work last week in the American Chemical Society’s nanotechnology journal ACS Nano.

Thursday, May 21, 2020

UM School of Medicine Begins First Innovative Trial of Experimental Stem Cell Therapy to Reduce Deaths in Sickest COVID-19 Patients

Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) have begun testing an experimental stem cell therapy developed by Mesoblast Limited to treat hospitalized COVID-19 patients with moderate to severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) who are on ventilators to help them breathe. The trial, which is being conducted at the University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC) and additional sites across the U.S, will involve a total of 300 patients randomized to receive either the drug remestemcel-L or a placebo in addition to the recommended standard of care to manage severe COVID-19 infections. The first patient in this national trial was treated at UMMC.

Tuesday, May 05, 2020

UM School of Medicine is First in U.S. to Test Unique RNA Vaccine Candidate for COVID-19

In a significant development in the global effort to discover a safe and effective vaccine for COVID-19, researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) became the first in the U.S. to begin testing experimental COVID-19 vaccine candidates developed by Pfizer and BioNTech. The research, funded by Pfizer Inc., will study the safety, efficacy, and dosing of an experimental mRNA -based vaccine.

Thursday, April 23, 2020

UM School of Medicine Researchers Test Remdesivir as Potential Therapy for COVID-19 Patients

Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) are testing the effectiveness of the investigational antiviral drug remdesivir in hospitalized adult patients with SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19). The randomized controlled clinical trial is evaluating the safety and effectiveness of the drug, and it is part of a national study funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Friday, April 10, 2020

University of Maryland School of Medicine Launches New Large Scale COVID-19 Testing Initiative

University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) Dean E. Albert Reece, MD, PhD, MBA, announced today the launch of a large-scale COVID-19 Testing Initiative that will significantly expand testing capability over the coming weeks, enabled by new funding of $2.5 million from the State of Maryland.

Friday, October 18, 2019

Diabetes Worsens Respiratory Illness Due to Abnormal Immune Response, UM School of Medicine Study Finds

Since the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) first emerged in Saudi Arabia in 2012, there have been more than 2,400 confirmed cases of the infection, resulting in greater than 800 deaths – an alarming fatality rate of 35 percent. For this reason, researchers have been eager to identify any risk factors that contribute to the development of severe or lethal disease. Current clinical evidence points to diabetes as a major risk factor in addition to other comorbidities including kidney disease, heart disease, and lung disease.

Tuesday, December 06, 2016

Researchers Combine MERS and Rabies Viruses to Create Innovative 2-For-1 Vaccine

In a new study, University of Maryland School of Medicine (UM SOM) researchers have modified a rabies virus, so that it has a protein from the MERS virus; this altered virus works as a 2-for-1 vaccine that protects mice against both Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and rabies.

Monday, February 08, 2016

UM SOM Researchers Identify Most Dangerous Strains of Often-Deadly Bacteria

A multi-disciplinary group of researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UM SOM) have for the first time determined the genetic makeup of various strains of E. coli, which every year kills hundreds of thousands of people around the world.

UM School of Medicine Researchers Receive Federal Funding to Rapidly Test New Treatments for COVID-19