Tulane University to lead national research partnership to speed up COVID-19 vaccine discoveries A COVID-19 researcher in the biosafety level 3 laboratory at the Tulane National Primate Research Center. (Source: Tulane University) By Nicole Mumphrey | February 3, 2021 at 1:55 PM CST - Updated February 3 at 1:56 PM
NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) -The National Institutes of Health has selected Tulane National Primate Research Center to lead a new partnership between the seven federally funded National Primate Research Centers to combine their efforts to accelerate promising COVID-19 vaccine and drug research.
The NIH contract, awarded at $1.7 million for the first year, has the potential to reach up to $6.5 million over a four-year funding period.
Researchers have identified and replicated a hyperimmune response in nonhuman primates that could one day lead to treatments for people with severe cases of COVID-19.
“This may be an important first step in understanding why some people become critically ill from COVID-19,” says senior author Jay Rappaport, director of the Tulane National Primate Research Center. “Once we understand that, we will be better equipped to treat them.”
Most of the more than 2 million deaths caused by severe COVID-19 are the result of a hyperimmune response in the body that can rapidly cascade into respiratory failure.
Veterinary pathologist and corresponding author Robert Blair says that this is the first time scientists have observed acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) in a nonhuman primate model of COVID-19.
E-Mail
IMAGE: Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) in SARS-CoV-2 infected aged, African green monkey. A. Radiographic changes noted following a rapid clinical decline within a 24-hour period. B. Microscopic findings showing diffuse. view more
Credit: The American Journal of Pathology
Philadelphia, January 19, 2021 - Aged, wild-caught African green monkeys exposed to the SARS-CoV-2 virus developed acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) with clinical symptoms similar to those observed in the most serious human cases of COVID-19, report researchers in
The American Journal of Pathology, published by Elsevier. This is the first study to show that African green monkeys can develop severe clinical disease after SARS-CoV-2 infection, suggesting that they may be useful models for the study of COVID-19 in humans.
Researchers at Tulane National Primate Research Center have observed severe disease in aged African green monkeys exposed to SARS-CoV-2 that mimics what doctors are seeing in their most critically
Rooted in Purpose & Solutions
Tulane has always met challenges, from addressing the yellow fever epidemics of the 19th century to recovering from Hurricane Katrina. Our history, location and driving ambition mold our character; that is why we tackle work that is both timely and relevant, and how we build a better future for New Orleans and the world.
Virus Origins & Testing
Tulane virologist
ROBERT GARRY, JR., PHD, and a team of scientists from Tulane, Scripps Research Institute, Columbia University, University of Edinburgh and University of Sydney analyzed the genome sequence of the novel SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus that emerged in the city of Wuhan, China, and found no evidence that the virus was made in a laboratory or otherwise engineered. Garry and his team also initiated a new School of Medicine test and testing lab in collaboration with