Trudeau Institute Wins COVID-19 Research Grant from F.M. Kirby Foundation

F.M. Kirby Foundation

$45,000 grant funds vaccine study.

Trudeau Institute will continue work to help its global partners develop vaccines and treatments for future COVID-19 variants, as well as prepare for outbreaks of other pandemics, through a grant funded by the F.M. Kirby Foundation.

The $45,000 grant has been awarded to Dr. William Reiley’s group to further characterize a recently identified mouse strain in his lab which is highly susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 infection. While existing mouse models have aided scientists in the development of vaccines and treatments against COVID-19, those models do not accurately depict acute life-threatening COVID-19 disease as seen in humans, nor the lasting effects seen in COVID-19 “long-haulers.”

“Our existing model is just too limited,” Reiley said. “Because of this, researchers have been hampered in their ability to understand the immune responses as they relate to control of virus replication, the viral dysregulation of the immune response, identify biomarkers of disease, and interrogate novel therapeutic targets.”

Scientists depend on mouse-based research models to understand how the SARS-CoV-2 virus replicates and to search for ways to prevent transmission and treat infection. These models mimic human biology and allow researchers to predict how people will react to the disease when infected. It also allows them to project whether advances in treatment seen in mice are likely to translate to similar results in humans.

Trudeau will conduct three studies through the grant:

• Show whether the model accurately predicts human disease after infection with previous variants, including the currently circulating Omicron variants. During the pandemic, several variants of concern (VOC) arose to accelerate the spread of coronavirus across the globe. The most prevalent today is known as Omicron. Trudeau will demonstrate if a new mouse model can replicate what is seen in humans.

• Demonstrate that treatments tested in this new mouse model will help to predict efficacy in humans.

• Analyze immune responses following coronavirus infection in new research models. Researchers will study how vaccines prevent infection when exposed to the coronavirus.

The grant from Kirby covers about half the cost of the project. Additional funding and an anonymous donor have funded the remainder. The work is expected to be completed early this year.

“This work is just one example of the way Trudeau is building partnerships with outside organizations to evaluate new vaccines and treatments,” said Alex Maue, Trudeau’s director of partnership development. “Ultimately, we are hopeful researchers elsewhere will use these models to build their own breakthroughs.”

(Original press release published by the Sun Community News February 8, 2023)