Soon after the pandemic started, more than half a million dollars was rapidly reallocated to supply 13 interdisciplinary teams with immediate funding to pursue basic science, technology, clinical or population-based research projects that directly address COVID-19.
Dr. Jianqin Lu, BIO5 member and assistant professor in the College of Pharmacy, discusses his two BIO5 COVID-19 seed grant projects. The first focuses on the use of nanotechnology to improve efficacy and minimize toxicity of anti-malarial drugs against COVID-19, while the second project explores whether enhancing COVID-19 patients’ immune systems can treat their infections.