BioInspired Research: How does COVID-19 work and how can we stop it?

Why is COVID-19 mild in some individuals and deadly in others?  How does the virus affect so many different systems in the human body, causing respiratory, neurological and cardiovascular symptoms?

At Syracuse University, the BioInspired Institute’s researchers are putting their expertise in different fields of science – ranging from biophysics and biochemistry to mechanical engineering and bioengineering – to work to understand how COVID-19 infects human cells, the first step in learning what treatments may be effective in stopping it.

This public presentation brings you into the labs of some of BioInspired’s top scientists, who will share how they are working against the virus that has circled the globe and how their discoveries may lead to improved understanding of existing therapies and for development of new antiviral drugs.

Join BioInspired Director and William R. Kenan Junior Professor of Physics Lisa Manning as she talks with physics faculty Alison Patteson and Jennifer Schwarz about their collaborative work on how COVID-19 gets through the cell’s skeleton and how drugs may be selected to block the pathways used by the virus.  Also, learn about how the parts of the COVID-19 virus that help it attach to the edge of the cell may make it more infectious but also present another target for drug therapies, from James Hougland, professor of chemistry.

BioInspired Syracuse supports research into complex biological systems, developing and designing programmable smart materials to address global challenges in health, medicine and materials innovation. It is an Institute for Material and Living Systems, focusing on four key areas: drug discovery, smart materials, form and function, and development and disease. BioInspired involves faculty from life sciences, engineering, physics and chemistry.