Pandemic Report: 5-minute COVID test, Virtual field trips, Aerosol science

5-minute COVID test

Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh and UPMC are working on a rapid COVID-19 test that can detect the virus in just five minutes. Researchers used technology from a marijuana breathalyzer created a few years ago.

Mathematician explores COVID-19 health interventions

University of Kansas mathematician Folashade Agusto is doing COVID-19 research around the public perception of risk, local case rates, behavior of neighboring communities, popularity of public health policies, and media reporting to demonstrate the effectiveness of different public health interventions.

Virtual field trips

School field trips are not an easy thing under the best of circumstances, but COVID-19 really threw a monkey wrench into the time-honored events that are integral to the learning process. The Juda School District in Wisconsin has connected with UW-Madison to offer kids virtual field trips.

COVID and aerosol science

Reseachers at the McKelvey School of Engineering are putting their expertise in aerosol science to work to learn more about COVID-19. You can read about some of their research here.

NIH funds further research on GP1681

CytoAgents, a Pittsburgh-based pharmaceutical company responsible for the drug candidate GP1681, has received $2M in grant money from the NIH to further its studies. GP1681 treats cytokine storm, which is associated with immunotherapy, and advanced CAR T-cell therapy.

Studying the effectiveness of diabetes drug for COVID-19

A new multi-site clinical trial led by the University of Minnesota Medical School is studying the effectiveness of metformin, a generic medication for type 2 diabetes, in the treatment of COVID-19.