CoV2TIP
Defective interfering particles (DIP) are degenerate forms of viral genomes that are non-replicative but remain infectious by complementation with the wildtype (WT) virus. DIPs play a significant role in modulating the outcome of infection and immune responses, and can be artificially selected to strengthen their interfering activity and suppress replication of the full virus (therapeutic interfering particles, or TIPs). We propose to produce DIPs during SARS-CoV-2 replication in cell culture, purify them, test their antiviral effects, and characterize them molecularly. The outcome of the project will be a SARS-CoV-2 specific set of TIPs that could be used right away to treat COVID19.
EnvironmentalCOVID
Although SARS-CoV-2 and other coronaviruses are primarily transmitted directly between individuals during epidemic phases, the permanence of the virus in the environment has the potential to cause new outbreaks despite mitigation efforts. SARS-CoV-1 was detected in hospital wastewater in China and it was shown that the viral particles could remain infective long enough to pose a risk.
EvolCovid
Strengthening genomic surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 has been endorsed by the World Health Organization (WHO) to increase the capacity to detect new threats and achieve quality, timely and appropriate public health actions.
SeqCOVID
An ambitious scientific project led by researchers from the National Scientific Research Council (CSIC) in partnership with 40 hospitals all over Spain will study the compared genomes of the new coronavirus from patients with COVID-19 in order to understand and predict the evolution and epidemiology of the virus.
