COVID-19

Why get new COVID-19 and flu shots?

2024-10-22

A man in a tan shirt and glasses stands in front of lab beakers.

New vaccinations against influenza and the virus that causes COVID-19 are available and arriving at physician offices and pharmacies. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign microbiology professor Chris Brooke is a...

Rachel J. Whitaker named Harry E. Preble Professor

2023-02-28

Whitaker speaks at the podium while a screen titled "Investiture of Rachel Whitaker" shows a picture of her and a cutout photo of Alma.

For Rachel J. Whitaker, life tends to feel like it’s all hands on deck. Whitaker, a professor of microbiology, spends much of her time researching the evolution of archaea, bacteria, and viruses in the natural and clinical...

Context matters: Whitaker combines her passions for microbiology and education to better understand our world

2022-11-15

Rachel Whitaker in the Carl Woese Institute for Genomic Biology.

Microbes, human beings, and the many systems we inhabit, from farms to factories and hospitals to high schools, are all connected. Working in natural environments, research labs, and local communities, Rachel Whitaker has been...

Illinois researchers test nicotinic hypothesis of COVID-19

2022-11-04

Authors Nicole Godellas, Gisela Cymes, and Claudio Grosman sit together in a row outside, smiling.

Although researchers have learned much about SARS-CoV-2, the vast array of unexplained symptoms associated with acute and post-acute ("long") COVID-19 warrants the search for additional biochemical pathways involved. On the basis of amino-acid sequence analyses and computational approaches, it has...

Who should get an omicron COVID-19 booster?

2022-09-15

Chris Brooke, assistant professor of microbiology, recently spoke with The 21st public radio show about what scientists know about the virus that causes COVID-19, the emerging variants, and what they still have to learn.

Although the omicron variants seem less deadly, COVID-19 vaccine boosters are needed to keep up with the virus as it evolves, says University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign microbiology professor Christopher Brooke.

Biochemistry professor Nicholas Wu awarded Ann Palmenberg Junior Investigator Award

2022-07-18

Biochemistry professor Nicholas Wu has been awarded the Ann Palmenberg Junior Investigator Award by the American Society for Virology. As a recipient of the award, Wu delivered a research talk at the 2022 ASV Annual Meeting. This year's conference is being held at UW-Madison from July 16-...

COVID-19 virus spike protein flexibility improved by human cell's own modifications

2022-07-05

The simulations revealed that the host cell's own protein-processing infrastructure adds sugar groups called glycans, shown in red, which make the spike protein more flexible and mobile – key traits for infection and for evading antibodies. Image courtesy of Tianle Chen.

When the coronavirus causing COVID-19 infects human cells, the cell’s protein-processing machinery makes modifications to the spike protein that render it more flexible and mobile, which could increase its ability to infect other cells and to evade antibodies, a new study from the University of...

Meet MCB: Undergraduate student awarded Boren Scholarship

2022-07-11

Brendan Rattin stands in a suit and tie holding a microphone in one hand and a remote in the other.

Three students at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign have been awarded David L. Boren Scholarships, including MCB major Brendan Rattin. The National Security Education Program selects students to add international and language components to their education by studying overseas in world...

SHIELD program a model for effective pandemic management, data show

2022-06-10

A student holds up a vial with saliva. The vial is sharply in focus, while the student, who is wearing a U of I face mask, is blurred out of focus.

The SHIELD: Target, Test, Tell program combined frequent saliva tests with modeling and an app to keep the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign campus and surrounding community safe when on-campus operations resumed in fall 2020.

Study tracks COVID-19 infection dynamics in adults

2022-04-28

SHIELD Team workers assist students, staff and faculty at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign take a saliva-based COVID-19 test that was developed at the U. of I. as a way to detect cases of COVID-19 early and prevent community spread. Unlike conventional nasal testing, saliva samples are collected non-invasively, without the need for healthcare workers and with minimal use of PPE.

A team led by scientists at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign tracked the rise and fall of SARS-CoV-2 in the saliva and nasal cavities of people newly infected with the virus. The study was the first to follow acute COVID-19 infections over time through repeated sampling and to compare...

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