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 virologist who...

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 world—so...

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...

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...

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 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 16-20. 

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...

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...

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.

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...