COVID-19

Wu and collaborators develop new molecules which attack the virus that causes COVID-19 and resist 'escape' mutations

2021-02-15

An international team of researchers including Nicholas Wu, a professor in the Department of Biochemistry, has published a new study which developed highly potent molecules that can neutralize SARS-CoV-2 by simultaneously targeting multiple sites of vulnerability on the virus.

Welcome to Professor Nicholas Wu

2021-01-20

Professor Wu was one of ten new faculty hires made in the School of Molecular and Cellular Biology in the last three years. Wu is an assistant professor of and is an affiliate of the Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology.

What is the new variant of coronavirus in the UK?

2020-12-23

New mutations to the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 are emerging, including one in the United Kingdom with higher infection rates that has sparked new travel bans. Erik Procko, a professor of biochemistry at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, has been studying mutations in the spike...

Microbiology grad leverages her Illinois research training into career at Abbott

2020-11-30

On January 9, 2020, the World Health Organization announced the discovery of a mysterious string of pneumonia-like cases in Wuhan, China, which they believed could be caused by a novel coronavirus. At the same time in Illinois, executives at the medical device and healthcare company Abbott...

UIUC biology alumna appointed to Biden's COVID-19 advisory panel

2020-11-11

Julie Morita, executive vice president of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Congratulations to University of Illinois biology alumna Dr. Julie Morita, who was recently named to President-elect Joe Biden’s COVID-19 advisory panel.

Microbiology alumni collaborate on COVID-19 wastewater tests

2020-10-23

Four vials stand upright beside a Water SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR Test

Since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus pandemic, University of Illinois alumnus David Townsend (BS ’88, microbiology) and members of his team at IDEXX Laboratories have developed a test to monitor the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater that rapidly detects the virus’ genetic material.

Christopher Brooke named Man of the Year by Central Illinois Business Magazine

2020-10-20

This announcement was made as part of The News-Gazette’s 13th annual Forty Under 40 Awards. Professor Brooke is an assistant professor of microbiology and is an affiliate of the Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology.

Decoy receptor neutralizes coronavirus in cell cultures

2020-08-04

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread, scientists and health care providers are seeking ways to keep the coronavirus from infecting tissues once they’re exposed. A new study suggests luring the virus with a decoy – an engineered, free-floating receptor protein – that binds the virus and...

Volunteers at Illinois produce supplies for 200,000 COVID-19 tests

2020-07-07

A vial of Viral Transport Medium produced at the Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology. The fluid is used to preserve patient test samples for COVID-19. (Image courtesy of the Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology.)

A collaborative effort at the University of Illinois to support COVID-19 testing is winding down, but not before it produced enough materials to support some 200,000 coronavirus tests across the state.

MCB researchers aim to speed up drug discovery through RiPPs

2020-05-22

Illustration of the ultrastructural morphology exhibited by SARS-CoV-2 and the spike proteins that adorn the outer surface of the virus.

As the globe currently deals with the novel coronavirus pandemic, public interest in biological research has begun to grow. However, curative research takes time: drug discovery requires years of effort and financial resources to yield results. Even with focused endeavors, it would still take...

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