Deborah Paul

GIVE to Unconventional Wisdom: Spotting HIV in the Blood

A mysterious ailment struck Deborah Paul’s younger brother, Tim, in 1982, when lymph glands all over his body suddenly became swollen. He recovered, but it took two years for doctors to finally figure out what had triggered the problem. In 1984, Paul’s brother developed pneumocystis pneumonia—a...
Model of HIV

The Changing Shape of HIV

The Procko lab applies big data tools to molecular biochemistry.Their goal: a better understanding of how we might fight HIV-1.
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.

Study tracks COVID-19 infection dynamics in adults

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...
Different antibodies (green, aqua, pink) attack different parts of the SARS-CoV-2 viral particle (yellow/orange sphere). The virus’s spike proteins (purple) are a key antibody target, with some antibodies attaching to the top (darker purple) and others to the stem (paler zone). Graphic by Yiquan Wang

Machine-learning model can distinguish antibody targets

A new study from the School of Molecular & Cellular Biology shows that it is possible to use the genetic sequences of a person’s antibodies to predict what pathogens those antibodies will target. Reported in the journal Immunity, the new approach successfully differentiates between antibodies...
Paola Mera smiles for headshot outside with a background of trees.

Meet MCB: Microbiology professor Paola Mera

The Interdisciplinary Health Sciences Institute spotlights microbiology assistant professor Paola Mera and shares how she discovered her passion for research. Mera's research aims at filling the gaps in knowledge to control the life cycle of bacteria so that they can design better ways to enhance...
Headshot of Nicholas Wu.

Biochemistry professor Nicholas Wu earns NIH Director's New Innovator Award

Nicholas Wu, a professor of biochemistry at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, has received a National Institutes of Health Director’s New Innovator Award, part of the Common Fund’s High-Risk, High-Reward Research program.
Illustration of the ultrastructural morphology exhibited by SARS-CoV-2 and the spike proteins that adorn the outer surface of the virus.

Antibodies from original strain COVID-19 infection don't bind to variants, study finds

People infected with the original strain of the virus that causes COVID-19 early in the pandemic produced a consistent antibody response, making two main groups of antibodies to bind to the spike protein on the virus’s outer surface. However, those antibodies don’t bind well to newer variants, a...
Saliva samples

U of I president honors MCB researchers for their work on COVID-19 response

University of Illinois President Tim Killeen on Monday honored 28 key leaders of the system’s COVID-19 response with the Presidential Medallion. The medallion is the highest honor that the system president can bestow.
Student spits into funnel tube for saliva sample collection.

Frequent COVID-19 testing key to efficient, early detection, study finds

The chance of detecting the virus that causes COVID-19 increases with more frequent testing, no matter the type of test, a new study found. Both polymerase chain reaction and antigen tests, paired with rapid results reporting, can achieve 98% sensitivity if deployed at least every three days.
Medical staff use a swab to collect nasal samples from a patient for a PCR COVID-19 test.

Effort to curb COVID-19 leads to a deeper understanding of communities and the disease

Several faculty from the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, including microbiology professor Rachel Whitaker, are collaborating to help and learn from a town struck by the pandemic.