A new study from the School of Molecular & Cellular Biology seeks to better understand shedding patterns among common respiratory viruses by closely examining the immune system before, during, and after infection. The FLUdetect study, headed by...

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...

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...

The influenza virus, which causes the flu, is a major public health issue, infecting millions of people and estimated to cost $10 billion in direct medical costs in the United States each year. Like most viruses, influenza mutates rapidly as it spreads, making it difficult to vaccinate against...

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.

Yiquan Wang is a PhD student in the School of Molecular and Cellular Biology at UIUC. In our latest "Meet MCB" video, Yiquan shares how he's bridging his love for art and biochemistry to help people better understand virology.

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. 

MCB major Neha Arun shares her experiences working as an undergraduate researcher in Professor Collin Kieffer's lab in the Department of Microbiology, as well as a look at life outside the lab at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

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...

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.