COVID-19 Research at Whitehead Institute

In this presentation and discussion moderated by Whitehead Institute Member Pulin Li, hear what Whitehead Fellows Silvia Rouskin and Kipp Weiskopf are learning about SARS-CoV-2 — and how their research may aid in the fight against dangerous coronaviruses, now and well into the future.

Demonstrating the multifaceted value and broad applicability of fundamental biomedical research, Whitehead Fellows Rouskin and Weiskopf have leveraged their long-term research programs — and the specialized methods and tools they have developed — to try to answer key questions about how SARS-CoV-2 functions, how to block the virus’s ability to infect human cells, and how to counter the worst effects of COVID-19.

Building on her groundbreaking work on the conformations of HIV RNA, the Rouskin lab is analyzing the structure of the SARS-CoV-2 RNA genome, which may prove critical for developing therapeutics for this and other coronaviruses. Kipp Weiskopf’s lab is using knowledge and models through his work on cancer immunotherapies to identify — and do pre-clinical testing on — existing drugs that can be repurposed to reduce COVID-19’s severity and mortality.

This talk was hosted by Whitehead Institute on Thursday, February 11 at 4 pm Eastern.