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COVID-19 research at Rockefeller

Videos and webinar series

COVID-19 research explainers

Unlike most humans, bats are naturally resistant to coronavirus infection. Erich D. Jarvis is now searching their genomes for clues that might explain why SARS-CoV-2 can cause devastating disease in our own species.

On July 9, Rockefeller President Richard P. Lifton spoke to award-winning journalist Paula Zahn about the current state of the pandemic and ongoing research. Here are the highlights.

Llamas make antibodies that are a fraction of the size of human antibodies, but with several advantages. Michael Rout and Brian Chait explain their research on llama antibodies and their plans for advancing the most potent ones towards the development of both treatments and diagnostic tests for COVID-19.

Not everyone who dies from COVID-19 is elderly or immune-suppressed. Jean-Laurent Casanova explains his project, part of the international COVID Human Genetic Effort, to use genome sequencing to identify rare mutations that blunt the immune system’s normal defenses against the virus.

 

COVID-19 research webinar series

Rockefeller University experts in infectious disease, immunology, biochemistry, structural biology, and genetics have projects underway that are aimed at understanding, preventing, and treating the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which is responsible for the current global COVID-19 pandemic. In this webinar series, hosted by President Richard P. Lifton, Rockefeller's ongoing COVID-19 research is explored and discussed by the university's pioneering scientists.

Richard P. Lifton, M.D., Ph.D.

Upcoming webinars

Future webinar dates and details will be announced in the coming weeks.


Previous webinars

Richard P. Lifton, M.D., Ph.D.
September 14, 2021
A COVID-19 Update: Vaccines and Variants
Richard P. Lifton, M.D., Ph.D. and Paul Bieniasz, Ph.D.
Join President Rick Lifton and virologist Paul Bieniasz for an update on the state of the COVID-19 pandemic. They will address critical questions on the latest vaccine and variant data.

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Paul Bieniasz, Ph.D.
February 9, 2021
SARS-COV-2 VACCINES AND VARIANTS
Paul Bieniasz, Ph.D.
Hope is mounting as COVID-19 vaccines are deployed, but our optimism is tempered by the arrival of new viral strains that are more contagious and possibly vaccine resistant. Virologist Paul Bieniasz and President Rick Lifton will address critical questions about SARS-CoV-2 variants, such as “Why are variants suddenly appearing almost simultaneously, but thousands of miles apart?” and “Can lab research predict the types of variants that will emerge?”

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Michel Nussenzweig , M.D., Ph.D.
December 10, 2020
FIGHTING COVID-19 WITH ANTIBODY THERAPY
Michel C. Nussenzweig, M.D., Ph.D.
Since the onset of the pandemic, immunologist Michel Nussenzweig has been working to deliver new antibody treatments for COVID-19. Dr. Nussenzweig and President Rick Lifton will discuss some of the most pressing questions about COVID-19 research and therapeutic discovery. For example, "What is the status of antibody therapies developed at Rockefeller?" and "Can antibody therapies protect against infection?"

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Jean-Laurent Casanova, M.D., Ph.D.
October 20, 2020
BREAKING NEWS ON COVID-19: GLOBAL RESEARCH PINPOINTS THE CAUSES OF MANY SEVERE CASES
Jean-Laurent Casanova, M.D., Ph.D.
In two recent landmark papers in the journal Science, Jean-Laurent Casanova and his colleagues report that misguided antibodies and specific genetic mutations may explain a significant percentage of severe and life-threatening responses to SARS-CoV-2. Join Dr. Casanova, a leader of the COVID Human Genetic Effort, and President Rick Lifton for an update on this unprecedented research and its potential to inspire new preventive measures and medical interventions against COVID-19.

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Richard A. Friedman, M.D.
October 6, 2020
STRESS AND ANXIETY IN A GLOBAL PANDEMIC: HOW PARENTS AND KIDS CAN COPE
Richard A. Friedman, M.D., Professor of Clinical Psychiatry, Weill Cornell Medicine
The COVID-19 pandemic has upended nearly every aspect of our lives. Quarantined at home, we are cut off from family, friends, and everyday routines with no sense of when it will end. For parents and kids alike, these months of isolation and uncertainty have led to high levels of stress and anxiety. As we enter a new school year and forge new routines this fall, Dr. Richard Friedman will discuss with Dr. Leslie Vosshall some of the mental health concerns associated with the pandemic.

Special addition to the COVID-19 Webinar Series – a program of the Parents & Science initiative

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Sir John Bell
September 22, 2020
RACING TO BEAT COVID-19: THE OXFORD VACCINE AND OTHER TALES FROM THE UK
Sir John Bell, Regius Professor of Medicine, University of Oxford
Renowned biomedical scientist Sir John Bell is the leader of a rapidly advancing effort to deliver a vaccine that will confer immunity against SARS-CoV-2. President Rick Lifton and Professor Bell will discuss the extraordinary challenges involved in the development and international testing of a new vaccine, as well as other medical measures needed to bring COVID-19 under control.

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Paula ZahnRichard P. Lifton, M.D., Ph.D.
July 9, 2020
COVID-19: WHERE ARE WE NOW AND WHERE ARE WE HEADED?
Paula Zahn and Richard P. Lifton, M.D., Ph.D.
Nine-time Emmy award-winning journalist Paula Zahn will interview President Rick Lifton in a wide-ranging conversation about COVID-19 and research at Rockefeller University. Paula Zahn is the executive producer and host of Investigation Discovery’s On the Case with Paula Zahn, and host of WNET's weekly arts and culture multi-platform showcase, NYC-ARTS. Rick Lifton is president of Rockefeller University and a pioneer in the use of genetics and genomics to understand the mechanisms underlying hypertension, cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, kidney disease, and cancer.

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Paul Bieniasz, Ph.D.
June 18, 2020
FIGHTING COVID-19 WITH CONVALESCENT PLASMA, POTENT ANTIBODIES, AND AN UNDERSTANDING OF IMMUNITY TO SARS-COV-2
Paul Bieniasz, Ph.D.
Virologist Paul Bieniasz and his partner, Theodora Hatziioannou, have developed techniques to measure the levels and potencies of antibodies that neutralize SARS-CoV-2. Using these approaches, their group has collaborated with investigators at Rockefeller, the New York Blood Center, and other institutions to help develop effective convalescent plasma and monoclonal antibody therapy for COVID-19 patients.

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Charles M. Rice, Ph.D.
May 21, 2020
THE RACE TO CONTROL COVID-19: INNOVATIVE STRATEGIES TO DEVELOP NEW DRUGS
Charles M. Rice, Ph.D.
Virologist Charles Rice and his colleagues have identified a human cellular gene that blocks entry into cells by many types of coronaviruses, including the virus that causes COVID-19. The goal of this research is to discover drugs that will help patients during the present pandemic while developing broad-spectrum therapeutics that will also prepare us for future coronavirus outbreaks.

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Marina Caskey, M.D.
May 14, 2020
ANTIBODY THERAPEUTICS AND PATHWAYS TO PREVENTION
Marina Caskey, M.D.
Drawing on her studies of HIV and other infectious diseases, physician-scientist Marina Caskey is leading clinical efforts to identify and evaluate exceptionally potent antibodies derived from patients who have recovered from COVID-19. This work, in collaboration with lab head Michel Nussenzweig, M.D., Ph.D., is essential to the development of immunotherapeutic strategies for the prevention and treatment of coronavirus infection.

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Jean-Laurent Casanova, M.D., Ph.D.
May 7, 2020
WHY ARE SOME YOUNG AND PREVIOUSLY HEALTHY PEOPLE VERY SICK? THE ROLE OF HUMAN GENES IN COVID-19
Jean-Laurent Casanova, M.D., Ph.D.
COVID-19 has a perplexing range of outcomes, from silent infection to mild illness to fatal respiratory disease. Age and pre-existing health conditions are not the sole risk factors, as severe disease can also strike previously healthy people under the age of 50. Jean-Laurent Casanova is searching for inborn errors of immunity—human gene variants that disrupt immune responses to this particular virus and may underlie these very severe yet unexplained cases.

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Michel Nussenzweig , M.D., Ph.D.
April 21, 2020
ANTIBODIES AGAINST COVID-19: THE PATH TO EFFECTIVE TREATMENTS AND A VACCINE
Michel C. Nussenzweig, M.D., Ph.D.
In the first webinar of the series, President Richard P. Lifton provides an overview of Rockefeller's COVID-19 research and immunologist Michel Nussenzweig reports on his efforts to develop an antibody-based treatment for the prevention and control of COVID-19.

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COVID-19 research explainersUnlike most humans, bats are naturally resistant to coronavirus infection. Erich D. Jarvis is now searching their genomes for clues that might explain why SARS-Co