cryo-EM

IRP Scientists Continue Efforts to Quell Pandemic

COVID-19 Research at NIH Show No Signs of Slowing

SARS-CoV-2 virus particle

It’s been more than two years since the first outbreak of COVID-19 occurred in China. During that time, amazing scientific advances have dramatically altered prevention and treatment for the illness, including the development of remarkably safe and effective vaccines. However, even with widespread vaccination, scientists predict that the disease will continue to circulate in society indefinitely, with seasonal ebbs and flows like the flu.

As a result, even as COVID-19 vaccine shots rolled out by the hundreds of millions, numerous IRP researchers continued studying the disease and the virus responsible for it. Many of these projects have been funded by the NIH’s Intramural Targeted Anti-COVID-19 Program (ITAC), an initiative that provides IRP researchers with funding for research related to COVID-19. Over the past year and a half, ITAC has provided more than $12 million to support a wide variety of projects — more than can be covered in just one blog post. Read on to learn about just a handful of the many ways IRP researchers are contributing to the fight against COVID-19, and stay tuned next week for another blog describing even more ITAC-funded COVID research.

IRP Supercomputer Enables Rapid Response to Coronavirus

Biowulf Lends Massive Computing Power to NIH Research Efforts

rows of computer servers

Nations around the world are bringing every weapon in their arsenals to the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic: vaccines, new and existing therapeutics, personal protective equipment like face masks, and enough hand sanitizer to fill the Atlantic Ocean. The NIH community is contributing to this unprecedented effort with a tool that no other research institution can claim: Biowulf, the world’s most powerful supercomputer solely dedicated to biomedical research.

IRP Researchers Tackle Coronavirus Crisis

New Studies Will Help Efforts to Contain and Treat COVID-19

coronavirus in a patient sample

Most of the time, science is a slow process, with many experiments taking years to yield results. However, as endeavors like the Manhattan Project have shown, scientists can dramatically accelerate the pace of discovery when necessary. Over the past few months, the novel coronavirus pandemic has spurred a burst of research from scientists around the world, including numerous IRP studies. Read on for a round-up of the latest IRP COVID-19 research and learn how IRP investigators are assisting in the fight against the novel coronavirus.

Launchpad for Discovery: NIH’s Postbac IRTA Experience

With plans to travel to Swaziland and volunteer with the Baylor International Pediatric AIDS Initiative (BIPAI) and a desire to address issues related to health disparities in the treatment of HIV/AIDS, I began navigating the unfamiliar terrain of life after college.

Johnetta at George Mason graduation

Technology Incubators and Imaging at NIH Research Festival

Until recently, visualizing many of the processes underlying human diseases had been almost impossible. The NIH IRP’s role in developing technologies that can peer into human organs and cells is a key component of the Long-Term Intramural Research Program Planning Report and basis of sessions during this year’s #ResearchFest.