Drug Also Being Tested in Clinical Trials Against the New Coronavirus
BY BIJETA PRASAI, NHLBI
The drug remdesivir has antiviral effects against a variety of viruses including Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) in rhesus monkeys, according to a study conducted by NIAID researchers at the Rocky Mountain Labs in Hamilton, Montana. Because MERS-CoV and the new COVID-19 coronavirus are closely related viruses, the scientists believe that remdesivir treatment will work against the new coronavirus as well. Clinical trials of remdesivir for COVID-19 are already underway
Part of the Next Generation of Clinical Researchers
BY LAURA STEPHENSON CARTER
Congratulations to the five investigators who recently joined the ranks of the Lasker Clinical Research Scholars Program, NIH’s collaborative effort with the Albert and Mary Lasker Foundation to nurture the next generation of clinical researchers: Sean Agbor-Enoh; Paule V. Joseph; Joanna Klubo-Gwiezdzinska; Nirali N. Shah; and David Takeda.
A Husband-Wife’s Quest to Cure a Genetic Prion Disease
BY SUNITA CHOPRA, NCI
Sonia Vallabh and her husband Eric Minikel hadn’t set out to build careers in science. But a tragic event changed their careers and they became patient-scientists in search of a cure for prion disease.
Shifts in White Blood-Cell Types Leading Up to a Breast-Cancer Diagnosis
BY MARLA BROADFOOT, NIEHS
Shifts in the populations of different types of leukocytes, or white-blood cells, in a woman’s bloodstream may signal a later diagnosis of breast cancer according to a study by researchers at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.
Palliative-care researchers Lori Wiener and Meaghann Weaver have written a children’s storybook—The Gift of Gerbert’s Feathers—to help families and caregivers of children with a terminal illness talk about progressive illness, engage children in decision making, and reduce the stigma surrounding the topic of death.
