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Clinical and translational research receives $61 million grant support

Clinical and translational research receives $61 million grant support

The School of Medicine has received a $61 million grant from the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to support the infrastructure for developing and carrying out biomedical research studies. The funding supports Washington University’s Institute of Clinical and Translational Sciences (ICTS), which was established in 2007. The … Continued

COVID-19 infection linked to higher risk of neuropathy symptoms

In a study of more than 1,500 people who were tested for SARS-CoV-2 during the first year of the pandemic, the researchers found that those who tested positive for the virus were about three times more likely to report pain, numbness or tingling in their hands and feet as those with negative tests.

Antibodies improve in quality for months after COVID-19 vaccination

For at least six months after COVID-19 vaccination, antibodies produced by immune cells become steadily more formidable and more precisely targeted against the virus that causes COVID-19, according to a study of the antibody response to the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

Researchers unravel omicron’s secrets to better understand COVID-19

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, led by Michael S. Diamond, MD, PhD, the Herbert S. Gasser Professor of Medicine, immediately started investigating the new variant of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Within a few weeks, they had data showing that omicron was a mixed bag: It could resist most … Continued

Younger moms hesitant to vaccinate kids against COVID, study finds

Fathers older than age 34 were more open to having their child vaccinated against COVID-19, while younger Black and white mothers were the least open to it, finds a new survey of Medicaid recipients from the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis.

Omicron evades some but not all monoclonal antibodies: study

The laboratory study, led by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri, tested five antibody combinations including precursor antibodies discovered at Vanderbilt University Medical Center that subsequently were optimized by AstraZeneca and which were authorized for emergency use in patients last month.

What makes an mRNA vaccine so effective against severe COVID-19?

A new study from researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital shines light on the quality of the immune response triggered by mRNA vaccines. The study shows that the Pfizer vaccine strongly and persistently activates a kind of helper immune cell that assists antibody-producing cells in … Continued

COVID-19 vaccine elicits weak antibody response in people taking immunosuppressant

People who received two doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine while on TNF inhibitors — a class of immunosuppressants used to treat rheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune conditions — generated less powerful and shorter-lived antibodies against the virus that causes COVID-19 than healthy people and those on other kinds of immunosuppressants, according to a study … Continued

Older people’s resilience during pandemic focus of $9 million grant

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have received a five-year, $9.1 million grant from the National Institute on Aging of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to study resilience in older adults before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. The grant also will fund research into the pandemic’s cognitive and emotional effects … Continued

COVID-19 long-haulers at risk of developing kidney damage, disease

Research continues to mount indicating that many people who’ve had COVID-19 go on to suffer a range of adverse conditions months after their initial infections. A deep dive into federal health data adds to those concerns, pointing to a significant decline in kidney function among those dubbed COVID-19 long-haulers — and even among those who … Continued