Our Barrier immunology Deputy Branch Lead Dr Sean Knight has been awarded a BMA Foundation J Moulton grant for research into Long COVID.

Up to 70 percent of patients hospitalised for COVID-19 pneumonitis have persistent symptoms several months after the acute infection. Often, no discernible organ damage is found, and patients are diagnosed with Long COVID. New research to improve our understanding of inflammation in Long COVID could help to unlock potential future treatments.

Dr Knight explained:

 “Given the scale of immune dysregulation in acute COVID-19, it is expected that parts of the immune system will stay activated for some time.

 

“We have previously defined the key innate and adaptive immune signatures associated with acute COVID-19 and have now collected blood samples from our patients as they recover.

 

“This funding will be used to compare the rate of recovery of COVID-19 immune signatures in patients who have made a full recovery to those developing Long COVID. Identifying the key pathways associated with Long COVID will provide insight to drive further mechanistic work, as well as identify potential therapeutic targets.

This funding continues the Lydia Becker Institute’s research on COVID-19 and our collaborations with partners such as the Northern Care Alliance.

Related