Monday, August 08, 2022
New Study Finds Rapid Decline in Vaccine-Boosted Neutralizing Antibodies Against Omicron Subvariant BA.5
A study led in part by investigators at the University of Maryland School of Medicine’s (UMSOM) Center for Vaccine Development and Global Health found that although COVID-19 booster vaccinations in adults elicit high levels of neutralizing antibodies against the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2, those antibody levels decrease substantially within three months. Kirsten E. Lyke, MD, Professor of Medicine at UMSOM and scientist at CVD, is Co-Chair and site Principal Investigator for the study, and Meagan Deming, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor of Medicine at the UMSOM, also a scientist at CVD, is Vice-Chair of the study, which is a collaboration between investigators at the UMSOM’s CVD and the Institute of Human Virology (IHV).
Friday, July 29, 2022
The AM Clique: Breaking Down Monkeypox With Dr. Omar Harfouch
You’re hearing it all over the news so we’re breaking down Monkeypox for you. This morning The AM Clique talked to Dr. Omar Harfouch. He’s telling us everything we need to know to stay safe!
Monday, July 25, 2022
Institute of Human Virology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine Supports First-of-Its-Kind Conference to Evaluate the Public Health Magnitude of Long COVID And Define A Global R
The conference, hosted at the University of Maryland, Baltimore, reviewed the wealth of cohort data on long COVID, constructed a framework to characterize and define the conditions, and identified the most critical and urgent areas of research needed to better understand, diagnose, and treat this developing public health crisis.
Tuesday, July 19, 2022
Six-Country African Study Shows COVID-19 Can Be Dangerous in Pregnancy
A new study involving hospitalized women in six African countries from the University of Maryland School of Medicine’s (UMSOM) Institute of Human Virology (IHV) showed that pregnant women with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, had double the risk of being admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) and four-times the risk of dying in-hospital than pregnant women who did not have COVID-19.
Thursday, June 23, 2022
New Research Shows Mothers’ HIV Status, Breastfeeding, and the Infant Gut Microbiome Can Have Long-Term Impact on Infant Health
Babies born to women with HIV often have poorer health and under-developed growth in the early months of life than infants born to women without the infection — even if those babies don’t contract HIV during birth, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM)’s Institute for Genome Sciences (IGS) and Institute of Human Virology (IHV). The study also provides new insights into why these health issues often continue throughout the babies’ lives.
Wednesday, June 22, 2022
University of Maryland School of Medicine Faculty Scientists and Clinicians Publish Findings of World’s First Successful Transplant of Genetically Modified Pig Heart into Human Patient
Six months ago, University of Maryland School of Medicine surgeon-scientists successfully implanted a genetically modified pig heart into a 57 year-old patient with terminal heart disease in a first-of-its-kind surgery. It was considered an early success because the patient lived for two months with a strong functioning heart showing no obvious signs of rejection, according to a new paper published today in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Wednesday, May 25, 2022
NIH Awards Grant to Train Global Health Scientists in Low-and-Middle-Income Countries
Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) received a $5.5 million award from the National Institute of Health’s Fogarty International Center to help foster the next generation of global health scientists. The award entitled, “Integrated Network of Scholars in Global Health Research Training (INSIGHT)” will expand global health research across sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean by providing one-year mentored research training to U.S. and lower-middle income country scholars.
Friday, May 20, 2022
NIH Grant Awarded to Study HIV Drug-Resistant Genetic Mutations Across Africa
University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM)’s Institute of Human Virology (IHV) researchers received funding from the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) for $2.7 million to study genetic changes in two genes from the HIV-1 virus that may make it resistant to antiretroviral therapy. The study, named INSPIRE, will analyze genetic variation in types of HIV circulating in a handful of African countries that will help to better understand the implications of these mutations and will improve clinical management of patients.
Tuesday, February 15, 2022
Multi-Country African Research Reports High Rates of COVID-19-Related Deaths Among Hospitalized Children and Adolescents
African children and adolescents hospitalized with COVID-19 experience much higher mortality rates than Europeans or North Americans of the same age, according to a recently published study conducted by researchers from the Institute of Human Virology (IHV) at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) and the Institute of Human Virology Nigeria (IHVN). Both organizations are members of the Global Virus Network (GVN).
Wednesday, December 01, 2021
$6.5M Grant Awarded to Develop Treatment for Alcoholic Liver Disease-Associated Kidney Dysfunction
The Institute of Human Virology (IHV) at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) and MitoPower LLC (“MitoPower”) were awarded an SBIR (Small Business Innovation Research) grant of up to $6.5 million over five years from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. The funds will support the development of MitoPower’s lead compound, MP-04, for the treatment of kidney dysfunction due to alcoholic liver disease, a condition known as alcoholic liver disease-associated hepatorenal syndrome (HRS). The IHV, a Center of Excellence member of the Global Virus Network (GVN), will conduct first-in-human single and multiple ascending dose studies to test the safety of the compound, followed by a Phase 1b study in patients.