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COVID-19 Research at Dana-Farber
In 1947, Dr. Sidney Farber’s pioneering research developed modern chemotherapy for children with leukemia. Dana-Farber Cancer Institute has been a worldwide medical research leader ever since. Today, Dana-Farber is applying its pioneering research tradition to developing novel approaches towards understanding and treating COVID-19.
Dana-Farber scientists are developing groundbreaking strategies to bar the COVID-19 virus from entering cells—thus preventing infection and averting transmission of the virus. Supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and other funding organizations, Dana-Farber is collaborating with fellow scientists worldwide to map an understanding of how the virus interacts with its host human proteins.
Dana-Farber researchers are also at the forefront of developing antibody therapy for COVID-19—utilizing a Dana-Farber-developed collection of 27 billion human antibodies against viruses, bacteria, and other bodily invaders. Dana-Farber’s prior experience in developing treatments for SARS, MERS, and other viral-borne illnesses gives us a deep level of expertise for attacking this new virus.
Read more about some of the COVID-19 research happening at Dana-Farber:
Dana-Farber Researchers at Forefront of Development of Antibody Therapy for COVID-19
As scientists race to develop and test new treatments for COVID-19, Dana-Farber’s Wayne Marasco, MD, PhD, and his lab team are bringing one of the world’s most formidable resources to the effort: a “library” of 27 billion human antibodies against viruses, bacteria, and other bodily invaders.
Pioneering a ‘Staple’ Approach for Treating the Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Strategies to bar the coronavirus (COVID-19) from entering cells—thereby preventing infection and averting transmission of the virus—are among the most promising treatment approaches to COVID-19. A novel approach called “stapled peptides” has been pioneered by Dana-Farber’s Loren Walensky, MD, PhD, and his colleagues.
Dana-Farber researcher Marc Vidal, PhD, is part of a collaborative team that has created a reference map of over 50,000 protein-protein interactions that provides information to help scientists better understand how faulty genes cause diseases such as cancer, and how viruses (such as the coronavirus that causes COVID-19) interact with their host human proteins.
Philanthropy helps make research at Dana-Farber possible. All of us at Dana-Farber and the Jimmy Fund are grateful for the outpouring of support from our donors, especially in this uncertain time. Donations to our Emergency Response Fund can help keep patients safe and continue receiving the cancer treatments they need during this crisis.
