Marta Maria Gaglia, Ph.D.

SARS coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus that causes COVID-19, has spread quickly throughout the globe, infecting millions of people and killing more than 350,000 within a few months. The most severe and deadly COVID-19 cases are associated with a hyperactive and uncontrolled immune response. Both the rapid spread of SARS-CoV-2 and the immune complications of COVID-19 are likely linked to the ability of the virus to manipulate and evade our immune responses. However, at present we do not know how SARS-CoV-2 controls our immune system. We propose to comprehensively identify and characterize the SARS-CoV-2 factors responsible for immune evasion. We will use information about the related SARS coronavirus to focus on a set of candidate viral proteins and determine the consequences of inactivating SARS-CoV-2 proteins on immune signals. Understanding which SARS-CoV-2 factors are involved in immune evasion will enable us to better treat COVID-19 and restrict transmission.