Members of the Lung Biology Institute are actively engaged in fighting COVID-19 on many fronts. Our clinicians in the Pulmonary and Critical Care division at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania are working tirelessly to care for the most critically ill patients. They are truly on the front lines of this fight and we are incredibly proud of their courage and strength.
Investigators in the LBI are developing new animal and cell models to further our understanding of SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 disease. Much of this work is being performed in collaboration with Susan Weiss, PhD and other members of Penn’s newly formed Center for Research on Coronavirus. Several laboratories are developing new mouse models which the community can use to study how COVID-19 disease impacts the respiratory system and other organs involved in critical co-morbidities. Several investigators are leveraging our deep expertise in stem cell and regenerative biology to utilize human stem cell-derived lung alveolar epithelial cell cultures to better understand the mechanisms by which SARS-CoV-2 infects the lung epithelium. Such efforts inspire the entire LBI community and exemplify our integrated efforts to respond to this health care crisis.
