UBC gets $14 million to research COVID-19

Researchers at the University of B.C. have received $14.3 million in funding from the federal government to study health issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Nineteen teams at UBC working in drug research, global health, obstetrics, medical imaging, public health and Indigenous health are receiving the support, UBC said in a news release Thursday.

The money will help further research into medical and societal responses to the virus, said Gail Murphy, vice-president of research and innovation.

“These research projects, which range from developing treatments to addressing the impacts of COVID-19 on vulnerable and marginalized populations, could have national and global impacts, and we are grateful for this support,” Murphy said in a statement.

Some of the projects include studying the use of artificial intelligence to search for SARS-CoV-2 inhibitors among known drugs, using nanoparticles to deliver antibody therapy against COVID -19, and tracking household transmission of COVID-19 in Africa.

There is also money set aside for a UBC team creating a genetic library to support drug development, identifying patients at risk of severe complications using sequencing technology, and creating an emergency COVID -19 rapid response network.

Other teams are looking at public health data, for example, to assess the impact of pandemic health measures on young people, or to understand how it affects resource-poor countries.

For a full list of all the researchers at UBC receiving this funding, visit the university’s communication page at news.ubc.ca.