How UCLA scientists are using stem cells to take on COVID-19

As the COVID-19 pandemic rages on, UCLA researchers are rising to the occasion by channeling their specialized expertise to seek new and creative ways to reduce the spread of the virus and save lives. Using years’ — or even decades’ — worth of knowledge they’ve acquired studying other diseases and biological processes, many of them have shifted their focus to the novel coronavirus, and they’re collaborating across disciplines as they work toward new diagnostic tests, treatments and vaccines.

At UCLA, more than 230 research projects, including several being led by members of the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at UCLA, are contributing to that mission. One such study is focused on immune response to the virus, led by Dr. Gay Crooks, professor of pathology and laboratory medicine and of pediatrics at the David Geffen School of Medicine, and co-director of the Broad Stem Cell Research Center; and Dr. Christopher Seet, assistant professor of hematology-oncology at the David Geffen School of Medicine and a former UCLA CTSI KL2 Awardee. Read more here.

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Image caption: Image Source: UCLA Broad Stem Cell Research Center