La Sparta study to determine if preexisting immunity to SARS-COV-2 protects against repeat exposure

A new study to determine whether preexisting immunity to SARS-CoV-2 can provide protection against repeat exposure has just opened at the Lundquist Institute for Biomedical Innovation at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, led by Dr. Elaine Reed, director of the UCLA Immunogenetics Center and Dailjit S. and Elaine Sarkaria Endowed Chair in Diagnostic Medicine. The Los Angeles SeroPrevalence And Respiratory Tract Assessment (LA SPARTA) study is funded by the NIH and supported by UCLA CTSI. 

The study opened this month and will enroll 100 front line providers who are health care workers, non-clinical Harbor-UCLA employees, law enforcement, or paramedics and emergency medical service representing the diverse racial and ethnic population of Los Angeles. Subjects will be tested by screening for symptoms of COVID-19, testing saliva for SARS-CoV-2, and monthly blood tests to evaluate participants’ antibody response. This collaborative effort joins the immunologic expertise of Reed and Dr. Joanna Schaenman, infectious diseases physician at UCLA. The study also includes the clinical and translational research expertise of Drs. Loren Miller and Michael Yeaman, collaborators from Lundquist/Harbor-UCLA. 

For questions, contact Donna Phan Tran, SPARTA’s Lundquist/Harbor-UCLA research coordinator, at LaSparta@Lundquist.org or (765) 387-7805.

Image source: UCLA

Image caption: Elaine Reed, PhD, UCLA.