
COVID-19: Our Response
The best and brightest scientists, researchers and clinicians are working together to study treatments and prevention strategies to overcome the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) causing COVID-19. Explore our latest research news and discoveries.
News & Updates
Hear from
Our Experts
Our investigators are experts in fields of microbiology, epidemiology, bioinformatics and more. Hear them share their insight into the COVID-19 pandemic.
Thad Stappenbeck, MD, PhD, comments on the promise of the Pfizer vaccine, and how Cleveland Clinic will be prepared to administer doses as its one of the 10 distribution sites in Ohio.
Thad Stappenbeck, PhD, discusses how many people are likely to receive initial COVID-19 vaccine doses from companies Pfizer and Moderna (following FDA approval), and how “simply stunning” the early data is.
Feixiong Cheng, PhD, explains the details of his network medicine study that identified melatonin as a drug that may be repurposed to treat COVID-19, while cautioning that people should not change their medication routine based on this study alone.
Thad Stappenbeck, MD, PhD, shares what brings him optimism about the early results of the Pfizer vaccine trial, as well as what information is important to still learn, including length of immunity and its protection against severe infections.
Raed Dweik, MD, comments on a future Cleveland Clinic clinical trial planned for 2021 that will investigate how a portable breath test may be adapted to detect COVID-19, and the potential benefit of such a test over other rapid tests including ones that use saliva.
Timothy Chan, MD, PhD, comments on if it’s likely a COVID-19 vaccine will work for everyone, and what populations may be good candidates for treatment with a combination of vaccines.
Serpil Erzurum, MD, who’s working with the Operation Warp Speed federal initiative to find a vaccine, comments on possible vaccine timing and the number of candidate vaccines currently being tested.
Lara Jehi, MD, explains the value of a new Cleveland Clinic-developed risk calculator to predict COVID-19 severity and how biobanking efforts helped to support its development.
Serpil Erzurum, MD, and Jae Jung, PhD, discuss the new center and how its focus on viruses, immunology, personal medicine, genetics and population research will help protect us from SARS-CoV-2 and other emerging pathogens.
Physician-researcher Raed Dweik, MD, discusses the potential for breathalyzers in helping to detect COVID-19, as well as some of the general complexities and challenges that must be considered related to breath tests.
Raed Dweik, MD, explains some of the differences and benefits of preventing COVID-19 infections with vaccines versus treating already ill patients with drugs.
Mina Chung, MD, comments on the growing number of studies that suggest COVID-19 survivors experience related cardiovascular damage, including myocarditis.
Physician-researcher Stanley Hazen, MD, PhD, discusses his COVID-19 research and the evidence that suggests there may be a link between SARS-CoV-2 and the gut microbiome.
The nomogram developed by Lara Jehi, MD, and Michael Kattan, PhD, to predict a patient’s likelihood of testing positive for COVID-19 is mentioned as a tool that may provide clinicians a clearer sense of individual disease risk for their patients.
Serpil Erzurum, MD, comments on the effect the pandemic has had on the status of research studies and trials, and explains how LRI was able to adapt to avoid complete shutdown, unlike some other universities and research institutions.
Vijay Krishna, PhD, comments on the feasibility of engineering and treating patients with nanoparticles, called nanosponges, which attract and essentially inactivate SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.
Raed Dweik, MD, comments on the accuracy of COVID-19 antibody tests, helping to clarify the difference in reliability of COVID-19 antibody and viral tests.
Feixiong Cheng, PhD, comments on new images showing how coronavirus creates tentacles that branch out and may transmit infection to neighboring cells.
Officials are talking about implementing a new strategy that tests groups of people together. Brian Rubin, MD, PhD, comments.
Lara Jehi, MD, explains how Cleveland Clinic is using the model—the first to predict a patient’s likelihood of testing positive for COVID-19—including to inform researchers and clinicians which patients should be followed more closely or hospitalized, and how resources should be allocated.
Lara Jehi, MD, explains how to interpret findings from the team’s recent study of a new predictive model, including that taking some medications is associated with lower risk for a positive COVID-19 test. She cautions that, at this point, the data does not suggest the medications are protective.
Christine McDonald, PhD, and Shaun Stauffer, PhD, share details about their work on COVID-19, including exploring how the disease occurs, what drives some of the complications and how they hope to target some of the body’s natural defenses.
Researchers Michael Kattan, PhD, and Lara Jehi, MD, discuss how their research builds on Cleveland Clinic’s model of clinical and scientific collaboration; how clinical data is facilitating unique investigations; and why waiting for government funding will hinder COVID-19 research.
Michael Kattan, PhD, joins Philanthropy Institute Chair Lara Kalafatis to discuss how predictive analytics are shaping care for patients with COVID-19, how his own battle with cancer inspired his life’s work and how Virtual VeloSano will support cancer research.
Tom Mihaljevic, MD, Cleveland Clinic CEO and President, and Serpil Erzurum, MD, Chair of Lerner Research Institute, discuss key COVID-19 research, including testing, vaccine development and anti-viral medications, as well as the importance of philanthropy in advancing COVID-19 treatments.
Early research about COVID-19 shows men have higher death rates and worse symptoms compared to women. Nima Sharifi, MD, is investigating whether that could be linked to sex hormones.
Antibody testing, which shows who has already been infected with COVID-19 and may have developed some levels of immunity, is not as straight forward as it sounds. Thaddeus Stappenbeck, MD, PhD, (beginning around minute 11) comments on the value of antibody testing during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Serpil Erzurum, MD, Chair of the Lerner Research Institute, and Philanthropy Institute Chair Lara Kalafatis discuss the race to develop a vaccine and promising research that is harnessing the power of big data to discover effective COVID-19 treatments.
Scientists are working to create a vaccine against SARS-CoV-2, but experts say it could take 12 to 18 months to develop and mass-produce. Thaddeus Stappenbeck, MD, PhD, provides insight on the complex process of vaccine development.
Whether addressing the current world-wide COVID-19 pandemic or other major challenges like virus-related cancers, our history of innovation and a team-focused culture of physicians and scientists working together make us uniquely positioned to achieve research breakthroughs. Our rapid pivot in response to the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrates our agile, nimble, multidisciplinary team approach that is dedicated to saving lives through pioneering new treatment and prevention methods. Among others, some of the projects being conducted at Cleveland Clinic include:
The Center for Global and Emerging Pathogens
The goal of our Center for Global and Emerging Pathogens Research is to broaden understanding of emerging pathogens—ranging from Zika virus to SARS-CoV-2 (which causes COVID-19)—and to expedite critically needed treatments and vaccines. Planned for over 18 months, the new Center will co-locate in Cleveland Clinic’s Lerner Research Institute in Cleveland and the soon-to-open Cleveland Clinic Florida Research and Innovation Center. Learn more.
Biorepository and Predictive Analytics
Cleveland Clinic was one of the first organizations to develop a data registry and biobank specific to COVID-19. The biobank collects biological specimens from patients and links data to clinical outcomes using the electronic medical record (EMR). Researchers from across the Cleveland Clinic enterprise are using the dynamic registry data in more than 140 COVID-19 related research projects in areas such as cancer, pediatrics and intensive care.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Network Medicine
With no proven treatment, drug repurposing is one of the quickest ways to identify therapies to control the pandemic. Cleveland Clinic researchers published findings on a network-based prediction model using artificial intelligence to identify targets for drug repurposing in coronavirus and COVID-19. Their approach targets the interaction between human and virus proteins rather than the virus protein itself. Based on their findings, they prioritized 16 drugs and three drug combinations as potential treatments.
A preliminary analysis conducted by Cleveland Clinic researchers demonstrated that melatonin reduced the incidence of a positive SARS-CoV-2 test and is associated with lower hospital admission and lower intensive care unit (ICU) admission (unpublished data). Using Cleveland Clinic’s COVID-19 registry, we can use modeling to determine the right dose of drug combinations most effective for individual patients.
The Center for Therapeutics Discovery
Operating as a core service across the enterprise, a team of clinicians and scientists work closely with the Therapeutics Discovery team to identify biological targets on the virus or in host cells for drug development and intervention. This model integrates biomaterials, data, and information across different platforms to bridge the gap between translational research and clinical drug trials, which will accelerate discoveries and aid in identifying personalized treatments. The ultimate goal is to de-risk drug development efforts, making the programs viable investments for the government or an industry partner to bring to patients faster than ever before. Learn more about the Center for Therapeutics Discovery.
American Heart Association COVID-19 Heart and Brain Research Initiative
The American Heart Association has awarded $1.2 million in grants to teams at 12 institutions across the U.S. to begin fast-tracked studies of the effects of COVID-19 on the body’s cardiovascular and cerebrovascular systems. Cleveland Clinic will serve as the initiative’s COVID-19 Coordinating Center and will collect results from the research projects and coordinate the dissemination of all study findings. Learn more about this initiative.
Clinical Trials
Cleveland Clinic is conducting COVID-19 clinical trials that are currently enrolling participants. Search our clinical trials database to learn more.
View TrialsAdditional Information
Visit Cleveland Clinic’s website to learn more about COVID-19 and access information for patients and employees.
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