Projects
What can olfactory dysfunction in COVID-19 tell us about the mysteries of the sense of smell? KU Leuven
For many years, the human sense of smell was considered a “nonessential”
sense.
With olfactory dysfunction as a prominent and often sole symptom of
COrona Virus (SARS-CoV-2) Induced Disease (COVID-19), large
patient cohorts continue to experience the impact of postviral
olfactory dysfunction on their quality of life. Indirectly, the current
pandemic has renewed interest in the human sense of smell.
The ...
CARE Corona Accelerated R&D in Europe KU Leuven
The Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic has emerged as the largest global health threat to humanity in this century. According to the World Health Organisation Situation Report of March 28th 2020, 571,659 patients were diagnosed with Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) and 26,493 deaths were reported globally. The wide spectrum of clinical symptoms, disease severity in high risk individuals, transmission ...
COVID19 Immune Repertoire Sequencing Institute of Tropical Medicine
Connecting European Cohorts to Increase Common and Effective Response to SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic (ORCHESTRA). University of Antwerp
Monitoring SARS-CoV-2-specific immunity upon COVID-19 vaccination in nursing home residents and staff Ghent University
Nearly 60% of all COVID-19 deaths in Belgium so far were nursing home (NH) residents. Therefore, in January 2021, Belgium prioritised NH residents and staff for vaccination with the Pfizer-BioNTech (PB) vaccine in the COVID-19 vaccination campaign. The PB vaccine showed 95% efficacy in a phase III trial, but older people were largely underrepresented. This is worrisome, since older adults most often suffer from immunosenescence (decreased ...
Connecting European Cohorts to Increase Common and Effective Response to SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic (ORCHESTRA). University of Antwerp
Acquired immunity and immunologic aspects of SARS-CoV-2 infection a population of patients and healthcare workers in Multidisciplinary Oncologic Centres. (MOCOR-Study). University of Antwerp
“Design and synthesis of inhibitors of the SARS-CoV-2 main protease based on the 1,2,3-triazole scaffold” KU Leuven
This project is focused towards obtaining new chemical entities with potential application to the pharmacological management of COVID-19 disease, pathology caused by infection with the SARS-CoV2 virus. The rapid worldwide spread of this disease has outlined the high priority of scientific efforts towards the discovery and obtaining of new therapies based on small molecule drugs, complementing the effectiveness of vaccines approved to date. In ...
The performance of saliva specimens for the molecular detection of SARS-CoV-2 and a saliva pooling strategy as a diagnostic tool for epidemiological studies in current SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Ghent University
Nasopharyngeal swabs are recommended for the molecular diagnosis of COVID-19 but offer disadvantages such as dire shortage. Therefore, we aim to validate saliva as an alternative specimen. We further plan to design a saliva pooling strategy as a part of a diagnostic tool for largescale
real-time epidemiological testing. Such strategy will be of value in the management of current pandemic.