COVID-19 RESEARCH

UNDERSTANDING THE PANDEMIC'S IMPACTS

 

Within weeks of the onset of the COVID-19 outbreak, the University of Utah community mobilized enormous efforts toward understanding the nature of the novel coronavirus and its impact on society. Today some 200 investigators from nearly every discipline are leading more than 400 COVID-19-related projects to study the virus from all angles—from testing and vaccine trials to its impact on vulnerable communities and rates of domestic violence.

The flash flood-like emergence of COVID-19 has shined a spotlight on University of Utah Health’s Immunology, Inflammation, and Infectious Disease (3i) initiative that brings scientists from diverse backgrounds together to conduct research in these fields. With 3i in place, the U and partners were able to quickly leverage our strengths to answer the most pressing questions about COVID-19.

RESEARCH BY THE NUMBERS


400+

research projects


$1.3M

in U seed funding


$61M

in external funding


643

academic publications


9,500+

times cited

LIFE-CHANGING RESEARCH

Our U research community is an important part of both the international response to the pandemic and helping our Utah neighbors and economy to recover. As experts, they are informing not only state policy but national policy as well. These investigators are innovating solutions to alleviate the burden on vulnerable populations and to help our community rebound. Below are the wide-ranging areas in which University of Utah researchers are making a difference.

 

Testing and
Treating COVID-19

Finding better tests, treatments, and a cure for COVID-19.

Mental Health
and the Brain

Exploring neurological impacts and how people are psychologically adjusting to the disruptions in everyday life.

Social Impact
and Policy

Understanding how to better protect and prepare people from the unintended consequences of efforts to reduce exposure to COVID-19.

Data Science and
Genomic Medicine

Efforts to make better predictions of COVID-19 and engage cutting-edge methods across artificial intelligence, genetics, and mathematical modeling.

Environmental Impact and
Minimizing Exposure

Understanding how our actions during COVID-19 are impacting the environment, and how to minimize exposure to the virus across settings.

Health Impacts
Across Populations

Investigating the many ways that COVID-19 impacts people from different communities, including long-haulers.

COVID-19 RESEARCH NEWS

A SAMPLING OF  STORIES ABOUT HOW OUR RESEARCH IS MAKING A DIFFERENCE

Research on long COVID in Utah
Health & Populations

While most people who have had COVID-19 recover within a few weeks, as many as 1 in 3 people experience long term side effects of […]

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Proteins in saliva could aid in COVID-19 detection and predict severe illness
Testing & Treatment

Reprinted with permission from the American Physiological Society. Researchers have identified a family of proteins that is significantly elevated in the saliva of patients hospitalized […]

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Convalescent plasma could lower hospitalization risk for newly infected COVID-19 patients
Testing & Treatment

Early treatment of newly diagnosed COVID-19 patients with plasma extracted from individuals who have recovered from the disease reduces the need for hospitalization by more […]

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The miracle of mucus
Environmental Impact

Remember when it was nearly impossible to buy disinfectant wipes? In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, people desperately wiped down surfaces to prevent […]

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Can salivary glands infected with COVID-19 increase risk for relapse or reinfection?
Testing & Treatment

University of Utah Health scientists are leading an effort to determine if salivary glands infected with the virus that causes COVID-19 could diminish a person’s long-term […]

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Study: in much of the U.S., virtual school did not lower COVID-19 case rates in surrounding communities
Social & Policy

Analysis shows no difference in COVID-19 rates between U.S. counties where school was held in-person and those that had virtual school, except in the South […]

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U of U Health leads national studies of “long covid” in adults and during pregnancy
Health & Populations

University of Utah Health scientists are on the leading edge of a pair of large studies investigating the long-term effects of COVID-19. The nationwide studies, supported […]

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Young people recover quickly from rare myocarditis side effect of COVID-19 vaccine
Health & Populations

Adapted with permission from the American Heart Association. Most young people under the age of 21 who developed suspected COVID-19 vaccine-related heart muscle inflammation known as […]

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HOW TO GET INVOLVED

PARTICIPATE IN A STUDY

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