The University of Glasgow is at the heart of the COVID-19 research response in Scotland and the UK.

Scientists at the University are currently working on a number of vital COVID-19 related research projects, including vaccines, testing, treatment, virus behaviour, health complications and the wider effects of the pandemic on society.

The MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research (CVR) is working in partnership with colleagues across the UK on a range of research areas related to the new coronavirus, including working closely with colleagues in NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and the University of Oxford on Phase III vaccine trials.

Most recently, Dr Toni Ho from the CVR, along with collegues across the UK, helped develop a COVID-19 risk identification tool - the most accurate to date - designed to help clinical staff choose the best course of treatment for patients admitted to hospital. The tool, built by the ISARIC Coronavirus Clinical Characterisation Consortium, will help identify gorups using clinical information and tests carried out upon arrival at hospital to predict patients' risk of death. 

Researchers and clinicians in Glasgow will also lead a global study into the longer-term health impacts of COVID-19. The international, multi-site study is launched by ISARIC to measure prevalence and risk factors of long-term health and psychosocial consequences of the disease and is led by Dr Janet Scott, also from the CVR. 

Research areas also include fundamental studies to understand the nature of SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus which causes COVID-19, genomic sequencing and bioinformatics analyses of the virus from patient samples, and the identification of potential therapies.

The University of Glasgow is also hosting a major COVID-19 testing centre at our Clinical Innovation Zone at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital campus. The Lighthouse Lab in Glasgow, officially opened on 22 April and is made possible by collaboration and support from Scottish and UK Governments, NHS, industry partners and with the help of over 500 staff volunteers. The Lighthouse Lab has now processed well over 1 million tests and counting, and is introducing automated testing. 

Professor Massimo Palmarini, Director of the MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, said: “The CVR and its scientists are at the centre of Scotland’s – and the UK’s – response to the current coronavirus outbreak. As the largest group of virologists in the UK with the facilities to handle samples from infected patients, we are well placed to conduct pivotal research into emerging diseases such as COVID-19.

“In the coming weeks and months, our scientists will continue to work in collaboration with NHS Scotland, sequencing the virus, as well as conducting further research into SARS-CoV-2, its mechanisms of action and potential therapies.”

In early March 2020, CVR scientists working in partnership with the NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde West of Scotland Specialist Virology Centre, rapidly sequenced the virus from the first COVID-19 patient confirmed in Scotland.

Professor Emma Thomson, Dr Ana Da Silva Filipe and a team of scientists at the Centre, will continue to rapidly sequence SARS-CoV-2 virus from COVID-19  samples obtained from patients, from across Scotland, as long as the outbreak lasts. This genomic information will be made publically available immediately following sequencing and genomic analysis.

The rapid sequencing of COVID-19 samples is essential to further research into the virus. Scientists from around the world are able to extract information from the genetic code – or blueprint – of this new coronavirus, that will ultimately help the creation of vaccines.

Dr Ana Filipe, Head of the CVR’s Viral Genomics facility who led the efforts to rapidly sequence this virus said: “The rapid turnaround of the sample and interpretation of the data was only possible due to excellent coordination between clinicians, diagnostic labs, and research partners. These collaborations are critically important to ensuring an effective response to outbreaks like this. Equally important is the trend of open sharing of reagents and protocols amongst researchers and the public sharing of sequencing data, which has been a defining feature of the response to recent viral epidemics”.

Speaking in the media recently, Professor Emma Thomson said: “We know that we need to respond rapidly to this outbreak, which is why this laboratory has taken the decision to prioritise efforts to sequence and understand this virus.”

The CVR is also a partner in the International Severe Acute Respiratory and Emerging Infection Consortium (ISARIC), while Dr Antonia Ho – a Clinical Senior Lecturer at the CVR and Honorary Consultant in Infectious Diseases – is currently coordinating the recruitment of Scottish patients to the ISARIC UK Clinical Characterisation Protocol, The study aims to answer urgent questions on how to treat patients and control the outbreak in the UK. CVR will act as the repository for samples from patients recruited to this protocol in Scotland, and will undertake full genome sequencing of SARS-CoV-2 from these samples.

Dr Ho said: “This coronavirus is a new virus, to which none of us have prior immunity to. Therefore, most of the UK population are susceptible. It appears to be very infectious – much more so than flu – as evident by the high number of healthcare workers that have been infected.

“We should be worried but there is no need to panic. For the UK public, frequent handwashing, good cough and sneezing etiquette, avoid touching your face and close contact with anyone who appear unwell remains the key measures to avoid infection. Furthermore, keep up-to-date with evolving FCO travel advice and Government advice, look after vulnerable family members and friends, and ensure you are up-to-date with vaccinations.”

The CVR is also working to develop a toolbox of reagents that will help current and future studies of this virus. This includes a  partnership with the MRC Phosphorylation Unit at the University of Dundee to generate antibodies against SARS-CoV-2. All of these reagents will be made available to the research community.

The MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research (CVR) was established in 2010 and represents the UK’s largest grouping of human and veterinary virologists. The CVR is embedded within the Institute of Infection, Immunity and Inflammation at the University of Glasgow which provides excellent research opportunities to investigate virus-host interactions and immune response to virus infection. The Centre is funded by the Medical Research Council, the UK’s leading publicly funded biomedical research organisation, and by a variety of other funding bodies including the Wellcome Trust, the BBSRC, EU and others.

First published: 10 September 2020

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