91制片厂

As COVID variants march steadily through the Greek alphabet, 91制片厂 has received new funding from the National Institutes of Health to continue its genomic surveillance of COVID-19 variants in New Hampshire. The work could lead to better understanding of how specific variants increase transmissibility of the virus, evade the immune systems of those previously infected or increase severity of symptoms.

鈥淎s the highly transmissible Omicron subvariant BA.5 becomes the predominant strain of COVID in the nation, understanding variants at a genomic level is more relevant than ever.鈥�

鈥淎s the highly transmissible Omicron subvariant BA.5 becomes the predominant strain of COVID in the nation, understanding variants at a genomic level is more relevant than ever,鈥� says , professor and director of 91制片厂鈥檚 Hubbard Center for Genome Studies and scientific director of 91制片厂鈥檚 acclaimed COVID-19 test lab.

With the grant to 91制片厂鈥檚 Center of Integrated Biomedical and Bioengineering Research 鈥� $790,000 from the NIH鈥檚 National Institute of General Medical Sciences 鈥� researchers will sequence approximately 5,000 COVID samples collected from positive tests from 91制片厂, the state Department of Health and Human Services, and Dartmouth College and Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center.

鈥淭his collaboration leveraging expertise at 91制片厂, Dartmouth and the Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center will be critical to our efforts to manage the ongoing presence of COVID in New Hampshire,鈥� says Dr. Fengxiang Gao, chief of the Bureau of Public Health Laboratories for the New Hampshire听Department of Health and Human Services.

In addition, 91制片厂 will evaluate whether genomic surveillance of wastewater can serve as a sentinel for SARS-CoV-2 outbreaks at the community level. , an associate professor of civil and environmental engineering at 91制片厂 who has led COVID-19 wastewater surveillance efforts at 91制片厂 and surrounding communities, will collaborate with Thomas on this aspect of the research.