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COVID-19 Research & Outreach

More than 32 CeZAP faculty affiliates continue to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic through research, education, and outreach activities, including developing vaccines and antivirals, studying the biology of the virus, providing undergraduate and graduate course lectures on COVID-19, and educating the public about aerosol transmission, vaccine, and public health measures in a large number of news media such as CNN, CBS, and NPR, etc. 

CeZAP faculty affiliates published more than 40 papers on COVID-19 and continue to contribue to outreach efforts with daily mentions in national and top-tier media outlets. 

Featured News Articles on COVID-19 research


An evaluation of a new rapid qPCR test for the detection of 2019-novel coronavirus nucleocapsid (N1) gene in wastewater in Roanoke and Salem VA sewersheds Lehrer LW, Lewis AM, Tolliver S, Degen M, Singh R, Houser S, Rao J. J Water Health DOI: 10.2166/wh.2024.085


SARS-CoV-2 Rapidly Infects Peripheral Sensory and Autonomic Neurons, Contributing to Central Nervous System Neuroinvasion before Viremia. Joyce JD, Moore GA, Goswami P, Harrell TL, Taylor TM, Hawks SA, Green JC, Jia M, Irwin MD, Leslie E, Duggal NK, Thompson CK,Bertke AS. Int J Mol Sci. DOI: 10.3390/ijms25158245.

Mathematical analysis of simple behavioral epidemic models. LeJeune L, Ghaffarzadegan N, Childs LM, Saucedo O.Math Biosci.  DOI: 10.1016/j.mbs.2024.109250

Doff Thy Gown - Shedding Contact Precautions for COVID-19. Rabin AS, Marr LC, Blumberg HM. Clin Infect Dis DOI: 10.1093/cid/ciae276

A selective sweep in the Spike gene has driven SARS-CoV-2 human adaptation Kang L, He G, Sharp A, Wang XBrown A, Michalak P, Weger-Lucarelli J. Cell DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2021.07.007

Development and implementation of a scalable and versatile test for COVID-19 diagnostics in rural communities Ceci A, Munox-Ballester C, Tegge AN, Brown KL, Umans RA, Michel FM, Patel D, Tewari B, Martin J Alcoreza O, Maynard T Martine-Martine D, Bordwine P, Bissell N, Friedlander MJ, Sontheimer H, Finkielstein CV. Nature Communications DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-24552-4

Airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2    Prather KA, Marr LC, Schooley RT, McDiarmid MA, Wilson ME, Milton DK. Science. 2020 Oct 16;370(6514):303-304.doi:10.1126/science.abf0521

SARS-CoV-2 infection in the gastrointestinal tract: fecal-oral route of transmission for COVID-19?   Meng XJ, Liang, TJ. Gastroenterology 2021 Jan 7:S0016-5085(21)00030-5. doi:10.1053/j.gastro.2021.01.005

BCG vaccine protection from severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)  Escobar LE, Molina-Cruz A, Barillas-Mury C. Proc Nal Acad Sci USA.2020 Jul 28;117(30):17720-17726.doi: 10.1073/pnas.2008410117

Covid‐19: One year on….  Fricker RD. Significance. (RSS and the ASA). 03 February 2021. doi: 10.1111/1740-9713.01485.

Individual quarantine versus active monitoring of contacts for the mitigation of COVID-19: a modeling study.  Peak CM, Kahn R, Grad YH, Childs LM, Li R, Lipstitch M, Buckee CO. Lancet Infect Dis. 2020 Sep;20(9):1025-1033.  doi: 10.1016/S1473-3099(20)30361-3.

Improved plaque assay for human coronaviruses 229E and OC43. Bracci N, Pan HC, Lehman C, Kehn-Hall K, Lin SC. PeerJ. 2020 Dec 21;8:e10639. doi: 10.7717/peerj.10639.

A selective sweep in the Spike gene has drive SARS-CoV-2 human adaptation. Kang L, G. He,  A.K. Sharp, X. Wang, A.M. Brown, P. Michalak, J. Weger-LucarelliBioRxiv. doi:10.1101/2021.02.13.431090

PSGL-1 Inhibits the incorporation of SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoproteins into pseudovirions and impairs pseudovirus attachment and infectivity.  He S, Waheed AA, Hetrick B, Dabbagh D, Akhrymuk IV, Kehn-Hall K, Freed EO, Wu Y. Viruses.2020 Dec 30;13(1):46; doi:10.3390/v13010046

Airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2: What We Know.  Samet JM, Parther K, Benjamin G, Lakdawala S, Lowe JM, Reingold A, Volckens J. Marr LC. Clin Infect Dis. 2021 Jan 18:ciab039. doi: 10.1093/cid/ciab039

Additively manufactured respirators: quantifying particle transmission and identifying system-level challenges for improving filtration efficiency.  LB, Pan J, Harb C, Zawaski CE, Molla B, Kubalak JR, Marr LC, Williams CB. J Manuf Syst. 2021 Jan 20. doi: 10.1016/j.jmsy.2021.01.002

Uniting infectious disease and physical science principles on the importance of face masks for COVID-19.  Gandhi M, Marr LCMed (N Y) Jan 15;2(1):29-32. doi: 10.1016/j.medj.2020.12.008. 

Can indoor sports centers be allowed to re-open during the COVID-19 pandemic based on a certificate of equivalence?  Bloken B, van Druenen T, van Hooff T, Verstappen PA, Marchal T, Marr LCBuild Environ2020 Aug 180:107022. doi: 10.1016/j.buildenv.2020.107022

Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 by inhalation of respiratory aerosol in the Skagit Valley Chorale super spreading event.  Miller SL, Nazaroff WW, Jimenez JL, Boerstra A, Buonanno G, Dancer SJ, Kuritski J, Marr LC, Morawska L, Noakes C. Indoor Air. 2020 Sep

SARS-CoV-2 indoor air transmission is a threat that can be addressed with science Samet J, Burke T, Lakdawala S, Lowe J, Marr LC, Prather K, Shelton-Davenport M, Volckens J. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2116155118

Reduction of Infectivity of SARS-CoV-2 by Zinc Oxide Coatings Hosseini M, Behzadinasab S, Chin A, Poon L, Ducker WA.  ACS Biomater SCI Eng
 DOI: 10.1021/acsbiomaterials.1c01076 26:10.1111/ina.12751.doi: 10.1111/ina.12751

Killed whole-genome reduced-bacteria surface-expressed coronavirus fusion peptide vaccines protect against disease in a porcine model Maeda D, Tian D, Yu H, Dar N, Rajasekaran V, Meng S, Mahsoub H, Sooryanarain H, Wang B, Heffron C, Hassebroek A, LeRoith T, Meng XJ, Zeichner S. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2025622118

Filtration evaluation of expired elastomeric P-100 filter cartridges after months of real-world use during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic Baffoe-Bonnie A, Zhang K, Pan J, Simpkins K, Marr L. 
Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 
DOI: 10.1017/ice.2021.104
 
Dismantling myths on the airborne transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) Tang J. Bahnfleth W, Bluyssen P, Buonanno G, Jimenez J, Kurnitski J, Li Y, Miller S, Sekhar C, Morawska L, Marr L, Melikov A, Nazaroff W, Nielsen P, Tellier R, Wargocki P, Dancer S.
J Hosp Infect  DOI: 10.1016/j.jhin.2020.12.022

Cupric Oxide Coating That Rapidly Reduces Infection by SARS-CoV-2 via Solids Hosseini M, Chin A, Behzadinasab S, Poon L, Ducker W. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces DOI: 10.1021/acsami.0c19465

Covid-19 has redefined airborne transmission Tang J, Marr L, Li Y, Dancer S. BMJ DOI: 10.1136/bmj.n913

SARS-CoV-2 Infection in the Gastrointestinal Tract: Fecal-Oral Route of Transmission for COVID-19? Meng XJ, Liang T Gastroenterology
DOI: 10.1053/j.gastro.2021.01.005

Quantification of the Tradeoff between Test Sensitivity and Test Frequency in a COVID-19 Epidemic-A Multi-Scale Modeling Approach Forde J, Ciupe S. Viruses DOI: 10.3390/v13030457

Targeting protein-protein interaction interfaces in COVID-19 drug discovery Chang C, Lin SM, Satange R, Lin SC, Sun SC, Wu HY, Kehn-Hall K, Hou MH. Comput. Struct. Biotechnol. J  DOI: 10.1016/j.csbj.2021.04.003

Survival of Severe Acute REspiratory Syndrome Coronavirus s (SARS-CoV-2) and Herpes Simplex Virus 1 (HSV-1) on Foods Stored at Refrigerated Temperature Dhakal J, Jia M, Joyce J, Moore G, Ovissipour R, Bertke A.  Foods DOI: 10.3390/foods10051005

Aerosols should not be defined by distance travelled Tang j, Marr LC, Milton D. J Hosp Infect  DOI: 10.1016/j.jhin.2021.05.007

Adenovirus transduction to express human ACE2 causes obesity-specific morbidity in mice, impeding studies on the effect of host nutritional status on SARS-CoV-2 pathogenesis Rai P, Chuong C, LeRoith T, Smyth J, Panov J, Levi M, Kehn-Hall K, Duggal NWeger Lucarelli J. Virology
DOI: 10.1016/j.virol.2021.08.014

A Paradigm Shift to Align Transmission Routes with Mechanisms Marr LC, Tang J. Clin Infect Dis DOI: 10.1093/cid/ciab722

Mechanistic theory predicts the effects of temperature and humidity on inactivation of SARS-CoV-2 and other enveloped viruses Morris D, Yinda K, Gamble A, Rossine F, Huang Q, Bushmaker T, Fischer R, Matson M, Doremalen N, Vikesland P, Marr LC, Munster V, Lloyd-Smith J. Elife DOI: 10.7554/eLife.65902

Airborne transmission of respiratory viruses Wang C, Prather K, Sznitman J, Jimenez J, Lakdawala S, Tufekci Z, Marr LC. Science  DOI: 10.1126/science.abd9149

Relative Humidity Predicts Day-to-Day Variations in COVID-19 Cases in the City of Buenos Aires Rojas A, Cordo S, Saurral R, Jimenez J, Marr LC, Kropff E. Environ Sci Technol DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.1c02711

How did we get here: what are droplets and aerosols and how far do they go? A historical perspective on the transmission of respiratory infectious diseases Randall K, Ewing ET, Marr LC, Jimenez L, Bourouiba L. Interface Focus DOI: 10.1098/rsfs.2021.0049

Public Health Responses to Pandemics in 1918 and 2020 Ewing ET. Am J Public Health DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2021.306453

The viability of SARS-CoV-2 on solid surfaces Hosseini M, Behzadinasab S, Benmamoun Z, Ducker WACurr Opin Colloid Interface Sci DOI: 10.1016/j.cocis.2021.101481

Risk of SARS-CoV-2 Transmission among Air Passengers in China Hu M, Wang J, Lin H, Ruktanonchai C, Xu C, Meng B, Zhang X, Carioli A, Feng Y, Yin Q, Floyd J, Ruktanonchai NW, Li Z, Yang W, Tatem A, Lai S
Clin Infect Dis  DOI: 10.1093/cid/ciab836

Infectious SARS-CoV-2 is Emitted in Aerosol Particles Hawks S, Prussin A, Kuckinsky S, Pan J, Marr LCDuggal N. MBio DOI: 10.1128/mBio.02527-21

Transparent and Sprayable Surface Coatings that Kill Drug-Resistant Bacteria Within Minutes and Inactivate SARS-CoV-2 Virus Behzadinasab S, Williams M, Hosseini M, Pon L, Chin A, Falkinham J, Ducker WAACP Appl Mater Interfaces  
DOI: 10.1021/acsami.1c15505

Effect of non-pharmaceutical interventions ton contain COVID-19 in China Lai S, Ruktanonchai NW, Zhou L, Prosper O, Luo W, Floyd J, Wesolowski A, Santillana M, Zhang C, Du x, Yu H, Tatem A.  Nature  DOI: 10.1038/s41586-020-2293-x

Untangling introdutions and persistence in COVID-19 resurgence in Europe Lemey P, Ruktanonchai NW, Hong S, Collizza V, Poletto C, Van Den Broeck F, Gill M, Ji X, Levasseur A, Munnink B, Koopmans M, Sadilek A, Lai S, Tatem A, Baele G, Suchard M, Dellicour S. Nature DOI: 10.1038/s41586-021-03754-2

Risk of SARS-CoV-2 Transmission among Air Passengers in China Hu M, Wang J, Lin H, Ruktanonchai C, Xu C, Meng B, Zhang X, Carioli A, Feng Y, Yin Q, Floyd J, Ruktanonchai NW, Li Z, Yang W, Tatem A, Lai S Clin Infect Dis DOI: 10.1093/cid/ciab836

Uncovering two phases of early intercontinental COVID-19 transmission dynamics Yang J, Li J, Lai S, Ruktanonchai C, Xing W, Carioli A, Wang P, Ruktanonchai NW, Li R, Floyd J, Wang L, Bi Y, Shi W, Tatem A. J Travel Med DOI: 10.1093/jtm/taaa200

Integrated vaccination and physical distancing interventions to prevent future COVID-19 waves in Chinese cities Huang B, Wang J, Cai J, Yao S, Chan P, Tam T, Hong Y, Ruktanonchai C, Carioli A, Floyd J Ruktanonchai NW, Yang W, Li Z, Tatem A, Lai S. Nat Hum Behav DOI: 10.1038/s41562-021-01063-2

Assessing the Effect of Global Travel and Contact Restrictions on Mitigating the COVID-19 Pandemic Lei S, Ruktanonchai NW, Carioli A, Ruktanonchai C, Floyd J, Prosper O, Zhang C, Du X, Yang W, Tatem A. Engineering (Beijing) DOI: 10.1016/j.eng.2021.03.017

SARS-CoV-2 European resurgence foretold: interplay of introductions aind persistence by leveraging genomic and mobility data Lemey P, Ruktanonchai N, Hong S, Colizza V, Poletto C, Van den Broek F, Gill M, Ji X, Levasseur A, Sadilek A, Lai S, Tatem A, Baele G, Suchard M, Dellicour S. Res Sq DOI: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-208849/v1

Effect of non-pharmaceutical interventions for containing the COVID-10 outbreak in China Lai S, Ruktanonchai N, Zhou L, Prosper O, Luo W, Floyd J, Wesolowski A, Santillana M, Zhang C, Du X, Yu H, Tatem A. medRxiv DOI: 10.1101/2020.03.03.20029843

SARS-CoV-2 virus transfers to skin through contact with contaminated solids Behzadinasab S, Chin A, Hosseini M, Poom L, Ducker WA. Sci Rep DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-00843-0

Requirements for the containment of COVID-19 disease outbreaks through periodic testing, isolation, and quarantine Mukhamadiarov R, Den gS, Serrao S Prianka Childs L, Tauber U. J. Phys. A Math Theor. DOI: 10.1088/1751-8121/ac3fc3

COVID-19 Seroprevalence in Canada ModellingWaning and Boosting COVID-19 Immunity in Canada a Canadian Immunization Research Network Study Dick, DW; Childs, L, Feng Z, Li J, Rost G, Buckeridge DL, Ogden NH, Heffernan JM. Vaccines 10.3390/vaccines10010017

SARS-CoV-2 on Surfaces and HVAC Filters in Dormitory Rooms Pan J, Hawks S, Prussin II A, Duggal NK, Marr LC. Environ Sci Technol Lett  DOI: 10.1021/acs.estlett.1c00892

Reducing Transmission of Airborne Respiratory Pathogens: A New Beginning as the COVID-19 Emergency Ends Marr LC, Samet JM. Environ Health Perspect DOI: 10.1289/EHP13878

SARS-CoV-2 Specific Nanobodies Neutralize Different Variants of Concern and Reduce Virus Load in the Brain of h-ACE2 Transgenic Mice Pavan MF, Bok M, San Juan RB, Malito JP, Marcoppido GA, Franco DR, Militelo DA, Schammas JM, Bari SE, Stone W, Lopez K, Porier DL, Muller JA, Auguste AJ, Yuan L, Wigdorovitz A, Parreno VG, Ibanez LI. Viruses DOI: 10.3390/v16020185

Machine learning-driven SERS fingerprinting of disintegrated viral components for rapid detection of SARS-CoV-2 in environmental dust. Garg A, Hawks S, Pan J, Wang W, Duggal N, Marr LC, Vikesland P, Zhou W. Biosens Bioelectron DOI: 10.1016/j.bios.2023.115946

A Gamma-adapted subunit vaccine induces broadly neutralizing antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 variants and protects mice from infection. Coria LM, Rodriguez JM, Demaria A, Bruno LA, Medrano MR, Castro CP, Castro EF, Del Priore SA, Hernando Insua AC, Kaufmann IG, Saposnik LM, Stone WB, Prado L, Notaro US, Amweg AN, Diaz PU, Avaro M, Ortega H, Ceballos A, Krum V, Zurvarra FM, Sidabra JE, Drehe I, Baqué JA, Li Causi M, De Nichilo AV, Payes CJ, Southard T, Vega JC, Auguste AJ, Álvarez DE, Flo JM, Pasquevich KA, Cassataro J. Nat Commun DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-45180-8.

COVID-19 related messaging, beliefs, information sources, and mitigation behaviors in Virginia: a cross-sectional survey in the summer of 2020. Silverman RA, Short D, Wenzel S, Friesen MA, Cook NE Peer J DOI: 10.7717/peerj.16714