Coronavirus Research News

A powerful network of researchers and community members are working to improve the lives of people in one of the most culturally diverse cities in the U.S. and provide access to resources amid the pandemic.

SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern and the biological sex of patients affect the efficacy of molnupiravir, the first orally available drug approved for outpatient use against COVID-19, according to a new study led by researchers at Georgia State University.

Mukesh Kumar and his team of biology researchers found mice were more likely to get infected by Omicron than other variants but with significantly lower mortality rates.

Scientists from Georgia State are working to build a pipeline of antiviral drugs targeting COVID-19 and other viral threats with pandemic potential.

A nanoparticle vaccine that combines two proteins that induce immune responses against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that has caused the global pandemic, has the potential to be developed into broader and safe SARS-CoV-2 vaccines, according to researchers in the Institute for Biomedical Sciences at Georgia State University.

The pandemic has produced a mental health crisis with effects that may reverberate for years — even decades — to come. At Georgia State, researchers are working to gain insights into the emotional toll and identify how people are finding hope even as the threats persist.

Two biomedical science innovations from Georgia State University have been chosen to compete in STAT Madness 2022, a contest to select the top innovation or discovery in biomedical science from last year.

The research revealed a positive and significant association between COVID traumatic stress and PTSD symptoms, suggesting that the pandemic is a unique traumatic stressor.

The results highlight the potential for the virus to replicate and mutate in rodents, which often live in close proximity to humans.

In a study published online on Dec. 2 in Science, researchers in the Institute for Biomedical Sciences at Georgia State University report a new candidate that has potent antiviral activity against SARS-CoV-2 when administered orally once-daily.

New research led by associate professor Lucy Popova examines how the COVID-19 pandemic affected tobacco use in America.

To better reach outpatients early after a COVID-19, infection, Gilead Sciences Inc. has partnered with researchers in Georgia State University’s Center for Translational Antiviral Research to test a modified version of remdesivir that can be taken orally.

Caroline Williams earned her Ph.D. in Translational Biomedical Sciences by embarking upon studies of two newly emerging viruses, SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, and Mengla virus, a newly identified filovirus.

Georgia State University was highlighted in a press briefing Oct. 6 by the White House COVID-19 response team, which recognized the university’s contribution to groundbreaking research that led to the development of molnupiravir.

A new antiviral drug tested in the Institute for Biomedical Sciences at Georgia State against influenza virus and SARS-CoV-2 has been recommended for emergency use authorization to treat COVID-19 in the United States by pharmaceutical companies that completed a Phase 3 clinical trial and achieved promising results.

Iris Feinberg, research assistant professor in the Department of Learning Sciences and associate director of the College of Education & Human Development’s Adult Literacy Research Center, published an article in Perspectives in Adult Education on building a culture of health literacy in the midst of a global pandemic.

The impact of COVID-19’s delta variant will delay but not diminish growth prospects, and a current surge in inflation will recede in 2022, according to Rajeev Dhawan of the Economic Forecasting Center at Georgia State University’s J. Mack Robinson College of Business.

New research from the Georgia Policy Labs finds that students spend less than half their normal classroom time on virtual learning during the pandemic.

Few previous studies have examined functional abnormalities in the brain, which might reveal the physiological processes that underlie prolonged mental health symptoms in COVID-19 survivors.

As millions of kids head back to the classroom, Erin Mason, assistant professor of school counseling, discusses how schools can support mental and emotional well-being.

With a fully vaccinated rate of nearly 42%, Clarkston is outpacing neighboring communities that are similarly stressed, with low household income, low literacy and language ability, high density housing, and limited transportation.

The study found that the pandemic resulted in a six-to-eightfold increase in rates of intimate partner aggression across the U.S.

Professor Christopher Basler has received two grants from the National Institutes of Health to study two coronaviruses that cause human disease: Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) coronavirus and SARS-CoV-2.

Courtney Anderson’s research centers around health equity for the lower-class and people of color, an area where many health issues were exacerbated because of the pandemic.

Compounds targeting two key enzymes are potent inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, according to a study led by the Institute for Biomedical Sciences at Georgia State.

The research team aims to identify behaviors and solutions to increase COVID-19 vaccine confidence in the city's African American and refugee, immigrant and migrant (RIM) community.

A new study aims to demonstrate the resilience of LGBTQ+ individuals during the coronavirus pandemic through a combination of diary entries and surveys.

Consistent messages about the safety and need for COVID-19 vaccines are key to overcoming young people’s reluctance to get inoculated, researchers at Georgia State and New York universities say.

An analysis conducted by the Metro-Atlanta Policy Lab for Education has found substantial impacts on student achievement during the COVID-19 pandemic.

COVID-19 patients who receive oxygen therapy or experience fever show reduced gray matter volume in the frontal-temporal network of the brain.

Viruses have an amazing capacity to mutate. But what if we could turn that against them? Richard Plemper, professor in the Institute for Biomedical Sciences, is working to exploit this rapid evolution.

A new Georgia State project aims to understand why some Black Atlantans are hesitant to participate in COVID-19 research.

Ph.D. student Joon Suh Choi and professor Scott Crossley were among 18 international teams recognized for innovations in helping K-12 students make up for lost learning due to the pandemic.

Gerardo Chowell, a professor of epidemiology in the School of Public Health at Georgia State, reflects on his work, what experts have learned about COVID-19 in the past year and what to expect for the future.

New research finds that rural communities across the nation are undertaking innovative strategies to address challenges to the COVID-19 vaccine rollout.

With vaccine rollout underway and picking up steam concurrent to emerging virus variants, Rajeev Dhawan of the Economic Forecasting Center at Georgia State University’s Robinson College of Business said recovery remains “an economic tango led by the virus. Reaching a sustained recovery by early 2022 is contingent on the speed and efficacy of vaccinations by mid-2021.”

COVID-19 has sparked a surge in cyber threats. Here, cybersecurity expert and associate professor David Maimon discusses how the crisis has been a gift to online criminals.

CEHD Associate Professor Chenyi Zhang received a $50,000 grant from the Sandra Dunagan Deal Center for Early Language and Literacy to incorporate trauma-informed practices into early childhood literacy instruction.

New research found that Americans are more likely to get the COVID-19 vaccines when its safety and efficiency is emphasized.

New study finds that COVID-19 testing and vaccination policies focusing on “hot spot” neighborhoods will better serve the virus’s hardest-hit populations.

The study has implications for understanding the wide range in symptoms and severity of illness among humans with COVID-19.

Early in the U.S. coronavirus pandemic, unemployment claims were largely driven by state shutdown orders and not by the virus, according to new research.

Assistant professor of education Jennifer Darling-Aduana on how online learning can become part of a quality, equitable education system.

A new study finds the holistic measure of social connection is the best way to assess how older adults are faring during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A new study finds that concentrated centralized national leadership is the most effective way countries are fighting the COVID-19 pandemic.

Treatment of SARS-CoV-2 infection with a new antiviral drug, MK-4482/EIDD-2801 or Molnupiravir, completely suppresses virus transmission within 24 hours, researchers in the Institute for Biomedical Sciences at Georgia State University have discovered.

As the COVID-19 pandemic rages on, associate professor Holley Wilkin discusses the importance of effective public health messaging and why it’s been largely ineffective at flattening the curve.

The NIH has awarded an interdisciplinary public health team a grant through its RADx Underserved Populations (RADx-UP) program to study COVID-19 research participation in Black communities in Atlanta.

Jennifer Esposito, chair of the College of Education & Human Development’s Department of Educational Policy Studies, is working with Tisha Lewis Ellison from the University of Georgia to better understand what training and support teachers received when they had to shift to online teaching due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

COVID-19 has heightened housing insecurity in the U.S. Here, Georgia State faculty share eight research-backed ways to help keep Americans off the streets.

Georgia State faculty have come together to study how the pandemic is affecting refugees in Clarkston — and help address the community’s unique needs.

Researchers are developing the Belonging and Empathy, With Intentional Targeted Helping (BE WITH) project, which is designed to reduce social isolation, loneliness and elevated suicide risk in racially diverse older adults, the demographic hardest hit by COVID-19.

As Black communities are being devastated by COVID-19, Georgia State researchers are working to illuminate the ways systemic racism drives health disparities, harming and even killing African Americans.

The Prevention Research Center at Georgia State has teamed up with the city of Clarkston, Ga., to distribute multilanguage lawn signs on COVID-19 protections in high-pedestrian areas to help curb the spread of the disease.

New research finds that exposure to conspiracy theories suggesting COVID-19 was human-engineered can have a powerful impact on a person’s beliefs.

Georgia State computer scientist Juan Banda is tapping into Twitter data to learn more about people’s experiences during the pandemic.

Using an innovative strategy he developed against influenza, professor Baozhong Wang is working on a universal vaccine to protect against all coronaviruses.

There are common vulnerabilities among three lethal coronaviruses, SARS-CoV-2, SARS-CoV-1 and MERS-CoV, such as frequently hijacked cellular pathways, that could lead to promising targets for broad coronavirus inhibition, according to a study by an international research team that includes scientists from the Institute for Biomedical Sciences at Georgia State University.

Professor Beth Cianfrone and Associate Professor Tim Kellison published an article in the International Journal of Sport Communication about the NCAA Men’s Basketball Final Four tournament cancellation and how the related community events had to adapt during a sudden public health crisis.

Contemporaneous exposure to air pollution may increase the likelihood people will die from the disease.

CEHD Professors Jeff Ashby and Ken Rice were part of an international team who conducted a study focused on COVID-19 traumatic stress, which is unique compared to other traumatic stresses.

Georgia State Law faculty members have responded to the pandemic’s legal issues through policy development, research and advocacy.

In a report recently published by the National Education Policy Center, Associate Professor Kristen Buras outlines how Black communities in New Orleans were disproportionately impacted by Hurricane Katrina and how those same issues are playing out nationally during the current COVID-19 pandemic.

Organizational psychologist and Georgia State associate professor Songqi Liu discusses how workers and organizations can adapt to the “new normal.”  

Twenty Georgia State University and Georgia Tech faculty and graduate students, were named Public Interest Technology – University Network Fellows.

For more than 25 years, Georgia State University’s Project Healthy Grandparents has assisted grandparents who are raising grandchildren in parent-absent homes through home visitation services. But since the COVID-19 virus outbreak began, the PHG nurses and social workers found inventive new ways to support the families in a virtual environment.

Ann-Margaret Esnard is collaborating on two National Science Foundation funded research projects on the intersections of pandemics and natural hazards

Christopher Basler, professor and director of the Center for Microbial Pathogenesis in the Institute for Biomedical Sciences at Georgia State University, has received a $100,000 COVID-19 Fast Grant to study enzymes that are critical for the replication of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.

A Georgia State University researcher is documenting the experiences of long-haulers, people who remain sick long after being diagnosed with COVID-19.

How rural health organizations are adapting their program strategies.

The technology is anticipated to provide several benefits, including fast turnaround time and greatly decreased false negative outcomes.

Associate professor Tomeka Davis discusses how COVID-19 is compounding disparities in education.

Three Georgia regions experienced double-digit declines in sales tax distributions during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Fiscal Research Center.

A year-long study funded will allow researchers to examine threats related to the sale of critical COVID-19 supplies via darknet markets.

Interdisciplinary researchers studying micromobility, including electric scooters and bicycles, were forced to develop new techniques in light of COVID-19.

Professors Lauren Sudeall and Daniel Pasciuti are working with Georgia Appleseed Center for Law and Justice and a number of other organizations to track eviction proceedings in courts across the state in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

A report from the Fiscal Research Center provides an early estimate of the economic impact of COVID-19 across several hard-hit industries in Georgia.

Georgia State University and Augusta University will provide grants totaling nearly $200,000 to support four research collaborations among faculty from both institutions.

Part of a research team that uses mathematical models to study how the environment affects transmission of SARS-CoV-2, the novel coronavirus, Gerardo Chowell is helping to produce daily forecasts of the virus’ trajectory.

A professor and director of the Center for Microbial Pathogenesis at Georgia State, Chris Basler is studying how the novel coronavirus interacts with the cell it infects.

Detailed methods on how to perform research on SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, including procedures that effectively inactivate the virus to enable safe study of infected cells have been identified by virologists in the Institute for Biomedical Sciences at Georgia State University.

Psychology researchers at Georgia State University found that attitude translated into taking fewer precautions against infection.

In response to the COVID-19 crisis, Iris Feinberg collaborated with the Institute for Healthcare Advancement to create easy-to-read resources related to COVID-19 for those who work with adults with low literacy.

Georgia State experts offer strategies to help families stay healthy and connected through the summer months.

A new Georgia State University study finds that paid sick leave mandates like those in the Families First Coronavirus Response Act may be helping to slow the spread of COVID-19.

Georgia State researchers are operating what will be one of the largest coronavirus testing operations in the state.

Economic forecaster and professor Rajeev Dhawan discusses the lasting impact that COVID-19 could have on the economy.

Georgia State researchers have measured antibodies to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes the disease COVID-19, in self-collected blood samples from Metro Atlanta residents.

Assistant Professor Chenyi Zhang has received a $3,000 Natural Hazards Center grant to study the quality of parent-child relationships during a pandemic.

Workers in the U.S. moved to unemployment by the COVID-19 pandemic may find themselves displaced by automation according to research by GSU economists.

Georgia State University assistant professor Laura Shannonhouse has research-based COVID-19 guidelines for caregivers, volunteers and individuals who are supporting the older adult populations in their areas.

Georgia State University talked to experts on its campuses for firsthand knowledge of what ventilators do and how respiratory therapists use them to care for patients.

Professor Gary Bingham offers research-based principles that every parent of young children (ages 0-6) should keep in mind during the COVID-19 crisis.

Georgia State epidemiologist Gerardo Chowell on what makes the coronavirus pandemic unique and what still needs to happen as the global outbreak unfolds.

Georgia State scientists are joining the race to unravel how the new coronavirus operates — and find effective treatments.

The researchers tested the drug as part of a project to screen FDA-approved medications for their potential use against SARS-CoV-2.

The team’s analysis allows them to determine where the virus has peaked, is peaking or is yet to peak.

Amid the coronavirus pandemic, teachers — and parents — have converted their computers and homes into classrooms. College of Education & Human Development assistant professor Chad Killian shares tips to connect with remote instruction.

A multidisciplinary team of researchers in the Institute for Biomedical Sciences is combining their expertise to develop therapeutics and vaccines to fight COVID-19.

Researchers at Georgia State University have released a trove of data from the social media site Twitter to help represent the spread and impacts of the global coronavirus outbreak.

Assistant Professor Chad Killian is working to create a series of free, online teaching modules that high school physical education teachers can use to connect with their students.