Combatting COVID-19 with Gladstone's Warner Greene, MD, PhD

Virologist Warner Greene, MD, PhD is studying how the COVID-19 virus enters cells, and will screen a library of FDA-approved drugs to identify those that could be rapidly repurposed as a treatment to stop cellular entry and spread of the virus. Before the emergence of the pandemic, Dr. Green and his team focused on understanding the interactions between the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and the cells it infects with the goal of providing new approaches for therapy and prevention. Using a combination of molecular, biochemical, cell biological, and immunological techniques, the lab pursued two main goals. First, to mitigate the inflammation and loss of immune cells that are the hallmark of HIV infection, and second to overcome the persistent obstacles to curing HIV/AIDS by controlling or eradicating the pool of HIV virus that hides in a subset of cells known as the latent reservoir. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Gladstone scientists have rapidly pivoted the focus of their research labs to the novel virus, SARS-CoV-2. Specifically, they are leveraging their established tools, unique infrastructure, and diverse expertise in virology to develop improved diagnostics, identify targeted treatment strategies, and invent preventative approaches. Gladstone scientists were instrumental in converting HIV/AIDS from a uniformly lethal disease into a chronic condition and are now bringing the same urgency and focus to combatting COVID-19 in a comprehensive manner.