Unique proteins and peptides can transform salt solutions into crystals visible to the naked eye. The goal if this project is to couple these motifs to small antibodies that recognize repetitive components of pathogens so that the presence of a microbe will be signaled by the appearance of a crystal. This process could lead to the development of a new generation of inexpensive and easy to use point-of-care tests for diseases that will advance human healthcare.

The overall goal is to evaluate the potential treatment efficacy of IV-dosed galidesivir.

Exploiting the Viral RNA Methylation Machinery for SARS-CoV-2 Therapy

We aim to fully characterize mutational signatures of SARS-CoV-19 focusing on the furin cleavage site, determine the role of the GC-rich sequence and CpG sites within the furin cleavage site and develop neutralizing Abs to target the furin cleavage site.

Dr. Martinez-Sobrido will be responsible for the pandemic research plan that includes pre-pandemic risk assessment and emergency pandemic response plan.

Southwest Research Institute has received funding from the Medical CBRN Defense Consortium (MCDC) administered by Advanced Technology International to develop a nerve agent antidote for emergency use on the battlefield or to protect public health.

To determine the efficiency of a novel agar-layer based test for the diagnosis of drug resistant tuberculosis in Mozambique

The major goal of this project is to elucidate the role of virus-induced events in CD40 signaling in macrophages and the importance of these signals for controlling filovirus infection. Work will use both existing and new virus stocks to challenge the selected tissues and include infection assays, cytokine/chemokine profiling, virus inactivation, analysis of infection efficiencies, and mice virus challenge.

QualTex Laboratories, a subsidiary of San Antonio-based nonprofit BioBridge Global, has begun testing blood and plasma donations on its second automated track system, expanding its capabilities in its San Antonio laboratory.

Drug discovery software at Southwest Research Institute is expanding the capacity to virtually screen drug compounds for possible treatment of coronavirus and other infectious diseases.

SwRI’s Rhodium™ virtual screening tool recently evaluated 2 million drug compounds in a few days, hoping to identify high-probability drugs that may have efficacy against the coronavirus with minimal adverse side effects. Institute scientists initiated the molecular modeling research with SwRI internal funding.