BNY Mellon has extended their generous research support of the fight against COVID-19 by awarding an additional $200,000 grant to Lindsley F. Kimball Research Institute (LFKRI) Investigators Cheryl Lobo, PhD and Karina Yazdanbakhsh, PhD. The new funding support is directed at understanding the immunological signature of severe COVID-19 infection in patients with sickle cell disease, an inherited red blood cell disorder affecting 100,000 minorities mainly African Americans in the U.S. and millions worldwide. The research will test whether higher numbers of tissue factor expressing monocytes, a type of white blood cell, increase the risk of severe COVID-19 illness and specifically worsen thrombotic events. The goal is to identify in advance patients at risk of developing serious complications from COVID-19, to develop therapeutic strategies targeting these markers in patients with severe COVID-19, and to give tailored prophylactic treatments that can specifically lower the levels of these biomarkers as a preventative measure.
Many thanks to BNY Mellon for their continued support and congratulations Drs. Lobo and Yazdanbakhsh!
