Episode 26: COVID-19 Immunity

TGen Talks

What can a few drops of blood tell scientists about how one’s immune system reacted to COVID-19? If you’re TGen North’s Dr. John Altin, you hope a lot. In this episode of TGen Talks, Dr. Altin discusses a new study entitled the COVID Immunity Study whereby citizen-scientists diagnosed with, and subsequently recovered from, COVID-19 can contribute a few blood spots that will enable Dr. Altin to investigate the antibody response against the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes the COVID 19 disease. Through his study Dr. Altin, an Assistant Professor in TGen’s Pathogen and Microbiome Division, hopes to find antibody signatures of exposure that are clear and robust and perhaps even signature that differentiate the different types of disease that people experience. The Holy Grail would be signatures that indicate what type of immune response provides protection, versus one that may do more harm than good. The answer may lie in their immune response. This study may find the answers.