Understanding the mechanisms and effects of covid-19
Covidence
Queen Mary University of London, King’s College London, the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM)
The Covidence study aims to recruit a diverse group of at least 12,000 people in the UK, aged 16 or over, including those who have had COVID-19. Volunteers will include a mixture of people both with and without underlying conditions such as diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure. This information will help scientists to understand why certain people appear to be at greater risk.
COVIPreg
Queen Mary University of London
Queen Mary’s COVIPreg cohort study of all pregnant women admitted within Barts NHS Trust, with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 infection, and follow up post recovery. The study aim is to assess the risk factors, immune response in blood and placenta, short and medium to long-term maternal morbidity of women diagnosed with COVID-19 infection whilst pregnant.
Epidemiological Study
The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM)
Collaborating with the University of Antwerp, Professor Mark Jit secured a European Commission grant to undertake epidemiological studies in support of Europe’s public health response to COVID-19.
COVID-19 observations on blood clotting and blockage of blood vessels
UCL
Clinical observations of COVID-19 patients, who went on to have a stroke, suggest coronavirus may cause clots within arteries in the brain, finds a team of neurologists from UCL and UCLH (the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery).
Covidsortium
Queen Mary University of London and UCL
The multi-centre involves the weekly collection of blood, saliva and other biological samples from frontline healthcare workers at Barts Health NHS Trust, where all samples are being analysed at Queen Mary’s Category 3 laboratories. Participants are studied before, during and after infection to help researchers identify genetic and immunological risk predictors. Thousands of blood samples and hundreds of nasal swabs have been collected, generating a bioresource with hundreds of thousands of samples available for research groups across the UK to use.
DELPHIC-COVID
UCL and Imperial College London
Building on the Delirium and Population Health Informatics Cohort (DELPHIC) which started in 2016 this sub-study involves following up on re-consenting members to describe the response and illness evolution in elderly patients.
Review of virus transmission amongst children and young people
UCL
Children and young people appear to be more than 50% less likely to catch SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, than adults but evidence remains weak on how likely they are to transmit the virus, found a UCL-led review of test and tracing and population screening studies.
TwinsUK study
King’s Health Partners
Applying the COVID-19 symptom tracker app to the TwinsUK registry to integrate personal symptom reporting with the incidence of infection (PCR & antibody testing), host genetics and microbiome profiling as a path to unravel the complex determinants of infection and disease outcomes. So far, c.200 participants (twins) with self-reported COVID symptoms have provided serum samples.
Mechanisms of lung injury and repair
UCL
Study aimed at understanding lung recovery from damage caused by infections, toxins and other diseases by examining different biological processes where inflammatory cells and debris are removed allowing the lung to repair itself and resuming normal function. By examining and comparing the repair processes it is hoped to detect differences which will help with therapies in the future.
COVID-19 MS Coalition
UCL, Imperial College London, King’s Health Partners and Queen Mary University of London
A coalition of more than 500 scientists from 18 countries will share data on COVID-19 gleaned from the use of mass spectrometry techniques which examine people’s blood and other biomarkers.
The International Severe Acute Respiratory Infection Consortium (ISARIC4C) study
University of Edinburgh, University of Liverpool and Imperial College London
A UK-wide network of researchers is co-ordinating the collection of clinical data and biological samples from COVID-19 patients in hospitals across the UK including St Mary’s and Charing Cross Hospitals, which are part of Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust.
The ISARIC4C study, the largest of its type anywhere in the World, involves a national consortium of researchers that will gather data from more than 66,000 patients with COVID-19 admitted to 166 hospitals throughout the UK.