News

Gladstone in the News January 10, 2022

Moderna Announces People May Need 2nd Vaccine Booster, but Many Doctors Disagree

ABC News—COVID-19 vaccine maker Moderna recently announced that individuals might need a fourth shot to stay safe in the ongoing pandemic. Gladstone virologist Warner Greene argues that an additional dose of the available vaccine may not be ideal, and that future boosters should be designed to specifically protect against emerging strains of the virus.

Gladstone Experts COVID-19 Infectious Disease Greene Lab

Gladstone in the News January 5, 2022

Indoor Dining May Once Again Be Too Risky Due to Omicron, Bay Area Health Experts Warn

San Francisco Chronicle—Senior Investigator Warner Greene, MD, PhD, recommends that people limit indoor dining, especially if they are over 65 or otherwise at elevated risk for COVID-19, while the Omicron wave washes over the Bay Area.

Gladstone Experts COVID-19 Center for HIV Cure Research Infectious Disease Greene Lab

Gladstone in the News December 15, 2021

New COVID-19 Nasal Spray Therapy Aims to ‟Reduce Viral Load in the Lungs by 100-Fold”

abc7 NEWS—Senior Investigator Leor Weinberger, PhD, and Research Investigator Sonali Chaturvedi, PhD, explain their work on a therapy that sharply reduces viral load in the nose of hamsters after a single administration and could add a promising new tool to the therapeutic arsenal against COVID-19.

Gladstone Experts COVID-19 Infectious Disease Weinberger Lab

Gladstone in the News December 14, 2021

Virus-Hijacking COVID-19 Drug from Gladstone Researchers Slows Down Variants, Expects Clinical Trial Early Next Year

San Francisco Business Times—Senior Investigator Leor Weinberger, PhD, pioneered a new class of antivirals called therapeutic interfering particles (TIPs), which were recently shown to be effective against SARS-CoV-2 in animal models. The approach is now being developed by a startup company and will be headed to clinical trials.

Gladstone Experts COVID-19 Center for Cell Circuitry Infectious Disease Weinberger Lab

Article December 9, 2021

A New Class of Antiviral Therapy Could Treat COVID-19

Gladstone scientists develop a single-dose intranasal treatment that is effective against variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus

News Release Research (Publication) COVID-19 Infectious Disease Weinberger Lab Chaturvedi

Gladstone in the News December 8, 2021

How Severe Is Omicron? Expert Says Variant’s 50 Mutations Could Be Its Downfall

abc7 News—Senior Investigators Warner Greene, MD, PhD, and Nevan Krogan, PhD, discuss the possibility that Omicron, although more transmissible than previous SARS-CoV-2 variants, may cause less severe disease.

Gladstone Experts COVID-19 Center for HIV Cure Research Data Science and Biotechnology Infectious Disease Greene Lab Krogan Lab

Gladstone in the News December 6, 2021

Bay Area Scientists Rush to Study Local Omicron Virus Samples for Health Clues

San Francisco Chronicle—The identification of an individual infected with the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 in San Francisco is helping local scientists assess the danger posed by the virus. Melanie Ott, director of the Gladstone Institute of Virology, explains that experiments using virus samples from that individual could help determine how well the available vaccines hold up to Omicron’s mutations.

Gladstone Experts COVID-19 Infectious Disease Ott Lab

Article December 1, 2021

How Close Are We to a Cure for HIV?

Researchers at Gladstone Institutes focus on innovative strategies that could finally allow people living with HIV to stop taking daily medications

Gladstone Experts HIV/AIDS Infectious Disease Greene Lab Ott Lab Roan Lab Weinberger Lab Deep Dive

Gladstone in the News December 1, 2021

Do COVID Vaccines Work against Omicron? What We Know So Far

San Francisco Chronicle—The emerging Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 features several mutations in its spike protein that in theory could make it resistant to current vaccines. But Associate Investigator Nadia Roan, PhD, explains that current vaccines will still protect against Omicron, as they elicit a variety of antibodies and immune T cells that target non-mutated areas of spike.

Gladstone Experts COVID-19 Infectious Disease Roan Lab

Gladstone in the News November 26, 2021

Experts Peg Omicron as “Worst Variant That We Have Come Across”; Here’s What They Know So Far

ABC News—A new variant of SARS-CoV-2, dubbed Omicron, is causing concern around the world. Gladstone President Deepak Srivastava explains that some of the variant’s 50 mutations may have arisen when an individual who was already immunocompromised became infected with the virus. Senior Investigator Nevan Krogan describes how his group is investigating whether the new mutations will change the ability of the virus to enter cells and cause disease.

Gladstone Experts COVID-19 Data Science and Biotechnology Infectious Disease Krogan Lab Srivastava Lab

Gladstone in the News November 18, 2021

New Clues to Delta Variant’s Spread in Studies of Virus-Like Particles

NIH Director’s Blog—The Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 is driving the latest surge of COVID-19 cases in the United States. New research from Senior Investigators Jennifer Doudna and Melanie Ott explains how mutations in this variant increase transmissibility.

Gladstone Experts COVID-19 Infectious Disease Doudna Lab Ott Lab

Article November 4, 2021

New Method Sheds Light on Why Some SARS-CoV-2 Variants Are More Infectious

Using virus-like particles, researchers find an unexpected explanation for why some coronavirus variants spread faster

Research (Publication) Data Science and Biotechnology Infectious Disease Doudna Lab Ott Lab

Gladstone in the News November 3, 2021

How the Next Generation of COVID-19 Vaccines Could Lead To “Sterilizing Immunity”

San Francisco Chronicle—Associate Investigator Nadia Roan, PhD, comments on a potentially new type of COVID-19 vaccine that would fight the virus at its points of entry—the nose, throat, or lungs—and may provide even better protection than current shots in the arm.

Gladstone Experts COVID-19 Infectious Disease Roan Lab

Gladstone in the News October 28, 2021

Definition of ‟Fully Vaccinated” Could Change, CDC Chief Says. Here’s What That Means

San Francisco Chronicle—Senior Investigator Warner Greene, MD, PhD, puts the CDC's definition of "fully vaccinated" in the context of our constantly evolving understanding of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Gladstone Experts COVID-19 Center for HIV Cure Research Infectious Disease Greene Lab

Gladstone in the News October 21, 2021

‟Hybrid Immunity”: Why COVID Vaccination May Give Extra-Strong Protection after Infection

San Francisco Chronicle—Associate Investigator Nadia Roan, PhD, explains that people who receive COVID-19 vaccination after having had the disease harbor special immune cells that may provide stronger and more durable protection against future infections.

Gladstone Experts COVID-19 Infectious Disease Roan Lab