Phase II results of Co-Immunity Project show higher-than-expected rates of exposure to novel coronavirus in Jefferson County

The Co-Immunity Project is a collaboration of UofL with the Louisville Healthcare CEO Council and local health systems to track COVID-19 in Metro Louisville. The project monitors COVID-19 activity by testing health care workers and the general population for both active COVID-19 and antibodies to the virus that causes it, SARS-CoV-2. They also are testing wastewater throughout the metro area in collaboration with Louisville Metro Sewer District. The project is directed by UofL faculty Aruni Bhatnagar, PhD, Kenneth Palmer, PhD, and Jon Klein, MD, PhD. 

Decontamination program begins at UofL to alleviate mask shortage for area health care workers

Health care workers and first responders put their own health at risk every time they come face-to-face with someone who has – or may have – COVID-19. Often, the only thing between these workers and the virus is an N95 respirator. But a critical short supply of the masks could leave front-line workers unprotected, placing them, their families and other patients at risk of transmitting the virus.

The University of Louisville is offering a program to decontaminate used N95 respirators, boosting the supply of masks for local health care providers, first responders and community organizations such as nursing homes at no charge.

3D printed swabs developed at UofL to help fill gap in COVID-19 test kits

Innovation at the University of Louisville involving multiple departments at the university has led to a promising solution for the shortage of swabs in COVID-19 test kits. In response to a request from the Commonwealth of Kentucky, UofL’s Additive Manufacturing Institute of Science & Technology (AMIST), along with faculty and students in the Schools of Dentistry, Engineering and Medicine have created a 3D printed swab made of a pliable resin material. 

UofL researchers seek new drugs to fight coronavirus using computers in schools across Kentucky using DataseamGrid

The novel coronavirus may have K-12 students in Kentucky’s school districts learning at home, but researchers at the University of Louisville are using the computing power of thousands of computers in classrooms across the state to identify drugs to treat COVID-19. The desktop computers are part of the DataseamGrid, a network of computers housed in classrooms of 48 Kentucky school districts as part of a partnership designed to support research, education and workforce development.