Overview

The J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI) has been involved in viral sequencing and analysis for more than 25 years, and coronavirus research for more than 15. This work has aided human health through vaccine development; improved food security by protecting crops and livestock; and provides critical data and analysis to researchers around the world. The Institute has also pioneered a synthetic biology platform which is now integral to fighting current and emerging viral threats.

Following is a summary of our various research projects on the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2.

SARS-CoV-2 Research

COVID-19 Serology Testing

Informatics

JCVI is developing critical resources for the evaluation of antibody reactivity for serology testing. From an informatics perspective, the use of comparative genomics methods and predictive machine learning algorithms are being used to identify the key determinants for immune system recognition and to monitor the impact of virus evolution in immune system evasion. The bioinformatics analyses will aid in developing critical resources for the evaluation of antibody reactivity for serology testing.

Lab

In the laboratory, viral surface proteins are being generated for use as ELISA antigens, pseudotyped recombinant viruses are being constructed for neutralizing assays, and candidate vaccine constructs are being synthetized to define the immunogenicity of the viral proteins and to understand the basis of immune response and protection against SARS-CoV-2.

Funding

Funding for this research is provided through a variety of government and private sources.

We need your support now to continue and to expand upon these critical projects. If you would like to learn more about supporting any of this exciting research, please contact Jill Mullen at jmullen@jcvi.org.

Publications