COVID Experts Podcast

On today’s episode we talk with Dr. Marie C. Bene. She is a professor of immunology and hematology at Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Nantes, France. Today we discuss her latest research on IgA and SARS-COV-2, the challenges in vaccine development for COVID-19, and how her principles are being used in current investigations.

On today’s episode we chat with Dr. Andres Castillo, a senior scientist in the molecular genetics department and the public health institute of Chile. Dr. Castillo and his team perform routine surveillance of viruses, bacteria, fungi and other pathogens. His article, published in the Journal of Medical Virology, is about the phylogenetic analysis of the first four cases of the COVID-19 virus in Chile.

On today’s episode, we talk with Dr. Jean B. Nachega. Dr. Nachega is associated with many distinguished universities around the world, including the John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the Centre for Infectious Diseases, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa. Dr Nachega speaks about the topics in his recently published article titled Limiting the spread of COVID-19 in Africa: one size mitigation strategies do not fit all countries.

In this episode, we speak with Dr. Antonio Frontera, a cardiac electrophysiologist at the San Raffaele Hospital in Milan (at the epicenter of the Coronavirus outbreak in Italy). He talks about the topics in his article, Severe Air Pollution Links to Higher Mortality in COVID-19 Patients: the ‘Double-Hit’ Hypothesis, which  is a compilation of his research on the correlation between cities with higher air pollution and COVID-19 outbreaks.

Today’s guest, Dr. Julian W. Tang, a clinical virologist with the university hospitals in Leicester, UK, is considered an aerosol transmission expert. In this episode, we delve into why COVID-19 should be considered airborne and what should be done in response. Amongst other things, we also explore how ventilation could help curtail intra-hospital transmission, why the WHO needs to change its recommendations, and what Dr. Tang believes the trajectory of the virus will be.

Today, we are speaking with Dr. Amir Davarpanah, Assistant Professor of Radiology at Emory University. He recently published an article titled Novel Screening and Triage Strategy in Iran During Deadly Coronavirus Disease 2019 and in this episode, we hear about the inventive methodologies it documents. Using Iran as a case study, he talks about creative solutions to the issue of screening for COVID in resource- scarce countries and the value of humanitarian approaches during this time of crisis.

Welcome to COVID Experts: Interviews with Top Physicians and Scientists. Today we have Dr. Giacomo Grasselli, an associate professor at the University of Milan in Italy. Dr. Grasselli was

instrumental in developing a network of COVID-19 ICUs in Lombardy to establish a central coordination of critically ill COVID-19 patients and admitted over 4000 people.

Today, we hear from Dr. Matthew R. McKay, a professor in the Department of Electronics and Computer Engineering as well as the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. In this episode, we discuss Dr. McKay’s paper published in the journal Viruses titled, “Preliminary Identification of Potential Vaccine Targets or the COVID-19 Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) Based on SARS-CoV Immunological Studies"

Today, we welcome Dr. Antonio Luis Cuesta Muñoz, an endocrinologist and the scientific director of the International Institute of Genetics of Diabetes, in Spain. In this episode, we discuss Dr. Cuesta Muñoz’s paper in Clin Infect Dis. titled, “Inquiring into Benefits of Independent Activation of Non-Classical Renin-Angiotensin System in the Clinical Prognosis and Reduction of COVID-19 Mortality”.

Resources:

Clin Infect Dis. 2020 Apr 8.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32266375/

Today, we sit down with Dr. Michael Gormley, the director of the Institute for Sustainable Building Design and the director of the Water Academy at Heriot-Watt University, in Scotland. In this episode, we discuss Dr. Gormley’s paper published in Lancet Global Health titled "COVID-19: Mitigating Transmission via Wastewater Plumbing Systems”.

Resources:

"COVID-19: Mitigating Transmission via Wastewater Plumbing Systems”

Lancet Global Health. 2020 May 8.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32213325/