Covid Research Panel
Tijana Ivanovic, PhD
Assistant Professor
Department of Biochemistry
Brandeis University
(September 25, 2020)
By now we are all familiar with the image of the SARS-CoV2 virus: the circular object with a large number of spikes all over it (the spike proteins). The sheer number of spikes on each virus is one reason it is so difficult to block. Only a few spikes are needed to attach the virus to a human cell and it is very difficult to block all of the spikes. Dr. Ivanovic is working, in collaboration with other groups at Brandeis, on a way to trap a virus in a shell lined with antibodies. By fully surrounding a virus, it will be unable to attach to a cell, decreasing the chance of infection.