Closing the Loop: Technion COVID-19 Efforts from Diagnostics to Therapeutics
Live From Technion Webinar
With Professors Josué Sznitman and Moran Bercovici
Israel is at the forefront in the fight against COVID-19 and Technion scientists are playing a key role in developing everything from diagnostic testing and protective gear to innovative therapeutics.
In this informative webinar, Technion Professor Moran Bercovici will talk about how his microfluidics research could lead to point-of-care testing to detect the coronavirus. Prof. Bercovici and his team have developed methods for direct detection of biomarkers, without requiring time-consuming sample cleanup and amplification. They are now applying these methods detecting the coronavirus, with the aim of creating a test that could be completed, from sample to answer, in minutes.
For patients already diagnosed with COVID-19, Technion Professor Josué Sznitman and his team are developing an innovative technology that could dramatically improve the efficacy of existing drugs for treating Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS), the leading cause of death in COVID-19 patients. Their Liquid Foam Therapy (LIFT) aims to improve the distribution of surfactants, liquids that coat the surface of the lungs’ air sacs and reduce the energy required for breathing. It’s been shown that COVID-19 depletes the secretion of surfactants, a condition which Prof. Sznitman’s team believes is particularly severe in ARDS.
Featured Speakers
ABOUT THE SPEAKERS
Associate Professor Moran Bercovici heads the Microfluidic Technologies Laboratory in the Technion Faculty of Mechanical Engineering. An aeronautical engineer by training, he is best known for his research into the lab-on-a-chip, which integrates several analyses that are usually done in the laboratory.
Associate Professor Josué Sznitman heads the Technion Biofluids Laboratory in the Faculty of Biomedical Engineering and is the director of the Norman Seiden Multidisciplinary Graduate Program in Nanoscience and Nanotechnology in the Russell Berrie Nanotechnology Institute. His research focuses on groundbreaking bioengineered lung models for respiratory disease characterization and therapeutic screening, and delivering innovative approaches that break away from traditional models and methods of pulmonary drug delivery.
