Daniel Jacobson, Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
September 22, 2020. 12:45 – 1:45 pm.
A Virtual Seminar on Blackboard Collaborate.
Using a Systems Biology approach, we are integrating genomic, transcriptomic, proteomic, and molecular structure information to provide a holistic understanding of the COVID-19 pandemic. A combination of data analytic, statistical and explainable-AI methods are being used in a supercomputing environment in order to better understand the pathogenesis of COVID-19. Here we present some of the results of this comprehensive analysis that reveals that a Bradykinin Storm is an underlying mechanism for much of the symptomatology observed in COVID-19 patients including symptoms involved in, among others, the respiratory, gastrointestinal, hepatic, nephrological, cardiovascular, neurological, and muscular, systems. Further investigation has identified several existing medicinal drugs that have the potential to be re-purposed to treat the Bradykinin Storm and downstream signaling pathways. Some of these drugs are already showing positive results in initial clinical studies. Efforts are underway to carry out larger clinical trials to assess how broadly effective these drugs are in treating patients with COVID-19. In addition, understanding how SARS-Cov-2 affects the body will help researchers and clinicians identify individuals who are most at risk of developing life-threatening symptoms.