Serving The University Of Texas At Austin Community Since 1900 @thedailytexan | thedailytexan.com
Tuesday, December 3, 2021
Volume 122, Issue 39
semester in review fall 2021
RESEARCH
CAMPUS
UT researchers use COVID-19 vaccine technology to tackle high-fatality virus By Katy Nelson @KatyNel86
Researchers at UT created the first ever treatment for a fatal virus by utilizing a similar antibody technology that was used to develop COVID-19 treatments. Researchers examined the Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever’s protein structure and found the presence of two antibodies that combine to create a “bispecific antibody” which eliminates the virus, researcher Akaash Mishra said. In November, University researchers, along with collaborators from other institutions across the country, released their findings, which is the first potential treatment reported for the virus, Mishra said. “The bispecific is actually currently under clinical development to be used as a therapeutic against the virus,” said Mishra, a chemistry and biochemistry Ph.D. candidate. “Meaning, let’s say if a person from the U.S. … needs to go to continents where this virus is endemic, … they could actually get a prophylactic shock with one of these antibodies and stay protected for several weeks.” The virus is caused by ticks and can lead to serious complications in humans. In 2018, the World Health Organization identified the virus as one of its top priorities for research. The
virus is endemic in Europe, Africa and Asia, and it is unclear how many cases there are worldwide, according to the National Library of Medicine. “People infected with it could get this hemorrhagic fever,” said researcher Jason McLellan. “Thirty to 40% of infected people die, so it has a very high case fatality rate. And we had access to blood samples from people who had survived (the virus’) infections. So we have a source that we can isolate antibodies from and develop them into interventions.” The group is still continuing research to create a vaccine candidate from their research, but Mishra said development for a candidate is dependent on how authorities in the countries where the virus is present handle treatment. The team of researchers col-
laborated with the Prometheus Consortium for the research, which McLellan said is a group dedicated to developing therapeutics and vaccines for pathogens. McLellan said his group was required to choose among the WHO’s list of high-priority pathogens and they chose this virus. McLellan said their strategy to create the Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever treatment was similar to some COVID-19 treatments. He said the fever’s antibody is similar to Regeneron, which is a single infusion antibody cocktail given to COVID-19 patients to lessen their symptoms and help them fight the virus. “Our collaborators isolated hundreds of antibodies from a survivor of (the fever), and then
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VIRUS
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/ the daily texan staff
UT professor elected president of Linguistic Society of America By Kevin Vu @Kevin_Vu_
The Linguistic Society of America elected a UT professor as its president for the first time since 1973. Linguistics professor Anthony Woodbury will serve a one-year term as vice president in 2022 and a one-year term as president in 2023. “I feel very honored and I also feel that I have a responsibility to feel that I’m really taking the temperature of what is going on with the membership of (the society) and try to represent and enable to the best of my ability all these things,” Woodbury said. “There’s quite a lot of things going on in the discipline. There’s many, many new horizons.” The Linguistic Society of America has advanced the study of language and its structure since 1924 by sponsoring different peer-reviewed journals, conferences and programs, said Alyson Reed, executive director of the organization. “We’re delighted that Tony agreed to stand for election and we’re looking forward to working with him in the coming years,” Reed said. Reed said the nominating
copyright anthony woodbury, and reproduced with permission
Linguistics professor Anthony Woodbury will serve as president of the Linguistic Society of America in 2023.
committee selected Woodbury for these positions based on his outstanding scholarship and leadership abilities. Reed said the committee also considered potential candidates’ time commitments and their ability to lead a nonprofit organization. Woodbury said he has worked at UT since 1980 and has focused on researching and documenting Indigenous languages of the Americas. He said he has trained linguistics for native speakers of the Indigenous languages of Latin America and Alaska. Woodbury said he was
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shocked when he received an email in May about his selection as vice president and president-elect. “My jaw dropped,” Woodbury said. “I couldn’t believe it. I just thought, ‘Wow.’ I was just really surprised. It was just out of the blue. I always tried to be a good citizen, and do things for (society) when I had a chance. I had no idea that anybody was thinking of me to do this.” As president, Woodbury will preside at the meetings of the society, help with fundraising, be a spokesperson for the organization and deliver the presidential PROFESSOR
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