UTSA | Catalyst 2020
Catalyst 2020 | UTSA
Running Forward: Our Response to the Coronavirus Pandemic
UTSA Software to Help Patients Receive Faster Postpandemic Care
At the start of the spring 2020 semester,
map that tracked the spread of the virus
of sickness for those infected when the next
By Milady Nazir
students congregated in large lecture halls,
in Texas. Dr. Amina Qutub, a biomedical
strain of SARS-CoV-2 emerges. The typical
researchers huddled together in narrow labs,
engineering professor; Dr. Hongjie Xie, chair
process of drug development, from initial
and staff members collaborated in shared
of the Department of Geological Sciences;
research to animal testing to clinical trials to
workspaces. However, the rapidly evolving
and graduate students Younghyun Koo and
FDA approval, has a timeline of five to eight
nature of the coronavirus pandemic quickly
Teg Pandit contributed to the project.
years. In the meantime, the compounds will
created a new normal for the College of Sci-
help the scientific community understand
ences. Across UTSA, 4,600 courses pivoted
Dr. Doug Frantz, the Max and Minnie
how the coronavirus attacks cells and reacts
online and 6,500 faculty, staff and student
Tomerlin Voelcker Distinguished Professor in
to molecules.
employees worked from home.
Chemistry and co-founder of UTSA’s Center
Many patients had to wait for surgeries
As of May 1, approximately 20 states across
There are plans to make use of this program
due to the heavy burden COVID-19 caused
the country had resumed some elective
for the entire surgery department, which
for hospitals. Now, UTSA computer science
surgeries, with only a few more planning to
typically has 250 to 300 surgeries scheduled
seniors have built a software program that
do so later in the month. Hospitals anticipate
per day.
helps doctors prioritize medical procedures
bottlenecks and long waits for patients who
and treat people more efficiently.
need procedures such as tumor removals.
“Students don’t always have these real-life and critical problems to solve,” Shah says.
The program, called ESCal, can organize
“We had months [of appointments] already
almost three months of surgeries in a few
scheduled. As all this was happening we
they are doing it very fast. I’m impressed
minutes by simply working within a hospi-
realized that, when this is over, we would
with how they’ve come together to help us
tal’s existing system.
have to reschedule everybody,” says Shah.
out. This is very, very valuable and a huge
“But what they are doing really matters, and
for Innovative Drug Discovery, screened
Dr. Karl Klose, recipient of the Robert J.
Campus laboratories downsized to essen-
small molecule libraries to identify com-
Kleberg Jr. and Helen C. Kleberg College of
tial personnel only, but researchers still
pounds that could potentially be developed
Sciences Professorship and the director
found ways to benefit the local community.
into a coronavirus treatment. The com-
of the South Texas Center for Emerging
Dr. Juan Gutierrez, chair of the Department
pounds have chemical properties similar to
Infectious Diseases, is leading a collabora-
of Mathematics, constructed a COVID-19
hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine, two
tive study to work on a potential COVID-19
epidemiological model San Antonio health
immunosuppressive drugs previously used
vaccine. The San Antonio Partnership for
on another project for Amita Shah at UT
canceled and needing to be rescheduled, we
Besides solving grand challenges, projects
officials used to plan their official response.
to treat and prevent malaria, and are part of
Precision Therapeutics awarded the team
Health San Antonio, but once the outbreak
needed a way to triage things when we start
such as these provide tremendous
In collaboration with UT Health San Antonio,
a class of compounds known as quinolines.
$200,000 to conduct their research. Team
struck, we had to pivot,” says Dr. Mark Rob-
operating again.”
“But not everybody’s condition is of the same “For the past nine months, we were working
chemistry professors Dr. Stanton McHardy
Frantz’s compounds are also quinolines, but
members include scientists from all four
inson, an assistant professor of practice in
and Dr. Doug Frantz made large batches of
they are composed of different atoms and
institutions in the partnership—UTSA, UT
UTSA’s Department of Computer Science.
hand sanitizer for providers and staff at UT
bonds that could provide additional benefits
Health San Antonio, Texas Biomedical
Health’s Physicians locations. Labs across
for those infected with the novel coronavirus.
UTSA donated their personal protection equipment (PPE) to UT Health San Antonio,
Frantz then shipped samples of about 250
Research Institute and Southwest Research
“The challenge we had was to build a sur-
help for our practice.”
acuity, and with hundreds of surgeries being
real-world experience for students as well as considerable value to their résumés.
In less than six weeks, the UTSA students were able build the software program,
In the meantime, Shah is onboarding other
which allows Shah to fetch a list of cases.
surgery departments within UT Health to adopt the software.
Institute. The team’s goal is to develop a
gery-scheduling application where Dr. Shah
The program relies on surgery information,
novel vaccine to combat COVID-19 based on
and her team could store information about
such as date of surgery, urgency, authorization to perform surgery, patient readiness,
The UTSA students who collaborated on
including 363 safety glasses, 1,850 surgical
of those compounds to collaborators at The
decades of work on tularemia, a bio-threat
postponed elective surgeries,” Robinson
masks, and 14,176 gloves.
University of Texas Medical Branch at Gal-
also known as rabbit fever caused by the
says. “The hospital’s existing software creat-
cancelations and other criteria. The retrieved
this software program are Jaime Messinger,
veston. Researchers at UTMB Galveston pre-
bacterium Francisella tularensis.
ed lots of problems during the pandemic.”
data is then reported on a spreadsheet pri-
Andrew Noe, Sam Carey and Tyler Mitchell.
oritizing current or upcoming procedures for
Researchers with UTSA’s MATRIX AI Consor-
treated cells infected with SARS-CoV-2, the
tium for Human Well-Being created a website
virus that causes COVID-19, with the com-
Klose has been studying the bacterium
The team delivered a computer program
to help Texans share the location of hard-to-
pounds designed at UTSA. Once the results
F. tularensis since 2001. After his lab discov-
that helped a physician retrieve a list of sur-
the week.
the COVID recovery effort,” says Robinson.
find consumer goods in real time. The web-
are in, Frantz and three UTSA graduate stu-
ered how to inactivate the organism’s ability
geries scheduled for the next two months in
The system also complies with the hospital’s
site harnessed the power of crowd-sourcing
dents as well as scientists of the San Antonio
to cause disease, a live vaccine candidate
less than five minutes—a huge time-saving
strict security standards and integrates
to populate the recovery map with real time
Partnership for Precision Theraputics will
was identified that can induce protection
measure. As businesses ease restrictions,
seamlessly with its security infrastructure.
data. The site also provided information such
work on refining a treatment based on any
against F. tularensis in the lungs. Klose’s
many patients are eager to reschedule elec-
This allows patients to obtain speedier care
as the location of testing sites, mandatory
compounds that show promise. Frantz hopes
team aims to adapt the vaccine to induce
tive operations that were postponed.
as physicians spend more face-to-face time
business closures, travel advisories and a
to develop a treatment to reduce the severity
protection against SARS CoV-2.
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“Now we can say that we contributed to “We are also ready, should a second COVID wave occur.”
with patients—and less time struggling with their software.
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