Autoimmune Life Blog

Caroline Stefani, PhD, became fascinated with the immune system while pursuing her doctorate in microbiology. She loved using imaging tools to examine the worlds of cells and bacteria. But one thing frustrated her. 

As the next chapter of COVID-19 unfolds, we’re hearing that the virus will likely become endemic (in the northern hemisphere) — and it will be part of life for the foreseeable future.

To most people, the gut is just a part of your body that helps digest food.

A pattern emerged at the beginning of the pandemic: COVID-19 led to an overly aggressive immune response in some people, causing deadly inflammation.

At this point, we’ve lived through many phases of the pandemic: closing schools and sanitizing surfaces. Mask mandates and mRNA vaccines. Now, we’ve reached a new phase, with still more questions: How dangerous is the Delta variant?

Sore arm. Fever. Body aches. We’ve all heard about the possible side effects when it comes to getting the COVID-19 vaccine – but how serious are they? And what is happening in our bodies when we feel these reactions?

In the race for a COVID-19 vaccine, messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines finished first. This includes those made by Pfizer and Moderna. These vaccines use a new approach to fight off pathogens (germs like viruses and bacteria).

For months, people have been asking the same questions about COVID-19: How can we contain the virus but live something like a normal life?

When the COVID-19 pandemic started unfolding, BRI Principal Investigator Adam Lacy-Hulbert, PhD, was ready to fight it: He previously developed a way to study viruses like Ebola and identified cells specially armored against the deadly virus.

Most people don’t spend much time thinking about their gut. They know it starts at their mouth and ends at their rectum — and they hope it stays in working order. They might even know it includes the gut microbiome, millions of bacteria in your large intestine.