Autoimmune Life Blog

One goal is to find markers that identify why some people with the virus don’t have symptoms while others get fatally ill. The sickest patients tend to have multiple health issues, which makes it hard to pinpoint the factors related to COVID-19.

BRI scientists were sure of one thing when the novel coronavirus struck: They had the expertise to make swift progress toward understanding it and finding better treatments. “Studying how the immune system responds to viruses has been part of our work for years,” says BRI’s President Jane Buckner

COVID-19 has put a therapy called hydroxychloroquine in the spotlight — and, at the same time, shrouded it in confusion.

In a time when an online search for “COVID-19 information” produces an astonishing 38 million hits, deciding where to get your facts from can feel overwhelming. There is a staggering amount of commentary out there, but whose news can you trust?

In the 1980s, Ronda Palmer constantly felt tired and had far too many aches and pains for a teenager.

With a newly awarded $4 million grant from The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust, BRI and SCRI will now focus on using their novel approach to generate an engineered T cell product that can be used in a future first-in-human clinical trial.

With more than 30 Virginia Mason team members and BRI researchers collaborating, research is happening at an unprecedented pace to help combat the COVID-19 public health crisis.

Many people who live with autoimmune diseases are feeling even more anxiety because their disease may put them at higher risk for complications if infected with COVID-19 – which also creates barriers to necessities like leaving the house, grocery shopping and getting medications.

Dr. Bolouri joined BRI’s growing Systems Immunology Division this year. Much of his work explores why some people have one immune response to an external or internal event, while other people have a different response. He and his systems immunology colleagues examine the big picture.

In the face of COVID-19, the Brooke family got used to things being canceled: school and work now happen at their home in Portland, Oregon. Twins Zoe and Andrew had to change their plans for their 10th birthday party.