Five University of South Alabama faculty members were recently honored at the 3rd annual Technology and Research Showcase for their research in fields ranging from sustainability to cyber security and marine sciences to lung biology.
“The Research and Technology Showcase is South’s opportunity to show our community the cutting-edge research that is being conducted by our faculty,” said Michael Chambers, J.D., Ph.D., interim vice president for research and economic development and chief economic development officer. “Our faculty bring in millions of dollars in external funding every year to improve patient care and outcomes, to create novel technologies and to safeguard our national security and our environment.”
Troy Stevens, Ph.D., professor and Lenoir Louise Locke Chair of Physiology and Cell Biology at the Whiddon College of Medicine, was among those recognized at the event. He also serves as director of the USA Center for Lung Biology.
When SARS-CoV-2 infections spread across the world in 2020, the numbers of infected patients, mortality and recovery from SARS-CoV-2 infections were all tracked closely by healthcare professionals. Recent estimates suggest there have been approximately 705 million coronavirus cases since 2020, with 7 million deaths. This also means that most patients have recovered from coronavirus infections, yet these recoveries have not been without incident. Roughly 19% of patients who recover from SARS-CoV-2 infections exhibit protracted impairment in end-organ function, prominently lung, heart, kidney, brain and muscular dysfunction. The SARS-CoV-2 survivors who exhibit protracted end-organ dysfunction have been called long-haulers.
Stevens’ team’s work has revealed a previously unknown host response to lower airway infection, where viruses and bacteria elicit generations of cytopathic amyloid and tau variants within the lung that can injure multiple organs. These findings identify a mechanism of end-organ dysfunction in the aftermath of critical illness and provide a novel molecular target for development of medical therapy to treat adverse outcomes during and after infection. This work encourages investigators to reconsider our current ways of thinking about the causes of various chronic diseases, like Alzheimer’s disease and other tauopathies.
Read the full news release from the University of South Alabama.
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| The Office of Research and Economic Development held its 3rd annual Research and Technology Showcase, which highlighted the work of five USA faculty members. Troy Stevens, Ph.D., professor and chair of physiology and cell biology, second from right, was among those honored. |
