FOR-COVID
Bavarian consortium for research on the pandemic disease COVID-19 (FOR-COVID)

The association
At the beginning of January 2020, a number of patients with pneumonia of unknown aetiology was reported in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China. The outbreak was associated with a seafood market in Wuhan, where a novel coronavirus was identified as the etiological agent. Several independent research groups identified this novel virus as a member of the zoonotic coronavirus family with highly identical genome as a bat coronavirus, pointing to the bat as the natural host. The genomic sequences of the novel virus are almost identical and share about 80% sequence identity to a virus that emerged 17 years ago causing a „Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome“ called SARS-CoV. As a result, the novel identified virus has been classified as SARS-CoV-2. While the virus is likely originating from zoonotic coronaviruses, it adapted perfectly to humans and has spread rapidly worldwide, reaching a pandemic level in a short time.
The SARS-CoV-2 virus causes a disease, which is called coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) and shows a wide range of symptoms, ranging from asymptomatic/mild symptoms to flue-like symptoms and further to severe illness with progressive respiratory insufficiency requiring mechanical ventilation which can even trigger a multiple organ dysfunction syndrome.
2 years after the first report, SARS-CoV-2 and its new emerged, fast-spreading 'variants of concern' (VoCs - as the so-called alpha, beta, omikron variants) have caused millions of infections worldwide with a high mortality rate. Thus, COVID-19 has triggered enormous human casualties and serious economic loss posing global threat and a crucial test for the international solidarity of the world.
Quelle: Sequences are available at www.GISAID.org. Fig: Dr. Maximilian Muenchhoff, Max von Pettenkofer-Institut, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU). For enlargment of the figure please click here.
Also in Germany and Bavaria society, politics and science are facing completely new challenges in the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. As a result and in an effort to face the pandemic and its major scientific questions, Bavarian universities and research institutes joined forces in the Bavarian research consortium ‘FOR-COVID’. The research partners in FOR-COVID are international renowned scientists with expertise in virological diagnostics, the development of vaccines, the evaluation of virus specific immunity and the virus – cell interactions and the research in pathogenesis and therapy.
The mission of FOR-COVID is to contribute to the continuous international scientific efforts to combat COVID-19 and the pandemic. On the national level FOR-COVID will closely interact and join forces with the project groups of a Saxonian research network.
Organisation
Sprecherin
Stellvertretender Sprecher
Geschäftsführung
Wissenschaftler*in
- Prof. Dr. Percy Knolle
- Alina Tscherne
- Prof. Dr. Sutter Gerd
- Prof. Dr. Wagner Ralf
- Prof. Dr. Tenbusch Matthias
- Prof. Dr. Klaus Überla
- Dr. Munschauer Mathias
- Prof. Dr. Vogel Jörg
- Dr. med. Münchhoff Maximilian
- Prof. Dr. Keppler Oliver
- Dr. Peterhoff David
- Dr. Asbach Benedikt
- Prof. Dr. Dr. Pichlmair Andreas
- Prof. Dr. Saliba Antoine-Emmanuel
- Prof. Dr. Erhard Florian
- Prof. Dr. Dölken Lars
- Prof. Dr. Protzer Ulrike
Partner
Projects
- Projekt im Forschungsnetz Sachsen-Bayern: Charakterisierung der Transmissionswahrscheinlichkeit von SARS-CoV-2 durch experimentell erzeugte infektiöse Aerosole unter variablen Umgebungsbedingungen
- Projekt im Forschungsnetz Sachsen-Bayern: Formierung, klinisches Management und Langzeit-Follow-up einer Saechsischen COVID-19-Kohorte (SaCCo)
- Projekt im Forschungsnetz Sachsen-Bayern: Entwicklung und Anwendung eines innovativen, sicheren SARS-CoV-2 Pseudovirus Systems für ‚High-Throughput Cellular Screens‘ zur Identifikation Wirts-abhängiger Eintrittsfaktoren oder antiviraler Agentien
- Projekt im Forschungsnetz Sachsen-Bayern: Analyse und Modulation von angeborener und erworbener Immunität bei SARS-CoV2 Infektion
- Elucidate SARS-CoV-2 Antigenic escape Pathways resulting in immune Evasion (ESCAPE)
- Mucosal immune responses for protection against SARS-CoV-2
- Strength and durability of immune respones SARS-CoV-2 infection and vaccination
- Expanding immunity against SARS-CoV-2 by vaccination
- T cell antigens for new multivalent vector vaccines against SARS-CoV-2-like coronaviruses
- Evolution of virus-host interactions in SARS-CoV-2 VOCs
- Deciphering SARS-CoV-2 infection by scSLAM-seq and artificial intelligence
- Decoding the biology of SARS-CoV-2 infections from its direct in vivo RNA-protein interactome
Contact
Sprecherin:
Frau Prof. Dr. Ulrike Protzer, Technische Universität München (TUM), Institut für Virologie
Stellvertretende Sprecher:
Herr Prof. Dr. Oliver Keppler, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU), Max-von-Pettenkofer Institut, Virologie,
Herr Prof. Dr. Joerg Vogel, Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg (JMU), Institut für Molekulare Infektionsbiologie
Kontakt:
PD Dr. Martina Anton
Geschäftsführung Bay Forschungsverbund FOR-COVID
Klinikum rechts der Isar der TUM
Institut für Molekulare Immunologie
Ismaninger Str. 22
81675 München
email: martina.anton@tum.de
Mobil: +49 (0)89 4140 4453