GIGA-Institute, ULiège - FNRS - Royal Academy of Sciences, Letters and Fine Arts of Belgium
" The main objective of our research program is the identification of human genetic factors impacting the COVID19 pandemic. Within the COVID-19 host genetics initiative (https://www.covid19hg.org/), we will establish a shared set of phenotypes to be combined with genomic data for standard GWAS and further meta-analysis. Field of expertise of our laboratory : genetics, genomics, bioinformatics, immune-response related diseases. In addition, the GIGA Institute is an interdisciplinary research institute from the ULiege devoted to academic excellence in the biomedical sciences to foster ground-breaking medical innovation. It comprises 583 members attached to six faculties (Medicine, Science, Veterinary Medicine, Engineering, Agbiotech, Psychology) that are organized in four disease-based (neuroscience, cancer, infection-inflammation-immunity, cardiovascular) and two method-based thematic units...

Read more: Souad Rahmouni, Doctor

UCLouvain - Royal Academy of Medicine of Belgium

Determination of Germ-Line Variations and Pathological Gene Expression that May Contribute to Immunopathology in COVID-19." The SARS-CoV-2 infection (1, 2), can be followed by a severe evolution with severe respiratory distress. We hypothesize that germline variants in genes involved in innate immunity, especially type I interferon induction and actions, predispose to delayed pathological response/cytokine storm. Our aims are to identify: i) such germ-line variants and ii) peripheral leukocyte gene expression that can predict unfavorable SARS-CoV2 infections. A group of SARS-CoV2 patients with unfavorable evolution, young and without co-morbidities (25) will be compared with an aged matched group of 25 SARS-CoV2 individuals with absence or a minimum of symptoms. Germ line DNA obtained from peripheral blood (PB) will be whole exome sequenced (WES) and analyzed with bioinformatics tools that are used for rare disease germline...

Read more: Stefan Constantinescu, Professor

UMONS and Ambroise-Paré Hospital Mons
" Predictive plasma signature of the clinical behavior of COVID-19 patients. The clinical presentation of COVID-19 infection varies from mild to asymptomatic to pneumonia, which can be complicated by severe respiratory failure and/or cardiovascular, renal, hepatic and cutaneous involvement. The understanding of such a polymorphism is very incomplete and the prognosis is difficult. Several tracks involving inflammatory reactions are currently favored to better explain this disease. In particular, the significant increase in plasma cytokines IL2, IL7, IL10, GSCF, IP10, MCP1, MIP1A and TNFα, known as "cytokine storm", seems to be significantly associated with the ARDS and multi-organ onsets. In this context, IL6 seems to play an important role and targeted treatments against this cytokine seem promising. Also, the infection of endothelial cells by the coronavirus causing endothelium inflammation have been suggested as one of the fundamental...

Read more: Stéphane CARLIER, Prof - Jean-Marie COLET, Prof - Fabrice JOURNE, Dr - Sven SAUSSEZ, Prof- Vincent...

UNamur
" The goal is to solve one of the shortage in the COVID19 diagnostic since the lack of this specific sampling equipment also seriously impedes the diagnostic capacity. 3D printing technologies and coatings deposited by low pressure plasma are applied to develop new generation of swabs and collection tubes. The general purpose for the swabs is to optimize the design in order to maximize the collection and minimize the pain. This involves design of swab tip cavity by fluid mecanic and 3D CAD/CAM, roughness adpatation, plasma surface treatement, surface energy evaluation, wettability evaluation of nasopharyngeal samples, sampling performance by housekeeping gene evaluation (GaPDH ), ..... The general comfort of usage of various designs is also evaluated on humans. The general purpose for the collection tube is to accomodate the new swabs, but also to minimize the number of operation post-sampling. Also, opening the tube and transfer of the content to eppendorf in one single...

Read more: Stéphane Lucas, Full Professor - Richard Coos, Engineer

UMONS, CHU Ambroise Paré
" Following the observation of clinical cases of rashes at Ambroise Paré Hospital, the University of Mons and the team of dermatologists of the hospital initiated a research project to study various rashes that may be related to the current COVID-19 infection. These suspicious rashes are: acute urticaria, Gibert's pink pityriasis, frostbite, urticarial vasculitis, erythema multiforme and other atypical rashes. These rashes are known to accompany several viral infections, their current high number is of concern and we wish to evaluate whether COVID-19 infection could be the cause of them. "
Funding: internal funding
Contact: Pr. Sven Saussez, head of the laboratory of Human Anatomy and Experimental Oncology This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

UMONS/ Epicura/ CHU Ambroise Paré/ Hôpital Foch
" In recent weeks, many European ear, nose and throat (ENT) specialists and infectious diseases specialists have observed that patients infected with coronavirus (COVID-19) had impaired sense of smell and taste. These symptoms of anosmia and dysgeusia were found in a large number of patients infected in Germany, France, Italy, Spain, England and the USA. Faced with the multiplication of declarations medical press, a group of ENT specialists from IFOS (the International Federation of ORL Societies), has developed a survey to investigate these sense of smell and taste disorders in patients infected with COVID-19 (infection being proven by PCR test). Pr. Sven Saussez and Dr. Jérôme Lechien from the University of Mons coordinated this study which was conducted by 33 ENT physicians and researchers in 12 European hospital "
Funding: CUR project submitted UMONS funding
Publication References: Olfactory and gustatory dysfunctions as a clinical...

Read more: Sven Saussez, Professor - Jérôme Lechien, Doctor

UCLouvain 
" The impact of COVID-19 on the relation between great powers "
Contact: Prof. Tanguy Struye de Swielande UCL-CECRI This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

UCLouvain, LouRIM
" WORKVID-19 - How does the permanent use of home-based teleworking affect work relationship? This research investigates the experience of permament teleworkers on (i) the organization of work at home (also in terms of spatiality), (ii) the managerial relationship, (iii) work-life balance and how this affects work organization. "
Funding: Self-funded
Contact: www.uclouvain.be

UCLouvain - FNRS
" Background Primary care is considered to be an essential component of the health system towards the Quadruple aim (improved health outcomes for people, care processes, efficiency and provider work life). In French-speaking Belgium Primary care is poorly structured. The current Covid-19 epidemic acts as a revealer for the strenghts and weaknesses of primary care. The main research question is: what can we learn about the structuration of primary care, its strenghts and weaknesses, in the context of the current epidemic? We use a qualitative research design. The investigated population si primary care providers (GPs, nurses, dentists, pharmacists, physiotherapists, occupational therapists) who are representing their profession, while having a clinical activity. We hold weekly semi-structured interviews with 10 different profiles of providers while the crisis lasts. We use the systematic reporting of critical events, as perceived by the interviewees, as an entry point...

Read more: Thérèse Van Durme, FNRS Research Associate

UCLouvain
" On the one hand, we are developing a safe, middle throughput seroneutralization assay to correlate standard serology to seroneutralization and to enable vaccine response analysis. On the other hand, we develop a basic research project on the identification of a promising drug target site in the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase of positive-stranded RNA viruses, conserved in SARS-CoV-2. During researches performed in the framework of an EOS program, we seredendipitously discovered a conserved region of viral RNA-dependent RNA-polymerases that has properties to be targetable by drugs. This site appears to be conserved in several viruses including SARS-CoV-2 and other important human pathogens. In collaboration with a swiss group working on coronaviruses and other partners, we plan to examine the impact of this polymerase target site on the replication of several viruses, its drugability and the reason for its conservation during evolution. "
Funding: - contribution to a small...

Read more: Thomas Michiels, Professor

UNamur
" Understanding the evolution of the epidemic spreading using simple mathematical models to overcome of the biaises in the data "
Funding: UNamur
Publication References: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/340610501_UPDATE_Italy_now_two_weeks_past_the_peak
Contact: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

ULB
" The forthcoming research (appel PER 15/5/2020) will focus on the the architecture of isolation, how it has been used for earlier epidemies and pandemies in Europe and Africa, and if sanatoria in Belgium could be used for this epidemic situation or lead us to ideal architectural programs "
Funding: FNRS PER (to introduce with current call)
Contact: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

ULB and Hôpital de Marche (Vivalia)
" Three axes to improve SARS-CoV-2 infection detection. 1. Development of RNA positive controls for real-time PCR allowing to give the SARS-CoV-2 RNA results in viral load quantification. Development of samples carrying eukaryote mRNA and recombinant RNA positive controls allowing to give after reverse transcription and real-time PCR the results in viral load/copy number. Method: The amplified region of the SARS-CoV-2 E gene was cloned in a E. coli expression vector allowing recombinant mRNA production after IPTG induction. Positive control samples are prepared by adding a known copy numbers of SARS-CoV-2 RNA to human eukaryote RNA, in order to have standard positive controls during the diagnosis method. 2. Development of a new SARS-CoV-2 diagnosis assay allowing point-of-care testing using the SHERLOCK diagnostics system. 3. Production of recombinant proteins allowing for anti-SARS-CoV-2 immunoglobulin detection by ELISA."
Contact: Véronique...

Read more: Véronique Fontaine, Professor - Philippe Lefèvre, Doctor - Véronique Megalizzi, Doctor

ULiège
" The definition of populations at risk for severe Covid-19 might help to improve health care and to propose specific treatments. We investigate candidate genes that could be associated with these severe forms. "
Funding: Walloon Region (WALGEMED project) Fonds Léon Frédéricq (ULiège)
Contact: Vincent Bours, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

UCLouvain
" Abstract Aims. Billions of individuals have been confined to their homes as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic. This kind of exposure of the population to social distancing is unusual in its scale and in its potential effects on social and mental health. The main aim of this paper, accordingly, is to investigate the effects of confinement on the social and mental health of individuals during the first days of confinement. First, we compared the prevalence of psychological distress before and at the beginning of the confinement period. Then, we assessed three groups of risk factors for psychological distress: changes in social activities and support, exposure to the COVID-19 pandemic, and changes in occupational status. Methods. An online survey was distributed to the general population in Belgium three days after the beginning of the confinement period. 20,792 respondents participated in the survey. The prevalence of psychological distress was measured using the GHQ-12...

Read more: Vincent Lorant, Professor