Respiratory infections like SARS-CoV-2 continue to pose major threats to public health and global stability. While vaccines and treatments have improved, one of the most deadly features of COVID-19 remains the highly variable, unpredictable and often excessive immune response. An uncontrolled, extreme immune reaction is the major cause of severe lung damage and death from SARS-CoV-2, yet the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. Gaining deeper insights into how and why such immune escalation occurs is essential for developing better diagnostics, targeted therapies, and more effective vaccines.
This interdisciplinary research project focuses on decoding these mechanisms at both the cellular and tissue level. In collaboration with the Sizun Lab at Harvard Medical School, Clara Kummerer, a graduate of the University of Oxford and current Master student at the University of Vienna, will analyse high-resolution tissue imaging data from non-human primate studies of SARS-CoV-2 infection. The goal is to identify molecular patterns associated with immune overreaction and distinguish between protective and harmful immune responses. The project will also compare the immune effects of different vaccine types (protein-based vs. mRNA) to inform future vaccine development. Clara brings expertise in single-cell immunobiology and computational biology to the Sizun Lab, which is renowned for ground-breaking tissue analysis methods. Both the Sizun Lab and Clara have a strong track record in translating academic research into biotech innovation. This creates a clear pathway for any findings from the project to be developed into practical solutions, ensuring that the research can make a tangible difference beyond the lab.
This six-month research stay at Harvard represents a crucial step in Clara’s academic development and her pursuit of a PhD in infection biology. As the research internship is unpaid, this scholarship makes an essential contribution towards financing this stay, which is also supported by the Austrian Marshall Plan Foundation. Clara has a long-standing connection to Rotary, global health, and community building making this a meaningful partnership that bridges communities across Vienna and Boston and holds the potential to incept new collaborative projects and scientific exchange.
