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Our COVID-19 Response and How to Help

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Overview

We have pivoted from genome editing research to an all-out effort to slow the spread of COVID-19. 

The global threat of COVID-19 has united the scientific community. We must work together to mitigate this crisis. At the IGI, we created a pop-up coronavirus testing lab in our building on UC Berkeley campus over the course of three weeks. We are now testing patient samples from the Berkeley community, including undergraduate students, first responders, and vulnerable people without insurance or permanent housing.

Our scientists and the broader Bay Area research community quickly formed rapid response teams, now working to better understand, detect, track, and treat the novel coronavirus.

We will update our site as our work progresses and organize our resources below. Please share this page with others who might find it useful and consider making a donation to support our urgent work. If you cannot find what you need, please contact
igi-covid19@berkeley.edu.

Resources

I would like to get tested for the novel coronavirus.

We do not offer direct patient testing. We process samples received from local medical centers. If you are feeling sick, please follow guidance from the CDC, your local health department, and your healthcare provider. If you're a UC Berkeley student or staff member, you can find information about testing availability and guidelines via University Health Services.

I'm a scientist looking for COVID-19 resources and ways to help.

  • Watch UC Berkeley Professor and IGI Investigator Britt Glaunsinger's molecular virology lecture, "Coronaviruses 101."
  • Struggling through coronavirus literature? Try covidscholar.org, a COVID-19 research search portal. Help improve this tool by submitting keywords and paper summaries.
  • Check out "SARS-CoV-2 by the numbers," a quantitative summary of key coronavirus facts, available in more than a dozen languages.
  • View our whiteboard video overview describing CRISPR-based diagnostic tools, which we and others are developing for rapid SARS-CoV-2 detection.
  • Browse COVID-19 research funding opportunities here.
  • Review an updated list of the supplies our SARS-CoV-2 testing lab needs right now to see if you have equipment, reagents, or other materials to donate:

 

I’d like to learn more about the IGI’s COVID-19 work.

  • Follow our updates on social media and share with others.

mail

I'm a journalist interested in your work.

Send media inquiries to Megan Hochstrasser (megan.hochstrasser@berkeley.edu). You may also want to check out our free coronavirus illustrations.

I'd like to support you financially.

Your support is critical in the fight against COVID-19

DONATE NOW

As the COVID-19 pandemic worsens in the U.S., there remains a critical lack of testing capability. Testing is essential for tracking and containing viral spread.

We have set up a COVID-19 diagnostic testing lab at the IGI that analyzes patient samples collected by clinical partners. An effort of this nature is extremely challenging and requires staff at multiple institutions, new equipment, new reagents and extensive administrative support.

Looking ahead, we are developing point-of-care diagnostic tests and launching strategic research projects to understand the virus and combat it with new therapeutics.

Contributions of any size get us closer to accomplishing our important goals.

Thank you for your support!

I'd like to see more general ways to help in the Bay Area and beyond.

We've compiled a working document with suggestions about how to support the community during this time. Here are some highlights:

  • Protect yourself and others by following shelter-in-place and social distancing orders.
  • Join a local mutual aid network or form one for your community.
  • Donate blood if you are able. Blood banks are facing shortages.
  • Become a citizen scientist and play FoldIt puzzles that help uncover the best ways to fight COVID-19.
  • If you had a confirmed case of COVID-19 and have recovered, consider volunteering for an NIH Vaccine Research Center study.
  • Do science outreach while you shelter-in-place:
    • Sign up for Skype a Scientist live sessions to help school children stay excited about learning!
    • Answer questions from the public about COVID-19 and help improve a public health chatbot with Ask a Scientist (FAS) and Jennifer (not Doudna) chatbot (NASEM).
    • Edit Wikipedia entries related to COVID-19 to make sure information is accurate and up-to-date. Learn how to edit here.
    • If you are fluent in more than one language, translate COVID-19 resources (e.g. Wikipedia pages).
    • UC Berkeley scientists can answer COVID-19 questions from the public by volunteering for "Ask a Berkeley Scientist" or take part in science outreach videos. Sign up for both here.

Our Supporters

We want to deeply thank our supporters for their generosity.

Lead Philanthropic Partners

  • The Shurl and Kay Curci Foundation
  • Open Philanthropy
  • The Julia Burke Foundation

Major Supporters

Supply Donors

  • Gracious Life Foundation (GLF)
  • Marvell NanoLab
  • Dillin Lab
  • Karpen Lab
  • Naars Lab
  • Niyogi Lab
  • Herr Lab

Individual Contributors

  • Amy Tollner
  • Jim Modiano
  • James Roberts
  • Risa Salat Kolm

Meal Sponsors

  • Denise Simard/REMEDY
  • Mike Botchan
  • Dillin Lab
  • Jennifer Doudna
  • N. Louise Glass
  • Susan Marqusee
  • Dan Nomura
  • Jasper Rine
  • Adam Arkin
  • Trent Northen
  • Edward Rivera
  • Eunyoung Seo