Erasme Hospital
" Precise the frequency of thrombosis events in COVID19 patients "
Funding: No need
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Coris BioConcept
" Early February we started the development of a rapid antigen detection assay for SARS-CoV-2. The COVID-19 Ag Respi-Strip Assay was validated in three University hospital laboratories and registered (CE mark) by end of March. The test is designed as a first line triage assay to be used for rapid (15 minutes) detection of SARS-CoV-2 on symptomatic patients. We are currently developing a serological assay that targets the immune response against several antigens of the virus. "
Publication References: https://jcm.asm.org/content/jcm/early/2020/05/11/JCM.00977-20.full.pdf https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmed.2020.00225/full?utm_campaign=ba-cov-sci-fmed-respi-strip&utm_medium=cvlp&utm_source=fweb
Contact: https://www.corisbio.com/Products/Human-Field/Covid-19.php product-sales: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. science-R&D: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

CHU of Liège
" The aim of this study is to search for the presence of antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 in the staff of CHU de Liège and University of Liège, and to follow the evolution of antibody levels on blood samples taken 1.5 and 3 months after the first sample. This will allow to : • carry out a COVID-19 seroprevalence study by assaying anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in people in contact with patients, compared to a population of "negative control" subjects, at baseline and 1.5 and 3 months after the first testing ; • observe the evolution of antibody levels between samples; • highlight possible seroconversion between samples in asymptomatic persons "
Funding: Wallonia Region CHU of Liège University of Liège Fondation Léon Frédéricq
Contact: Dr Pascale Huynen, Dpt of Clinical Microbiology, CHU of Liège and University of Liège Prof Pierrette Melin, Dpt of Clinical Microbiology, CHU of Liège and University of Liège Prof Yves Beguin, Dpt of Hematology, CHU of Liège and University of...

Read more: Pascale Huynen, Dr

Cliniques universitaires Saint-Luc, UCLouvain
" The objective of our project is to describe the nasopharyngeal (NP) microbiota and virome of SARS-CoV-2 infected patients at diagnosis through unbiased nextgeneration sequencing analysis and to correlate microbiota and virome profile with COVID-19 infectious phenotype. At a second stage of our project, provided additional findings are raised, those data will be enriched by NP transcriptome analysis of infected patients, and background genomic determination. Integration of those data and analysis through systems biology approach will enable better understanding of multidirectional host-pathogen interactions. "
Funding: FNRS CUR requested. Additional funding will be requested for further steps.
Contact: Pr L.Belkhir This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 02/7642198 --- Pr P.Cani This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

ULiège, CHU - Royal Academy of Medicine of Belgium
" Nous faisons face à une pandémie d'infection COVID-19. Ce virus pathogène est source de complications pulmonaires aggravant fortement le pronostic de nos patients. De nos jours, tant les mécanismes physiopathologiques en cause que les marqueurs de sévérité de l'atteinte restent indéterminés. Il apparaît donc comme urgent de pouvoir identifier des marqueurs diagnostiques, pronostiques et prédictifs pour nos patients. Dans ce contexte, plusieurs voies rapidement explorables nous apparaissent comme critiques. Le but final de cette étude est de contribuer à une prise en charge plus ciblée des patients porteurs d'une infection au SRAS-Cov-2. "
Funding: Fonds Léon Frederic
Publication References: Dix publications représentatives : 1) Prevention of murine radiogenic thymic lymphomas by tumor necrosis factor or by marrow grafting. HUMBLET C, GREIMERS R, DELVENNE P, DEMAN J, BONIVER J, DEFRESNE MP. J Natl Cancer Inst 88 (1996), 824-831. IF...

Read more: Ph. DELVENNE, FNRS Research Director / Chef de service Anatomie pathologique - J. GUIOT, Chef de...

GSK - Royal Academy of Medicine of Belgium
" Support covid international: https://www.gsk.com/en-gb/media/resource-centre/our-contribution-to-the-fight-against-2019-ncov/ Support covid en Belgique: https://be.gsk.com/media/915368/cp-gsk-contributions-majeures-de-gsk-a-la-lutte-contre-le-covid-19.pdf NA NA "
Funding: NA
Contact: Philippe Denoel - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

UCLouvain - UNamur
" One of the key determining factors in viral infection is the entry of the virus into the host cells. Different CoVs including MHV, SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV have been consistently demonstrated to engage the endocytic pathway as the main mechanism for viral entry into a variety types of host cells. At present, the entry mechanisms and the implication of the endocytic pathway of the new emerging SARS-CoV-2 have not been reported directly. It is known that SARS-CoV-2 utilizes the same receptor of SARS-CoV, which is angiotensin converting enzyme II (ACE2) for viral entry into the host cells. Since SARS-CoV-2 also binds to the same ACE2 receptor as SARS-CoV it is highly possible that this new CoV utilizes the same endocytic pathway for entry into the host cells. Besides, a recent report suggests that SARS-CoV-2 invaded host cells via another route of CD147-spike protein. Our lab is studying the endocytosis mechanism of several plasma membrane receptors previously...

Read more: Pierre Morsomme, Professor - Henri-François Renard, Professor

HUDERF and ULB
" Role of Children in Sars-Cov-2 transmission, Heath Care Worker protection, Paediatric epidemiology and disease burden "
Funding: FNRS funding under assessment.
Contact: Prof Pierre Smeesters Academic Children Hospital Queen Fabiola Molecular Bacteriology Laboratory, ULB This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

ULiège 
" My main research interest is the development of complete analytical solutions for biomedical applications. I mostly focus on breath and other volatile matrices characterization. "
Publication References: Zanella, D., HENKET, M., SCHLEICH, F., Louis, R., Focant, J.-F., & Stefanuto, P.-H. (2019). Multi-matrices screening for untargeted volatilomics by GC×GC-TOFMS. European Respiratory Journal. Supplement, 54, 4272. Purcaro, G.* , Stefanuto, P.-H.* , Flavio, F., Marco, B., Wieland-Alter, W., Wright, P., & Hill, J. (2018, March). SPME-GC×GC-TOF MS fingerprint of virally-infected cell culture: Sample preparation optimization and data processing evaluation. Analytica Chimica Acta. SCHLEICH, F., Zanella, D., Stefanuto, P.-H., Dallinga, J., HENKET, M., Wouters, E. F. M., Van Steen, K., Van Schooten, F., Focant, J.-F., & Louis, R. (2019). Exhaled Volatile Organic Compounds Are Able to Discriminate Between Neutrophilic and Eosinophilic Asthma. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF...

Read more: Pierre-Hugues Stefanuto, PhD

Any-Shape
" Production of nasopharyngeal swabs using 3D printing "
Contact: Roger Cocle CEO This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

UMONS /Materia Nova and UCLouvain
" The Covid-19 diagnostic platform of the University of mons , Famph accredited, is an enormous contribution to the much-needed effort against Covid-19. The Covid-19 RT-qPCR test has been developed by UNamur and transposed to UMONS with the help of our UMONS Innovation Center: MATERIA NOVA. The diagnostic platform is currently able to process more than 400 tests per day for the benefit of the region's hospitals, their hospitalised patients and their staff. This is a major contribution to increasing national screening capacity. The platform's teams, led by our Vice-Rector Ruddy Wattiez, are made up of some forty volunteer researchers and logisticians from the laboratories of the Institutes of Health and Biosciences. They take turns seven days a week to carry out this crucial operation, which was set up in record time. "
Publication References: ...

Read more: Ruddy Wattiez, Professor - Lionel Tafforeau, Professor - Elise Hennebert, Doctor - Anne-Emilie...

UMONS /Materia Nova/ CHU Ambroise Paré/ entreprise Biotech
" Development of a new serological test for the detection of antibodies to SARS-CoV-2. A research project for the PoC serological diagnosis for SARC-CoV2 antibodies that will be done in collaboration with the Walloon company D-tek. This company is well known, since 25 years, for the development and commercialisation of serologic diagnostic tests. The immuno-dot elisa test, in their proprietary BlueDiver instrument, could allow for rapid detection of IgM and IgG antibodies from patients previously infected with the virus."
Contact: Pr. Ruddy Wattiez, Vice-rector of research and innovation of the university of Mons This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

UMONS - Faculty of Engineering - ILIA and ISIA Departments
" This study allows an early Covid-19 diagnosis by using AI and explainable based classification and detection methods applied to CT and X-ray datasets. Many datasets form several hospitals in Belgium are used. The goal of the project is to use AI based methods to identify Covid-19 patients. Explainable AI methods are used to provide efficient interpretation and visualization tools for the classification and detection results obtained. The second goal of this project is to create a benchmark dataset composed of chest CT and X-ray database related to Covid-19 disease. To this aim, a semi-automatic annotation tool is developed in order to allow fast image annotation by radiologists. - Explainable artificial intelligence applied to Covid-19 detection based on CT and X-ray images. - Annotation tool development to build a benchmark database. "
Funding: University of Mons - Faculty of Engineering
Publication References: ...

Read more: Saïd Mahmoudi, Professor - Thierry Dutoit, Full Professor - Sidi Ahmed Mahmoudi, Professor- Xavier...

CMMI
" The Center of Microscopy and Molecular Imaging (CMMI) is currently involved in establishing an accurate SARS-CoV-2 virus distribution topography in the organs and various cells of patients who died in COVID-19 units by providing immunohistochemistry and electron microscopy services (study director Pr. Isabelle Salmon). We have also developed and are currently offering preclinical multimodal quantitative imaging - of lung inflammation - of bacterial population (pathogen or no pathogen) - and of viral infection by isotopic imaging. All these models enable the understanding of pulmonary pathological features caused by SARS-viruses such as CoVID-19. From molecular to humanized animal models, the CMMI provides customized imaging solutions to research projects on Coronavirus The CMMI is also a proud partner of the ULB diagnostic platform set-up in Gosselies to face the epidemic of SARS-CoV2. "
Contact: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Comment: The CMMI was co-founded by ULB et UMons and is supported...

Read more: Serge Goldman, Scientific Director

ULiège
" The Centre Spatial de Liege is developing a process for mask recycling by cleaning, decontamination and dehydradation. The process combines ethanol/water mix cleaning with an innovative outgassing step under vacuum. The decontamination is already proven thanks to the collaboration with the Veterinary Faculty . The outgassing step aims to retrieve mask performance (mainly filtration efficiency) close to original. "
Funding: No, internal ULiege project
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