ULB, UCLouvain, Université de Montréal
" OBJ: 1) Observe interprofessional and interorganisational collaboration "in the making" in crisis situation: how professional groups organize and collaborate (within and between professional groups) in different organizational contexts (liberal practice, primary care delivery services, hospitals, nursing homes, etc.) especially for vulnerable groups. 2) Analyse the role of regulatory bodies governmental agencies, professional associations) in managing healthcare professions and interprofessional collaboration in crisis situations 3)Improving future care and the resilience of health systems METH: Collection and analysis of documents (instructions, tools, etc.), qualitative interviews, in situ observations. Developing Grounded theory "
Funding: Research team is part of BeHive - Interdisciplinary primary care Chair, funded by the King Baudouin Foundation (Fund Dr. Daniel De Coninck)
Contact: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

ULB and European Center for prevention and Control of Diseases fellow - FNRS
" In support of clinical biology laboratories, the ULB has set up a diagnostic plateform in both Erasmus and Gosselies campus to face the epidemic of SARS-CoV2. The diagnosis relies on the detection of viral RNA in nasal swab. The COVID plateform has the capacity to analyse 500 samples per day, 7 days a week and relies on the expertise and skill of more than 200 volunteers. "
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Comment: List of all the volunteers who are working in the COVID plateform

ULB, CHU Saint-Pierre, Hôpital Erasme, ULiège - FNRS

" The project investigates the immune responses to SARS-CoV-2 infection in humans. Cohorts of patients and contacts are recruited and followed-up during several months following infection. Using systems serology and systems biology approaches, the quality and dynamics of antibody and cellular responses are analysed to identify correlates of protection against severe disease and to determine the duration of natural immunity to the virus. The project should provide insight in the host response to SARS-CoV-2 and should help define deconfinement strategies and develop prophylactic and therapeutic interventions against COVID-19. "
Funding: COVID 19 - ULB
Contact: Arnaud Marchant: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Stanislas Goriely: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

ULiège
" The objective of this study is to better understand children's experiences and understanding of this coronavirus crisis. Our purpose is to approach this experience through a drawing. According to Romano (2010), the child's drawing shows the state of his defence mechanisms and the achievement of his elaboration capacities. Several studies have highlighted the stress felt, or even the symptoms of acute stress and post-traumatic stress, in cases of confinement (Qiu et al., 2020; Brooks et al., 2020). Within this framework, we aim to study children's perceptions of the coronavirus and what it means for them. The guideline is intended to be relatively broad in order to allow the child to let go of his or her imagination and give us access to his or her experiences. In previous research, children were asked to draw their perceptions of the September 11, 2001 attacks. What emerges from this study is that most of the children draw elements characteristic of this event, namely...

Read more: Adélaïde Blavier, Professor - Alicia Gallo, Researcher

ULiège
" As the coronavirus epidemic progresses throughout the country, it imposes exceptional sanitary measures on undertakers in order to slow down its spread. In the event of a patient's death, the federal government has issued strict instructions to funeral staff for the care of the body of a patient who died as a result of a coronavirus infection. The body of the deceased must automatically be placed in a double biodegradable body bag before being transferred to the mortuary (The Royal Federation of Funeral Directors of Belgium a.s.b.l., 2020). It is then impossible for families to proceed with the placing. The body must be placed in a single coffin without delay. The coffin will be closed definitively without the possibility of an act of thanatopraxy. In view of these important changes in the care of the deceased, it is likely that funeral workers will develop difficulties or disorders in connection with the performance of their work. It is therefore necessary to investigate...

Read more: Adélaïde Blavier, Professor - Laetitia Di Piazza, PhD Student- Researcher

ULiège
" The objective of this study is to better understand the situation of families during this period of confinement and to analyze the relationship between the parents' and children's reactions. More specifically, the goal is to learn about the anxiety factors and stress management techniques used by parents and children during this particular period and their influence on their sense of parental competence. Several studies have highlighted the stress felt, and even the symptoms of acute stress and post-traumatic stress, in cases of confinement (Qiu et al., 2020; Brooks et al., 2020). Moreover, in previous studies, we have already demonstrated links between the stress felt by parents and that developed by children through intergenerational transmission in the case of traumatic situations (Gallo et al., 2019). In this framework, we wish to study the links between the stress felt by the parent and that felt by the child in the current confinement situation that we are familiar...

Read more: Adélaïde Blavier, Professor - Stéphanie Chartier, PhD Student- Researcher

ULB

Sphère publique, sphère privée : Impact du port du masque sur la reconnaissance des personnes et de l'expression émotionnelle de leur visage. " Le déconfinement approche. Bientôt la population belge sillonnera à nouveau les rues, les transports et l'ensemble de l'espace public mais munie de masques. Quels retentissements sur la capacité des personnes à en reconnaître d'autres sur base de leur visage et à en extraire l'expression émotionnelle ? Sera-t-on toujours capable de juger, de manière efficace, de l'intention d'autrui à notre égard même si cette dernière porte un masque ? A tous les âges ? Ou, au contraire, a-t-on raison d'avoir la suspicion que le port du masque pourrait nous empêcher de reconnaître quelqu'un sur base de son visage et d'en lire les émotions de manière efficace ? "
Publication References: de Heering, A., & Rossion, B. (2008). Prolonged Visual Experience in Adulthood Modulates Holistic Face Perception. PlosOne, 3(5): e2317. de Heering, A., &amp...

Read more: Adélaïde de Heering, Post-doctoral Fellow

ULB, Bordet Institute and CHU Saint-Pierre
" The limited capacity of intensive care unit (ICU) beds and the high mortality of patients requiring ICU care after COVID-19 infection are major problems that urgently require solutions. Early evidence suggests that an individual patient's immune responses to this virus are a key factor in their disease pathogenesis. This response can be further compounded by underlying factors, which for patients at Bordet can be exacerbated by their cancer status. A recent study shows that some cancer patients (particularly lung, blood or metastatic cancer patients) are three times more likely to die from COVID-19 infection. Thus, there is an important need to understand and identify immune biomarker(s) that measure functionality of innate and/or adaptive immunity in the blood with rapid turnaround to provide much needed information for clinical decision making. The anticipated results of this collaborative research project include the identification of...

Read more: Ahmad Awada, Chef de Service, Medical Oncology - Karen Willard-Gallo, Laboratory Head, Molecular...

ZENTECH SA
" Development of specific IVD products to detect the patient serology due to the infection with SARS-COV2 Developement based on ISO13485, Directives 98/79/EC standards. Different technologies approched : ELISA, RT-PCR, lateral flow "
Contact: Alain Bosseloir COO ZenTech sa Liege Science Park Avenue du Pré Aily 10 4031 Angleur

Protein Factory - ULiège
" At Protein Factory, the protein expression and purification facility of the Centre for Protein Engineering (CIP; ULiège), we have produced proteins for COVID-19 diagnostics. Thus, in a collaborative effort with the GIGA Institute at ULiège (Haruko Takeda, in particular), we have been involved in the implementation of alternative rapid and reliable tests, based on loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) and recombinase polymerase amplification (RPA) assays, which both appear as promising alternative to the standard quantitative reverse transcription (qRT) PCR procedure. In addition, for the sake of increased reliability, the CRISPR-Cas12 / Cas13 reporter detection systems have also been implemented. In order not to depend on commercial products, we produced at Protein Factory all the enzymes necessary to perform these tests internally, regardless of any supply shortage or price inflation. Thus, the following enzymes are now available at the CIP for...

Read more: Alain Brans, Fabrice Bouillenne, Iris Tham, Anne-Marie Matton, Moreno Galleni, André Matagne

D-tek s.a
" "Multiplex Immuno-Dot technology for COVID-19 serological investigation The Multiplex serological technology, developed since 1995 in D-tek (www.d-tek.be), is dedicated to the profiling of the human antibody response to different immunogens, in a single test. It has various applications in laboratory diagnostics, as well as medical and pharmaceutical research (companion-diagnostics). The technology finds an obvious application for the COVID-19 serological investigation, as the antibody response to the SARS-CoV-2 infection is known to be complex, with multi-epitope targeting, and needs to be better understood. In a typical test (ongoing development), various recombinant SARS-CoV-2 antigens are coated on a membrane strip at different spot positions. The assay is designed to map, in one single test, any patient antibody recognizing any of these protein structures. The test procedure is a classical enzyme immunoassay that can be processed from 10µl of patient's serum or...

Read more: Alain Vigneron, Founder & Scientific advisor - Benoît Autem, CEO - Nicolas Bodart, R&D Director -...

Xpress Biologics
" Xpress Biologics, a Belgian based CDMO, has several strategies to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic which includes: - The development of a serology assay to detect Covid-19 seroconversion in humans based on the manufacturing of 3 specific COVID-19 antigens ( full-length Spike protein, S1 subunit, RBD domain) using Pichia pastoris as expression system - Plasmid DNA manufacturing expertise for the development of anti-COVID DNA vaccines - Recombinant protein or antibody fragments manufacturing expertise for diagnostic and treatment of COVID-19 Xpress Biologics has adapted technological platforms that are available to meet the COVID-19 pandemic challenge. In particular our Molecular Biology solution can rapidly help us develop microbial strains for robust and efficient expression of several type of biologics such as viral antigens, neutralizing antibody fragments and DNA vaccines while through our Upstream Process platform we can rapidly engineer industrial processes for...

Read more: Alexandre Di Paolo, Business Development Manager

OSIVAX
" OSIVAX is using its proven vaccination approach in Influenza (OVX836 currently in phase 2a clinical trial) to develop a broadly protective coronavirus vaccine triggering CD8 T-cell responses against the Nucleocapsid. This approach is based on evidence that CD8 T-cell responses against Nucleocapsid are protective in animals and humans. OSIVAX is currently down-selecting Nucleocapsid sequences with the aim to produce first lab-scale batches in the coming weeks. "
Funding: OSIVAX is currently seeking funding from European institutions supporting the development of vaccines against COVID-19.
Contact: Alexandre Le VERT This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

UMONS/ Haute école Condorcet/ UCLouvain/ Epicura/ Machine sight
" In view of the risk of a respirator shortage in intensive care units throughout the world following the COVID 19 epidemic, a simple solution based on existing means or means that are easy to implement is being sought by a consortium of respiratory physiotherapists, researchers of UMONS, physicians of the the intensive care unit of the Epicura hospital and a mechatronics engineering company. In view of the risk of a respirator shortage in intensive care units throughout the world following the COVID 19 epidemic, a simple solution based on existing means or means that are easy to implement is being sought by a consortium of respiratory physiotherapists, researchers of UMONS, physicians of the the intensive care unit of the Epicura hospital and a mechatronics engineering company. "
Funding: internal funding
Contact: Pr. Alexandre Legrand, head of the laboratory of Physiology and Respiratory Rehabilitation...

Read more: Alexandre Legrand, Professor

Comunicare Solutions
" Comunicare Solutions is a health technology startup, specializing in patient empowerment, self-management and digital therapy. In the context of Covid-19 sanitary crisis, we proposed our solution for the remote support to chronic patients, especially the most at risk patients who suffered from chronic systemic diseases of respiratory origin, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and heart disease like heart failure or complex hypertension. The application enables caregivers to inform those patients about additional precautions, to screen patients reported outcomes but also to keep in touch with them via video consultation"
Contact: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.