The laboratory of Dr. Paul Krogstad in the Department of Molecular & Medical Pharmacology focuses on molecular virology and the pathogenesis of viral diseases. Dr. Krogstad’s lab has recently developed a rapid, live virus assay to develop potent enterovirus inhibitors.
Human enteroviruses (EVs) are a genus of more than 110 serologically distinct, small, non-enveloped RNA viruses responsible for poliomyelitis (viral infection of the nerves), encephalitis (viral infection of the brain), acute heart failure, meningitis, and other life-threatening infections. Enteroviruses cause 10 to 15 million infections and tens of thousands of hospitalizations in the US each year. While immunization has curtailed circulation of the polioviruses in most of the world, other EVs (e.g. coxsackieviruses, echoviruses, and numbered EVs) continue to cause substantial morbidity and mortality with no effective medications to treat them. Dr. Paul Krogstad and colleagues developed potent antiviral therapeutics against large numbers of medically relevant enteroviruses infections.
The inventors are currently screening these compounds against SARS-CoV-2 and expect data within two weeks.
Link to Faculty website: https://bioscience.ucla.edu/faculty/paul-krogstad
Link to relevant cases: 2015-829