LAHORE: The Higher Education Commission (HEC) has approved Rs 10.3 million research grants for a project of University of Health Sciences (UHS), which will trace "immunological, viral and genetic basis of Covid-19 in local patients."

The funding is approved under 'Rapid Research Grant (RRG) Initiative, launched by HEC with the support of the World Bank. The principal investigator of this research project which would take one year to complete, is UHS immunology department's associate professor, Dr Shah Jahan.

Being an active researcher, Dr Jahan has been awarded 'Research Productivity Award' by Pakistan Council for Science and Technology (PCST) and Best University Teacher Award by HEC, US-NAS Fellowship for One-Health. He has published 62 international research publications with 172 impact factor.

Dr Shah Jahan, who also holds the charge of UHS Resource Lab for Research in Biomedical Sciences, told media about his research project, here Friday that besides other things his team wanted to know if certain genetic differences might separate people who fell severely ill with coronavirus from those who contracted the infection but hardly developed any symptoms. "Genetics can explain why some Covid-19 patients fare worse than others", he said, adding: "The project would mainly focus on immune pattern and genetics of local patients."

He disclosed that many factors were involved in the pathogenesis of Covid-19 in Pakistan including host immunity and genetic response to viral infection. "The pathogenesis of SARS-CoV-2 infection in humans is unclear and immunity is a strong defence against invasive pathogens as still, we are waiting for the vaccine," he explained.

UHS immunology department's head, Prof Nadeem Afzal, who is one of the investigators, stated that immune system could react to viruses, partially because of specific genes that help cells spot unfamiliar bugs when they enter the body. "If someone was previously exposed to a virus and had the right HLA types, it is theoretically possible that they could also generate an earlier immune response against the novel SARS-CoV-2," he opined.

Calling UHS Vice Chancellor Prof Javed Akram the real impetus behind the project, Dr Shah Jahan said that research would involve sequencing of SARS-CoV2 strains and host genes from different infection clusters in Punjab including Islamabad, Peshawar Karachi, Lahore, Gujrat, Jehlum, Rawalpindi and Multan.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2020