Biosurveillance in Action

Current COVID-19 Projects

Diagnostics and Genomics

• COVID-19 Genome Analytics website for sequence to genome tools, phylogeny-informed assay validation, and geographic analytics of COVID-19 cases.
• SARS-CoV-2 sequence analysis pipeline for analyses and tools for exploring accruing mutations in the Spike protein of SARS-CoV-2.
• Operating an FDA-CLIA registered COVID-19 diagnostic testing facility for LANL personnel and LANL subcontractor  personnel.
• Developing high-affinity antibody pairs for advanced diagnostic tools.
• Evaluating various supply chain elements (viral transport media, assay kits, pooling strategies, reagents) to enhance diagnostic testing.
• Providing bioinformatics expertise and support to partner labs worldwide that are processing COVID-19 samples in their own countries.
• Developing new tests that could screen for multiple respiratory pathogens at once.

Predictive Modeling and Decision Support

• The Global Disease Modeling & Forecasting Center (pdf) combines Los Alamos capabilities and key partnerships to develop, validate, and operationalize epidemiological models to combat infectious diseases.
• COVID-19 Forecasted Case Data website for tracking confirmed COVID-19 cases and deaths and forecasting future spread.
• Evaluating testing and diagnostic sensitivity and providing decision support analysis for testing diagnostics, strategy, and uncertainty at the metropolitan level—using Modeling Epidemics for Decision support and Infrastructure ANalysis (MEDIAN).
• Working with three other National Laboratories to provide situational awareness, predictive modeling, and a visualization portal to characterize the spread of COVID-19 across the United States.
• Quantifying how the SARS-CoV-2 virus behaves in the host organism.
• Using bioinformatics and modeling to track the diversity of the pathogen and how it is evolving in the pandemic.
• Developing models of various mitigation strategies to inform decision makers at the state and local level.
• Modeling hospital/healthcare surge capacity in response to COVID-19.
• Using models to evaluate critical healthcare supply chains.

Vaccines and Countermeasures

• Developing a T-cell response vaccine for SARS-CoV-2.
• Investigating the interaction between SARS-CoV-2 and human receptors to develop lung-protective therapies.
• Designing and synthesizing surface proteins for drug studies.
• Synthesizing compounds for anti-viral drugs for the treatment of COVID-19.
• Identifying potential drug targets through structural and computational studies. 

National Virtual Biotechnology Laboratory (NVBL)

Several LANL biosurveillance projects are coordinated with and funded by the Department of Energy NVBL

Submit a request to learn more about LANL capabilities or to contact scientists