We have rallied, alongside our collaborators, to help the worldwide response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Below we highlight some of our key activities as we have helped to support the response to COVID-19.

We are part of a national partnership awarded £1.3M to form CONDOR (the COVID-19 National Diagnostic Research and Evaluation Platform).  The platform is allowing us to have a co-ordinated approach to evaluating new diagnostics at a national level during, and crucially, after the pandemic.  So far we have examined:

1. The unmet need for COVID-19 testing among healthcare professionals. Read more.
2. Opportunities for refining COVID-19 testing in care homes. Read more.
3. The ease of use and performance of a near bedside PCR test for COVID-19 in care homes. Read more.
4. Where rapid COVID-19 testing could have the greatest impact in UK hospitals. Read more.

Our insight panel for patients, public and carers helped us develop, deliver and design a public event to explain the complexities around measuring the accuracy of COVID-19 tests. Our discussions with the attendees has informed our work within CONDOR and our recent opinion article.  We also discussed our COVID-19 work with the public at the recent Pint of Science Festival.

We have worked within other national collaborations to provide the research community with a solid knowledge base of the pandemic.  We have explored:

1. Routine laboratory measurements that could differentiate COVID-19 positive and negative patients. Read more.
2. Clinical management and 28 day outcomes of patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19. Read more.
3. COVID-19-associated hyperinflammation and its associations with respiratory support and survival. Read more.
4. Detection rates of the virus that causes COVID-19 at varying times and in different parts of the body. Read more.
5. The impact of COVID-19 on people with asthma. Read more.
6. COVID-19 screening of health-care workers in England. Read more.

We have also written rapid reviews to help medical staff with their decision-making when managing patients with COVID-19.

Dr Ashley Price, our infection theme lead, is currently leading a clinical study that is measuring the safety and efficacy of a new COVID-19 vaccine, manufactured by Valneva.

We had an integral role in the establishment of the unique Innovation Laboratory within the newly formed Integrated COVID Hub North East, part of the largest network of diagnostic testing facilities in British history.  This collaboration is future-proofing the diagnostic landscape of the country to ensure we are well prepared for future pandemics.

Read more about our last year and the important role the public can play in our work by following this link.

If you are interested in taking part and shaping research then you can visit www.bepartofresearch.co.uk