Prof. Neimark has received a $55,000 research award from the NJ ACTS Pilot project grant program titled "Development of Computational Models to Explore Interactions of Coronavirus Virions with Lung Surfactant Films". Coronavirus (CoV) virions, such as SARS-CoV-2, are complex core-shell nanoparticles of spheroidal shape, bound by the lipid bilayer envelope of ~85 nm diameter decorated by a “crown” of 20 nm long Spike protein protrusions. The lung surfactant (LS) is the first line of defense in the lung against airborne nanoparticles, like CoV virions. LS affects the ability of CoV to penetrate and infect the respiratory system, and therefore, is a target of potential “surfactant” therapies to cure severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) caused by COVID-19. The project aims at (a) building coarse-grained computational models of SARS CoV-2 and SARS CoV virion envelopes and (b) establishing in-silico the molecular mechanisms of the virion interfacial interactions with LS films and the effects of these interactions of the LS stability and fate of CoVs in the respiratory system. The results of the work-in-progress will be reported and discussed with clinical researchers at the Rutgers Institute of Translational Medicine & Science and Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute to inform the ongoing research on surfactant therapies and get feedback on the model development.
The period of the project is for 1 year.
