Engineering a new model for respiratory infection treatment

 When a person contracts a respiratory viral infection like COVID-19 or influenza, the immune system responds in a myriad of ways to eliminate the virus. Respiratory viral infections are so dangerous, however, because excessive immune responses may cause extreme lung inflammation. However, new modeling research may help doctors better predict and treat patients who are most at risk to that extreme response.

Jason Shoemaker, PhD, assistant professor of chemical engineering at the University of Pittsburgh's Swanson School of Engineering, believes engineering-based mathematical modeling can help clinicians understand why some people's immune systems react so severely, predicting the risk factors and pinpointing the most effective treatments to reduce inflammation.

The National Science Foundation granted Shoemaker a CAREER Award for $547,494 over five years to create computational models of the immune response to seasonal, deadly (avian) influenza viruses, which can help identify the best way to suppress immune activity and reduce tissue inflammation. Since this work targets the immune system and not the specific virus, the models are expected to impact many respiratory infections, including computer science average salary.