A PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS URBANA-CHAMPAIGN AND CARLE HEALTH
Rashid Bashir - professor of bioengineering; dean, College of Engineering; Carle Illinois College of Medicine
April 20, 2022

Portable, point-of-care COVID-19 test discerns alpha variant from earlier strains

  • By Beth Hart

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — A point-of-care COVID-19 test developed by researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign can now detect and differentiate the alpha variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus from earlier strains in saliva samples. The new test builds on the group’s previous developments, which allowed samples to bypass the laboratory – first using nasopharyngeal swabs, then with saliva samples. The point-of-care amplification and testing process, called LAMP, is more efficient than PCR because it does […]

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Airline seating inside jet
December 21, 2021

Models predict optimal airplane seating for reduced viral transmission

  • By Beth Hart

As airline ticket sales have soared during the holiday season and the omicron variant causes surges of COVID-19 cases, a new University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign study may help passengers and airlines reduce risk of COVID-19 transmission by optimally seating passengers to minimize potential virus spread. Sheldon H. Jacobson, a professor of computer science and of the Carle Illinois College of Medicine, along with graduate students John Pavlik and Ian Ludden, used the most current data on […]

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September 23, 2021

Carle Illinois Health Innovation Professor on NPR: How Some Schools Are Using Weekly Testing To Keep Kids In Class — And COVID Out

  • By Ryann Monahan
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July 14, 2021

Illinois Researchers Advance COVID-19 Point-of-Care Technologies and Impact

  • By Ryann Monahan

Advances made by researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign are set to improve the ability to diagnose COVID-19 and other infectious diseases more quickly and at the point of care. The findings offer a new approach to viral detection that currently primarily rely on polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests – the current gold standard for detecting COVID-19. The work is a collaboration between researchers from Carle Illinois College of Medicine and The Grainger College […]

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May 19, 2021

Portable, affordable, accurate, fast: Team invents new COVID-19 test

  • By Ryann Monahan

A new coronavirus test can get accurate results from a saliva sample in less than 30 minutes, researchers report in the journal Nature Communications. Many of the components of the hand-held device used in this technology can be 3D-printed, and the test can detect as little as one viral particle per 1-microliter drop of fluid. “We developed a rapid, highly sensitive and accurate assay, and a portable, battery-powered device for COVID-19 testing that can be […]

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April 16, 2021

Vaccine Advocacy PSA from Carle Illinois College of Medicine

  • By Ryann Monahan

 Carle Illinois College of Medicine students are helping answer questions about and advocate for the COVID-19 vaccine through a new vaccine public service announcement (PSA). A Spanish version of the vaccine advocacy PSA can be found on YouTube and Illinois Media Space.

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Shield Playbook Feature Image
April 14, 2021

K-12 Shield Playbook offers guidance for reopening schools amid ongoing pandemic

  • By Beth Hart

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — A new resource is available to help guide teachers and school administrators as they reopen schools amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, assembled by researchers and experts at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. As vaccines for the virus that causes COVID-19 become more accessible, more communities and schools are reopening. However, no vaccines have been approved for children under 16 to date, leaving school districts with many questions to navigate as they reopen […]

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April 5, 2021

Microscope that detects individual viruses could power rapid diagnostics, according to study led by Carle Illinois professor

  • By Beth Hart

A fast, low-cost technique to see and count viruses or proteins from a sample in real time, without any chemicals or dyes, could underpin a new class of devices for rapid diagnostics and viral load monitoring, including HIV and the virus that causes COVID-19. Researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign described the technique, called Photonic Resonator Interferometric Scattering Microscopy, or PRISM, in the journal Nature Communications. “We have developed a new form of microscopy […]

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March 2, 2021

U of I System receives FDA authorization for covidSHIELD test process

  • By University of Illinois System

The University of Illinois System has received emergency use authorization (EUA)  from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for covidSHIELD, its innovative saliva-based COVID-19 test that was used on the U of I campuses to hold the virus in check by utilizing widespread testing with rapid results. Under FDA guidelines, the EUA allows the U of I System to broadly expand its covidSHIELD testing beyond its universities. “The University of Illinois has been a […]

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COVID-19 Mobile Testing Lab
March 2, 2021

COVID-19 Saliva-Based Test Expands Reach to DC-area Universities, Baltimore schools

  • By Carle Illinois College of Medicine

The COVID-19 saliva-based test developed by researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign will now be used in some Baltimore public schools and several universities in the Washington, DC area. American University and the Consortium of Universities of the Washington Metropolitan Area partnered with UIUC researchers to establish and operate a new mobile lab with the anticipated capacity to process more than 50,000 tests per week. Andrew Flagel, president and CEO of the Consortium of […]

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