Responding to COVID-19
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With the rapid onset of the novel coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19), Georgetown University Medical Center (GUMC) has moved swiftly to respond to many new challenges.
More than 15 research teams have expanded their portfolios to accelerate COVID-19 research, building on established scientific principles. Global health experts and epidemiologists are furnishing policy makers both in the U.S. and around the world with analysis and tools to make informed, evidence-based decisions. Students and alumni are mobilizing and finding new ways to support their communities — and health systems — in their hour of need.
Collectively, GUMC’s contributions will help to ensure that our community, country, and world are better equipped to manage the current crisis, as well as strengthening preparedness for the future.
Featured Content
Get to Know Georgetown’s COVID-19 Researchers
Georgetown is home to a community of researchers collaborating on innovative ways to fight COVID-19. Learn more about the groundbreaking research underway and why it’s happening at Georgetown.
SOM Alumna Channels Cura Personalis Lessons to Psychiatric Care During Pandemic
Christina Garza, MD (C’01, M’08), assistant professor of psychiatry at the Columbia University Medical Center in New York, has had to adapt quickly to be able to provide accessible and compassionate care for her patients during the COVID-19 pandemic.
NHS Alumna, Now Texas Family Nurse Practitioner, Sees COVID-19’s Impact on Cardiac Care
Megan Berard (NHS’12), a family nurse practitioner at an outpatient cardiac clinic in Austin, has seen firsthand how COVID-19 harms her patients who don’t have the disease.
New COVID-19 Policy Mapping Tool and Database Released to Help Inform Decision-making
Amid a resurgence in COVID-19 cases and in anticipation of outbreaks intensifying over the summer, members of Georgetown’s Center for Global Health Science and Security joined other experts in launching a new policy mapping tool and comprehensive database.
Medical Student Makes a Difference by Donating Convalescent Plasma
In March, Tanvee Singh (M’22) was diagnosed with COVID-19. Determined to find a silver lining in her experience, she donated plasma at the NIH Clinical Center when she recovered.
Public Health Physicians: Four Measures Needed to Ensure Public Trust, Safety in COVID-19 Vaccine Development
Public health experts have outlined four key safeguards necessary during the development of a COVID-19 vaccine that will ensure the public can trust that an approved vaccine is safe and effective.
Leveraging Our Strengths
While the COVID-19 pandemic presents the medical and scientific community with unprecedented challenges, the unique nature of the virus provides for wide-ranging areas of scientific and public health exploration. From the lab to the clinic to the policy space, GUMC is building on its existing expertise to address some of the most pressing questions surrounding this pandemic.
Research Projects
The unique nature of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), which causes COVID-19, provides for wide-ranging and potentially impactful areas of scientific exploration and understanding. The medical center is supporting 15 teams of investigators conducting research that covers a remarkable breadth and depth of critically important problems related to COVID-19.
Global Health Centers
Center for Global Health Science and Security: Developed in response to calls from local governments for more information on how to protect their communities, the GHSS, in partnership with NTI and the Center for Global Development, developed the COVID-19 Frontline Guide, an online tool featuring eight indicators of progress for self-assessment and seven key actions that each include checklists of decision points.
Center for Global Health Practice and Impact: The CGHPI team is currently working in several countries to tap into and support local communities of practice around public health issues including COVID-19 — leveraging the connections and innovation at the local level and linking local health service delivery with national policymaking.
Clinical Trials Involving COVID-19
Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, in collaboration with MedStar Georgetown University Hospital, has begun a study to test for specific virus antibodies in people with cancer, who are vulnerable to COVID-19, as well as employees of the hospital or GUMC employees working in a hospital setting. In the coming weeks, Georgetown will offer additional clinical trials related to COVID-19 and its manifestations.