PRINCESS ANNE, Md - For many, contracting COVID-19 is a daunting experience in part due to the range of possible symptoms, and the wait sometimes associated with finding out what those could be. That's an issue an Eastern Shore team of researchers is looking to solve.
IES Life Sciences and the University of Maryland Eastern Shore's school of pharmacy are in the process of developing a nasal swab test that could predict the severity of COVID-19 symptoms a patient could face after testing positive. David Speigel, co-founder and CEO of IES Life Sciences explains that this is done using data collected from the immune system. "Every disease has a response, and it happens within seconds of you getting the disease." he said. “Whether we’re looking at COVID, ovarian cancer, lupus, it’s still the same test we provide, and we have a database of different diseases.”
The goal of this project is to help physicians and patients be able to better plan through early detection. Members of the research team say that not only does this potentially offer peace of mind to those experiencing more mild symptoms, but that more proactive detection methods could be a critical tool in avoiding overwhelming health care systems.
UMES officials expressed excitement at the opportunity for students to learn from top scientists. This includes one of the University's former graduate students, Dr. Robert Figliozzi, who serves as Director of Research and Development with IES Life Sciences. Dr. Figliozzi says the partnership is a rare but welcomed experience for a rural area like Somerset County. "Everybody in different field of science are coming together to help fight this pandemic and that's definitely happening even here at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore".