As part of Health Innovation Manchester, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre (MAHSC) brings together our world leading academic and NHS partners to drive health research.

The MAHSC Seminar Series will showcase the great discovery and clinical science being undertaken within Manchester and its impact on the health of the local population.

The series will give a local platform to the nationally and internationally renowned scientists of MAHSC to share their work with clinical/non-clinical and university colleagues, but also crucially members of the wider community seeking insight into innovations in the delivery of healthcare.

In the first seminar, held on 17 June 2020, Professor Tracy Hussell, Director, Manchester Collaborative Centre for Inflammation Research (MCCIR), Dr John Grainger, Consultant Paediatric Haematologist, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT) and Dr Elizabeth Mann from The University of Manchester, shared their insights into the immunological response to COVID-19 (Coronavirus).

Context of COVID-19 being a virus which enters through the respiratory tract.

The seminar examined the immune response in the lungs to pathogens and dangers such as COVID-19 and detailed comparisons with transmission and fatality rates with other viruses, such as SARS. The team also explored the results of a recent study of COVID-19 patients in hospitals in Greater Manchester, which aimed to aid patient stratification, for example for drug trials, and revealing novel underlying biology for COVID-19 by understanding how the peripheral immune is developing.

Results from Coronavirus Immune Response and Clinical Outcome (CIRCO) team:

Professor Hussell discussed the recommended therapeutics from what their team have researched. Professor Hussell and the team would like to continue the research on the long-term effects on patient health, mood and underlying conditions and not just their immune response. The team are called Coronavirus Immune Response and Clinical Outcome (CIRCO).

Professor Tracy Hussell said: “It’s very rewarding as a basic scientist to be able to work on something that’s clinically, immediately important.”