Bringing the power of research to bear
Wichita State University researchers from multiple disciplines are hard at work addressing the COVID-19 outbreak. Here's an ongoing look at COVID-19 research efforts underway.
Fairmount College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Lead Researcher: Bill Groutas, WSU Foundation Distinguished Professor of Chemistry
email | faculty page
Wichita State University chemist working to develop antiviral drugs in fight against COVID-19
Up until recently, COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) may have been a relatively new phenomena to the general public, but Wichita State University medical chemist Bill Groutas, two virologists from Kansas State University, and a physician/virologist from the University of Iowa have been working on a cure for coronaviruses for more than three years.
“It’s a big problem, with no vaccines available,” said Groutas. “The coronavirus could be around for a long time."
Groutas, along with K-State researchers Yungeong Kim and Kyeong-Ok Chang and Stanley Perlman at the University of Iowa, have been working to develop antiviral drugs to treat Middle East Respiratory Syndrome caused by MERS-CoV. That work extends to other human viruses that are similar to COVID-19.
He says there are currently no antiviral drugs available for coronaviruses, which include SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV2. The team has identified compounds that show efficacy against MERS-CoV in mice and are also potent inhibitors of a SARS-CoV2 enzyme that is essential for virus replication.
If their compound works, Groutas said, it can be used in combination with other compounds – Gilead remdesivir polymerase inhibitors – to reduce the impact of the coronavirus.
According to Groutas, some researchers in Israel believe there could be a vaccine for COVID-19 within three months, although in the U.S. it is estimated that it will take a year or more before a vaccine is realistic.
Center for Economic Development and Business Research
Lead Researcher: Jeremy Hill, director
email | website
The manual services industries have been the hardest-hit from the COVID-19 crisis. To highlight these vulnerable industries, the Center for Economic Development and Business Research at Wichita State University has developed interactive visualizations. These interactive graphics show the size and level of concentration of the ten hardest hit service sectors by state. Users will be able to generate their own custom graphics to highlight and understand the vulnerability by state or industry.
COVID-19 Vulnerability by State
The state selection visualization shows the concentration of vulnerable workers by the ten hardest hit manual service sectors. The graphics identify the number of jobs and total wages, which provides an in-depth analysis the level of vulnerability within the state.
COVID-19 Vulnerability by Industry
The industry selection visualization filters the information by the ten most vulnerable manual industries. The information for each industry is broken down by the concentration of employment and other details for all states. This allows for an overview of how each of these ten vulnerable industries are concentrated across the nation.
COVID-19 State Comparison
The state comparison visualization provides a broader view of how each of the ten vulnerable industries are concentrated across the nation. The multi state view can be customized to any combination of states for further analysis.
