Understanding COVID-19: A Global Pandemic
August 20, 2020, at 12:00 PM ETAbstract
The respiratory disease (COVID-19) is caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, which originated in Wuhan, China in late December of 2019. Since then, this pathogen has rapidly spread across China and into other countries, becoming a global pandemic, as it transmits easily from person-to-person through respiratory droplets. As of May 2020, the WHO has reported at least 3.5 million cases and 243,540 deaths globally, while the CDC has reported over 1 million cases in the US alone. Although extensive knowledge of other coronaviruses informs understanding of SARS-CoV-2, much is still unknown. This webinar will provide an overview of our current knowledge of coronaviruses, SARS-CoV-2, and COVID-19 disease. Additionally, it will highlight the roles of organizations such as ATCC and how they contribute to the progress of scientific and clinical research.
Key Points
- Understanding the nature of the disease (COVID-19)
- Understanding what other coronaviruses tell us about SARS-CoV-2 history, genomics, and epidemiology
- Explaining the advancements in scientific and clinical research and development and how ATCC is contributing to the fight against COVID-19
Presenter
Britany Tang, BS
Senior Biologist, Microbiology R&D, ATCC
Britany Tang is a Senior Biologist at ATCC Microbiology Research and Development. She has extensive experience in the fields of molecular biology and microbiology. Her current work focuses on designing synthetic DNA and RNA molecular standards for molecular diagnostic assays and the development of mock microbial communities for microbiome research. Prior to joining ATCC, her research was centered on arboviral replication and pathogenesis. Britany holds a bachelor’s degree in Biology from George Mason University.
