isirv Antiviral Group
Helen Y Chu,University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
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Helen Chu is Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Washington. She studies respiratory viruses and vaccines, and has conducted clinical trials of vaccines and therapeutics, including maternal flu vaccine in Nepal, SARS-CoV-2 vaccines, and antivirals for treatment of COVID-19. As part of the Seattle Flu Study, she designed a prototype pandemic preparedness platform, conducting home-based testing for respiratory viruses with home delivery of antivirals. This study first identified COVID-19 community transmission in the US. Early in the pandemic, she established a cohort of individuals with SARS-CoV-2 to understand vaccine and infection-induced immunity, and factors that predict long COVID. She has published over 150 papers in the field of viruses and molecular epidemiology, has received funding from NIH, CDC, DARPA, and the Gates Foundation. She serves on NIH and CDC expert working groups for respiratory viruses and vaccines.