Researchers at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) have been awarded $1.3 million to study disparities in immune response to COVID-19, through serological testing in Arkansas.
Serological testing measures a person’s immune response to an infection in the form of antibodies in the blood. The project will contribute to short- and long-term impact of COVID on the physical, psychological and social health of underrepresented minority men and women in Arkansas.
“This study will enable us to determine the duration of immunity response against SARS-CoV-2, which ultimately will determine the progression of the pandemic,” Dr. Wendy Nembhard, chair of the Epidemiology Department in the UAMS Fay W. Boozman College of Public Health and principal investigator on the project, said in a statement. “We also hope to learn the influence of psychosocial and behavioral factors on the response over time by race and ethnicity.”