We can fairly to say that CUFSAA is probably the largest gathering of Sri Lankan scientists in North America.
Therefore, we at CUFSSA would like to highlight cutting edge research conducted by Sri Lankan scientists, especially related to current affairs. One of the most critical current world topics, which is bringing significant concern, is the spread of the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
We would like to highlight two collaborative research contributions of Sri Lankan born scientist Dr. Kumari G. Lokugamage of Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Institute for Human Infection and Immunity, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston. In her current work on COVID-19, she is a co-author in the first research article titled “Isolation and characterization of SARS-CoV-2 from the first US COVID-19 patient” (Click here for preprint ) which involves the isolation of the virus from the first US COVID-19 patient, and the first author in the second research article titled “SARS-CoV-2 sensitive to type I interferon pretreatment.” (Click here for preprint) where studies on the replication kinetics of SARS-CoV-2 and studies on its sensitivity to type I interferon pretreatment is reported.
We wish to congratulate and thank Dr. Lokugamage for her timely contributions, aimed at helping humankind at this critical juncture. We would also like to wish her continued success with this vital research.