This week LSU Health Shreveport took a historic step towards stopping the spread of the coronavirus. In addition to continuously testing for COVID-19, the Emerging Viral Threat Lab has now organized the distribution of the vaccine to individuals age 70 and up. On the first day of testing, over 1100 seniors were able to get the vaccine from the safety of their vehicles.

Today at 11 am, City of Shreveport Mayor Adrian D. Perkins proclaimed December 18, 2020 “LSU Health Shreveport Day” .  This honor was bestowed in recognition of the immense contributions made LSU Health Shreveport faculty, staff and students in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Bloomberg - On Monday, John Vanchiere, the principal investigator for a trial site at LSU Health Shreveport, emailed 245 participants to let them know the COVID-19 vaccine trial would be slowly unblinded. By Wednesday afternoon, seven placebo recipients got their first shot, all of them health-care workers.

Dr. Robert Rhoads, professor and emeritus chairman of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at LSU Health Shreveport, developed key components of the mRNA over years of work. The vaccine uses messenger RNA, or mRNA, which essentially provides instructions to the body on how to fight the novel coronavirus.

“It is gratifying to see LSU Health Shreveport’s contributions to the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine through licensing of a LSUHS patent to BioNTech for mRNA-stabilizing cap analogs and in serving as the only north Louisiana vaccine trial site. Additionally our numerous COVID-19 clinical trials are providing access to novel therapies reflecting the benefit of having an academic medical center in our community,” shared GE Ghali, DDS, MD, FACS, FRCS (Ed), chancellor of LSU Health Shreveport.

KSLA12- “If the EVT Lab had not existed, quite frankly, I think we’d be in a much darker place here in the northern part of the state,” said Dr. Chris Kevil, vice chancellor of research and one of the leading minds behind creation of the lab. “The EVT Lab has been fundamental in our ability to monitor COVID infections in patients out in this community."

Lisa Strahan Babin, Executive Director of Communication, Public Affairs and Development, shares how LSUHS has responded to the 2020 challenges in bountiful ways.

KTBS3 - A state-of-the-art temporal bone lab is where LSUHS residents learn how to help people with hearing loss. They use several different procedures that repair the ear drum or bones within the ear. They also train to implant hearing devices, including the Cochlear Implant.

The $25,000 AT&T Aspire Grant will be used to support students attending historically black colleges and universities in Louisiana who are exploring career paths in medicine, research and allied health professions in attending the HBCU Educational Conference at LSUHS.

Dr. Quyen Chu, Professor of Surgery and Chief of the Division of Surgical Oncology at LSU Health Shreveport, is the lead author of the study set for publication in an upcoming issue of Cancer, a journal of the American Cancer Society.