New England Biolabs® podcast/video series spotlights scientists working to fight SARS-CoV-2 virus

IPSWICH, Mass., July 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, has continued to spread, increasing the number of COVID-19 cases and adversely impacting communities and businesses. Despite the challenges the virus has presented, scientists and research institutions across the globe have come together to better understand the disease and search for new ways to detect and stop the spread of COVID-19.

To highlight these efforts, New England Biolabs^® (NEB^®) has launched its COVID-19 Researcher Spotlight Series, which consists of podcast and video interviews showcasing the latest insights, techniques and developments from the scientists who are leading the way in COVID-19 research.

"Science and the work of expert scientists is the key to fighting the spread of COVID-19," said Andy Bertera, Executive Director of Marketing and Sales at NEB. "We are excited to be able to share the stories of researchers around the world who are working to make a difference in the fight against this pandemic."

The COVID-19 Researcher Spotlight Series features top scientists in the field discussing the latest advances in their COVID-19 research. Inaugural episodes include interviews with:

• Brian Rabe, Ph.D. candidate, Harvard Medical School
• Mr. Rabe discusses how he transitioned his research on retinal development to SARS-CoV-2 diagnostic assay development using RT-LAMP technology
• Feng Zhang, Ph.D., The Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard; and Omar Abudayyeh, Ph.D., and Jonathan Gootenberg, Ph.D., The McGovern Institute of MIT
• The three developers of STOPCovid talk about their initiative to create inexpensive, yet sensitive point-of-care testing for COVID-19

Future interviewees include Nathan Tanner, Ph.D., of NEB, Naama Geva-Zatorsky, Ph.D., of the Israel Institute of Technology, Chris Mason, Ph.D., of Weill Cornell Medicine and Josh Quick, Ph.D., of the University of Birmingham.

The Researcher Spotlight Series can be found on NEB's COVID-19 resource page, which also features useful research products and solutions for researchers developing diagnostic tools and vaccines for the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

NEB's COVID-19 resource page and Researcher Spotlight Series are a part of its larger efforts to combat COVID-19, which has included a pledge of $100,000 to the Vaccine and Immunotherapy Center at Mass General Hospital to support the search for a vaccine (press release), and the recent launch of its SARS-CoV-2 Rapid Colorimetric LAMP Assay Kit, which enables researchers to identify SARS-CoV-2 in less than 30 mins (press release).

To learn more about NEB's efforts to support COVID-19 research, visit here.

About New England Biolabs

Established in the mid 1970's, New England Biolabs, Inc. (NEB) is the industry leader in the discovery and production of enzymes for molecular biology applications and now offers the largest selection of recombinant and native enzymes for genomic research. NEB continues to expand its product offerings into areas related to PCR, gene expression, sample preparation for next generation sequencing, synthetic biology, glycobiology, epigenetics and RNA analysis. Additionally, NEB is focused on strengthening alliances that enable new technologies to reach key market sectors, including molecular diagnostics development. New England Biolabs is a privately held company, headquartered in Ipswich, MA, and has extensive worldwide distribution through a network of exclusive distributors, agents and eight subsidiaries located in Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Japan, Singapore and the UK. For more information about New England Biolabs visit www.neb.com.

NEB^® and NEW ENGLAND BIOLABS^® are registered trademarks of New England Biolabs, Inc.

SOURCE New England Biolabs

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