Quillen College graduates leading the way on COVID-19 research

Two ETSU Quillen College of Medicine graduates are leading the way in efforts to find treatments for COVID-19.

1996 graduate Dr. Davey Smith is working on an ongoing clinical trial to determine if taking malaria drug hydroxychloroquine and antibiotic azithromycin (zithromax) can prevent hospitalizations and deaths related to the virus. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, is sponsoring the trial, which is being conducted by the NIAID-funded AIDS Clinical Trials Group (ACTG). Smith currently serves as the head of the Division of Infectious Disease and Global Public Health at the University of California San Diego, as well as professor and vice chair of faculty in the Department of Medicine, and co-director of the San Diego Center for AIDS Research.

2020 graduate Dr. Erica Andres previously led experiments alongside Gilead to develop remdisivir as an antiviral drug against coronaviruses while as a post-baccalaureate scientist at Vanderbilt Unversity. Following Andres graduation earlier this month from Quillen, she was awarded was awarded The Glasgow-Rubin Achievement Award and the Internal Medicine Award for demonstrating strong clinical skills, an inquisitive mind, a compassionate character and a desire to practice internal medicine.

We have more information about the duo’s work available below:

Dr. Davey Smith’s work- www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/nih-begins-clinical-trial-hydroxychloroquine-azithromycin-treat-covid-19.

Dr. Erica Andres’s work- Dr. Erica Andres Paper

Photo Courtesy: ETSU