PolyBio

From Crisis to Cure: PolyBio is supporting top HIV researchers to pivot into the study and treatment of Long COVID. Watch the full video to learn how this collaboration is being maximized & driving forward innovative research: youtu.be/6kC1lyY6hPc?si…

People with #IACCI #LongCOVID #chronicLyme #MECFS symptoms -- please consider filling out this quick (~10 min) form about your experiences accessing medical care! Your answers will be used to improve our clinical practice & medical education at CoRE. redcap.mountsinai.org/redcap/surveys…

2/ Watch Ep.1 of PolyBio Lab Visits here: youtu.be/0aiCk2InHMU?fe…

PolyBio is getting you closer to the researchers you want to hear from with our new interview series “Lab Visits.” This month, PolyBio Communications Director Anastasia Hall spoke with Dr. Michael VanElzakker about his work surrounding drivers of neuroinflammation in Long COVID & ME/CFS patients. Listen below to hear how dual PET-MRI imaging is driving forward discovery in the VanElzakker lab.

What is persistent #SARS-CoV-2 Spike doing in gut tissue in situ? In our new preprint, we used spatial transcriptomics, RNAscope, GeoMx DSP, and multiplex IF to investigate biopsies from #LongCOVID The immune dysfunction happen on spike + regions of LC. biorxiv.org/content/10.648…

In this collaborative study funded by @polybioRF, we have detected gene signatures specific of Long covid tissue regions. Persistent SARS-CoV-2 antigen is not biologically inert in tissue, in fact super active with both immune suppression and activation. @PutrinoLab @AmyProal

So glad to join today’s HHS #Lyme & Invisible Illness panel! Via @polybioRF we are validating novel diagnostic tests to identify chronic infections missed by current bloodwork. These diagnostics will help make the invisible visible in Chronic Lyme, Long COVID & related conditions

Incredibly grateful for all the hard work @polybioRF is doing to find treatments for #LongCovid ❤️

Fundraising has been an important part of accelerating our research, and ensures that PolyBio stays ahead of the infections we’re fighting. We’d like to thank our top crowd-fundraiser of the 2025 year, Sawyer! Your contributions directly support the research teams driving forward diagnostics & treatment for IACIs.

Want to start your own fundraiser for PolyBio Research Foundation? You can start your own individual or team campaign at: zeffy.com/en-US/peer-to-… General campaign: zeffy.com/en-US/peer-to-…

3/ Dr. Tseng’s presentation was a part of PolyBio’s Fall 2025 symposium. Watch the full talk here: youtu.be/dGbb7UDcoHw?si…

2/ PolyBio is supporting the expansion of UCSF’s POstmortem Systematic InvesTigation of Sudden Cardiac Death (POST SCD) autopsy study to examine the tissue distribution of SARS-CoV-2 RNA & proteins in sudden cardiac death victims. Tissue samples span multiple brain regions, lung, bone marrow, gut, heart & spleen. Samples are analyzed via cutting-edge tissue-based transcriptomic/proteomic profiling, and ultra-high immuno-histochemical imaging to clearly define persistence of SCV2 in various tissues. Multi-omics profiling will provide evidence on how COVID-19 impacts long-term host cell gene and protein expression, and subsequent tissue inflammation and damage. polybio.org/projects/covid…

Dr. Zian Tseng has led UCSF’s post-mortem Sudden Cardiac Death study for over a decade. One recent autopsy assessment of a SCD victim revealed multiple positive tissue samples for SCV2 in the brain, lungs, and heart. “An asymptomatic person like this would not have come to seek care, and we’d not have had the ability to study such a person. This may be the type of person that later on develops Long Covid.” The team is also comparing data on SCD victims pre-and post-2020; the most common infections detected in CNS tissue pre-2020 included EBV & HIV-1.

If you’re a chronic Babesiosis patient in NYC with severe fatigue, consider joining this clinical trial of Tafenoquine running at the Cohen Center for Recovery from Complex Chronic Illness.👇🏻

Far from it—we’re supporting 6 clinical trials for Long Covid and other IACIs (ME/CFS, Lyme+) concurrently. Data from some of these trials are likely to be published this year. Since Long Covid patients are so heterogeneous in symptom presentation and (likely) etiology, it’s important to cover all the bases.

@polybioRF Is this our only hope?

Interested in low-dose Rapamycin for Long Covid? The Cohen Center for Recovery from Complex Chronic Illness is actively recruiting for a RCT of the mTOR inhibitor Sirolimus (Rapamycin). The trial aims to evaluate if changes to the immune & antiviral responses as a result of the drug will improve Long Covid symptoms. If you live in NYC & have Long Covid—reach out to our clinical team now at CoreResearch@MountSinai.org to apply.

2/ PolyBio is supporting this ongoing study assessing neuroinflammation in LC & ME patients. Data collected via PET-MRI is also used to objectively measure the ‘brain fog’ symptom, in order to test the potential contribution of microglial activation and neuroinflammation-associated metabolite concentrations to cognitive symptom severity. Blood & saliva are collected from study participants undergoing imaging, with samples analyzed for SCV2 proteins, inflammatory markers, fibrinaloid microclot burden, and neutrophil activity. Analysis of these samples will indicate the extent to which neuroinflammation in Long COVID and ME/CFS correlate with other potential drivers of the disease process. polybio.org/projects/5272/

In Long Covid and ME/CFS patients, Dr. VanElzakker and his team are using PET-MRI scans to determine areas of neuroinflammation. Analysis of blood from Long Covid patients undergoing the scans “found several mediators associated with vascular problems that correlated with the neuroinflammation signal.” These included elevated L-selectin, responsible for leukocyte extravasion into tissues; and fibrinogen, a main blood clotting component.

@BeJul17731769 Note that this trial aims to determine which patients will be most responsive in the future to Lumbrokinase based on observed changes in patient biological markers over time.

@polybioRF Tried it. Reduction in symptoms not more than 1 -1.5 points. It’s not the silver bullet

Long Covid, ME/CFS and Post-Treatment Lyme patients living in NYC: Mount Sinai’s CoRE clinic is actively recruiting for a clinical trial of Lumbrokinase. This enzyme breaks down fibrin, a coagulation factor linked to chronic symptoms, which may build up in patients’ bodies as a result of SARS-CoV-2 or Borrelia burgdorferi. If you’re interested in participating in this trial, email CoreResearch@MountSinai.org.