Project overview
Aims of the research The research team aims to develop a precision medicine approach for COVID-19 patients. Precision medicine examines how treatments affect different groups of people in different ways to help doctors plan specific care for patients. It is a step forward from giving the same treatments to all people. Background to the research Across the world COVID-19 is still causing serious illness and death to millions of people who have not been vaccinated. This means that new treatments for COVID-19 are still needed. COVID-19 affects people in different ways. To find the best treatments we need to understand how different treatments work and how different patients respond to these treatments. Three new treatments for COVID-19 (Bemcentinib, Tozorakimab, and Zilucoplan) have been tested in UK clinical trials led by the University of Southampton. All were shown to be safe and improved patient outcomes by either preventing severe disease or speeding up recovery. This study will find out how these three new treatments for COVID-19 work in patients and which patients benefit most from each treatment Design and methods used This study will use previously collected clinical samples and data from COVID-19 patients who were given one of the three new treatments in the clinical trials led by the University of Southampton led clinical trials. Scientists have found ways to explain how our bodies respond to illness and treatments. They use mathematics to build models that allow them to analyse thousands of different factors at the same time. This is called bioinformatics. The study team will use bioinformatics to find out how each of the three treatments work in patients with COVID-19. The study team will then use super-computers to find patterns in their results. This is called machine learning analysis. Using this technology will allow the study team to understand how different patients respond to the COVID-19 virus and the treatments given. This will develop a tool which can help doctors decide which treatments to give to the right patients and take a step towards precision medicine. Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) Patients and members of the public will be recruited to form a PPI group. This group will be offered training and support so that they can work alongside the study team on all aspects of the study. The University Hospital Southampton PPI team will help with the recruitment and the training and support of the PPI group. They will also include this study in a new PPI project that is looking at how we can make it easier to involve PPI contributors in studies about machine learning and artificial intelligence. Dissemination The findings from this study will be published in scientific journals and presented at conferences. The study team will work with the PPI group to decide the best ways to share the findings with the public. Patient-specific treatments could then be tested in clinical studies to use existing treatments in better ways and help develop new treatments.
