This three-year International Collaborative Research Project brings together the Joliot Institute, the Luxembourg Institute of health (LIH), and the Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine (LCSB) at the University of Luxembourg. Co-led by Dr. Lucia Grenga (SPI/LI2D) and Prof. Markus Ollert (LIH), and involving the group of Prof. Paul Wilmes at LCSB, this ambitious project has been awarded €1.16 million in co-funding from the French National Research Agency (ANR) and the Luxembourg National Research Fund (FNR).

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, growing evidence suggest that the gastrointestinal tract act as a key player in disease severity and long-term health outcomes. Research, including previous findings from the project's partners, indicates that even mild or asymptomatic COVID-19 cases face a substantial risk of developing Long COVID. Given the gut microbiome's fundamental role in immune regulation and overall health, COVID-PATH will employ advanced metagenomics, metaproteomics, and immune profiling to investigate how SARS-CoV-2 infection in the GI tract contributes to microbiome dysbiosis, intestinal barrier dysfunction, and dysregulated immune respo​nses.

The project takes a human-centric, data-driven approach, analyzing biological samples collected in Luxembourg during the pandemic to deepen our understanding of COVID-19 pathophysiology. By uncovering the early mechanisms underlying Long COVID, COVID-PATH aims to identify biomarkers of disease progression, paving the way for targeted prevention and intervention strategies, ultimately offering hope for more effective treatments and improved long-term outcomes for patients.

"A project like COVID-PATH, which explores the intricate interplay between the gut microbiome, SARS-CoV-2 infection and immunity, is crucial for both fundamental research and informing future medical strategies", note the project leaders.