WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen and Congressmen Dutch Ruppersberger, John Sarbanes, and Kweisi Mfume (D-Md.) today announced $424,875 in federal funding for the University of Maryland Baltimore to support critical medical research in the fight against COVID-19.

The funding, which comes from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, will advance studies of the virus through autophagy – the body’s natural process of breaking down damaged cells and regenerating new and healthy cells. 

“Researchers and scientists have made it their mission to discover new breakthroughs in understanding the novel coronavirus,” the lawmakers said. “This funding will provide crucial support in that effort as the University of Maryland Baltimore explores new methods in autophagy to study the virus. We will continue working to ensure that Maryland’s scientific community has the tools it needs to combat this deadly disease.”

Autophagy has been used in earlier cancer cell studies and has shown promising results in other fields of research. Scientists at the University of Maryland, Baltimore – who have been studying the novel coronavirus, including its components, effects and possible vaccines – will use autophagy to gain new insights into the virus. See here for more information about the University of Maryland, Baltimore COVID-19 research projects.

For decades, NIAID has conducted research on viruses, infections and immunology, which has led to new vaccines, therapies and technologies for millions of people across the world. See here for more information about NIAID’s research efforts.

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