Zee Rahiman is a 32 year old healthy male. In the past, he has always bounced back from flus and other sicknesses fairly quickly. But COVID-19 nearly took his life.

“In some patients it appears that it may not be the virus itself, but the triggering of an excessive immune response that leads to lung damage,” says Dr. Sekhon. “If we can identify and quell it, patients may improve quickly.”

In Zee’s case, it was like flipping a switch; personalizing his care in the ICU was associated with a dramatic decrease in the elevated immune system markers in his blood.

“Bridging the gap from basic science to confirming bedside application is challenging but we have managed to do this in the midst of a pandemic by bringing together UBC scientists and the clinical teams,” says Dr. Sekhon.

“There is a bouquet of opportunities here with this very collaborative bench-to-bedside research,” says Dr. Wellington. “We want to take what we learn and help other patients.”

The research team is also planning to study the patients long-term, so they can better understand the immune-system response from having COVID-19, including lung and brain assessments.

“We want to keep this success story going and expand and grow this study to benefit people across Canada and internationally,” says Dr. Wellington. “In my whole career as a faculty member in 20 years, I’ve never seen clinical research move this quickly.”