Tulane has joined other institutions across the globe in a trial of a drug, TL-895, to treat severe COVID-19 in hospitalized cancer patients. Dr. Nakhle Saba, associate professor of clinical medicine at the School of Medicine, is principal investigator of the trial. Saba said that data show 40% of COVID-19 patients with cancer required hospitalization, 20% developed severe respiratory illness, and 12% died within 30 days.

Nora Lustig, the Samuel Z. Stone Professor of Latin American Economics and director of the Commitment to Equity Institute at Tulane, organized networks of economists and researchers to examine Latin American countries’ COVID-19 situation and policy responses. One group’s work resulted in a partnership with the United Nations Development Program that focused on actionable items for governments, individuals and organizations to support countries’ populations.

Tulane Brain Institute faculty member and Assistant Professor of Psychology Jonathan Fadok is conducting research on panic disorder — one of the most common mental disorders in the United States, with nearly 5 percent of the population suffering attacks that cause extreme disruption in their daily lives. Fadok is working on the identification of neurobiological mechanisms through which the brain reacts to fearful stimuli. The research, funded by a $2.24 million grant from the National Institutes of Health, could provide new insights into post-traumatic stress disorder and panic disorder.