NIDDK COVID-19 Research Response

The NIDDK is doing what we can to lessen the effects of COVID-19 on our research community while seeking to understand the causes of health disparities for diseases within our mission— including how those diseases may contribute to COVID-19 outcome disparities. We also seek ways to foster and support diversity amongst our researchers and trainees.

Watch NIDDK Director Dr. Griffin P. Rodgers address some of the steps NIH and NIDDK are taking to support and re-start research activities in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic and hear how we are listening during these unprecedented times.

NIDDK COVID-19/SARS-CoV-2 Funding Opportunities

During the pandemic NIDDK has been sponsoring and participating in various funding opportunities related to COVID-19/SARS-CoV-2. If there is an opportunity you have questions about, please contact your assigned NIDDK program director. If you do not have a program director, please visit the Research Programs and Contacts page and contact the individual whose research area most closely matches yours. You may also wish to view NIH COVID-19 Information for Applicants and Grantees.

NIDDK Intramural COVID-19/SARS-CoV-2-related Highlights

Across NIH, including NIDDK, people are working hard to better understand, treat, and stop COVID-19/SARS-CoV-2 and its spread. Many NIDDK intramural scientists in Bethesda, MD and in Phoenix, AZ have turned their expertise to combating the pandemic through research.

Featured Scientific Articles

• Hydrating the Respiratory Tract: An Alternative Explanation Why Masks Lower Severity of COVID-19

• Visualizing speech-generated oral fluid droplets with laser light scattering

• The airborne lifetime of small speech droplets and their potential importance in SARSCoV- 2 transmission
  Researchers found that loud speaking generates hundreds of droplets, in addition to many thousands of micro-droplets per second. In a closed, stationary air environment, droplets disappeared consistently in approximately 12 minutes.

• Activation of the SARS-CoV-2 Receptor Ace2 through JAK/STAT-Dependent Enhancers during Pregnancy
  Researchers show, in mice, there is a near 100-fold increase in the expression of Ace2, the receptor for SARS-CoV-2, during pregnancy and lactation. During lactation in mice, viral RNA was detected in breastmilk, suggesting a prominent role of cytokine signaling pathways in cells targeted by SARS-Cov-2.
• Diabetes, Obesity, and Risk Prediction of Severe COVID-19
• Obesity and Hypertension in the Time of COVID-19
• Heparan sulfate assists SARS-CoV-2 in cell entry and can be targeted by approved drugs in vitro
  Researchers identify drugs that can be repurposed and combined, capable of blocking the infectious cycle of SARS-CoV-2.
• A pragmatic approach to inpatient diabetes management during the COVID-19 pandemic
  Using evidence-based guidelines for inpatient glycemic management, the researchers suggest ways to manage hospitalized patients with COVID-19 and diabetes or hyperglycemia and to protect personnel who interact with these patients, many of whom require bedside care. A case study is also presented.
• Coronavirus Disease-19 has come home to roost in gastroenterology
• COVID-19 in people with diabetes: Urgently needed lessons from early reports

Clinical Care

Several staff members from the NIDDK Phoenix Epidemiology and Clinical Research Branch have volunteered to provide clinical care, including for COVID-19 patients, and have implemented surge preparations at the Phoenix Indian Medical Center.

Help patients take action to combat COVID

Combat COVID, a website from DHHS, connects patients with prevention and treatment trials and plasma donation. The site also provides information for providers about treatment options and clinical trials.