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PolyBio Research Foundation @polybiorf.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

“Millions of people worldwide have experienced lasting symptoms after Covid-19… The condition is also part of a broader and still poorly understood group of chronic illnesses that can follow infections, meaning insights into its biology could have implications well beyond Covid.”

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PolyBio Research Foundation @polybiorf.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

Featured in Bloomberg this week: UCSF’s PolyBio-supported LIINC team and their recent preprint suggesting SARS-CoV-2 viral and protein persistence in the gastrointestinal tracts of a portion of Long COVID patients. 1/

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PolyBio Research Foundation @polybiorf.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

Listen to Dr. Tim Henrich’s latest update on bone marrow biopsies in Long COVID: youtu.be/tD5gWVEjudQ?...

youtu.be

PolyBio Spring 2026 Symposium

YouTube video by PolyBio Research Foundation

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PolyBio Research Foundation @polybiorf.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

After PET imaging studies from the team flagged potential SCV2 persistence in bone marrow, Spatial Omics on a growing number of bone marrow biopsies are helping quantify viral RNA & protein burden, immune cell phenotypes, & host gene responses at single-cell resolution in people with Long COVID. 5/

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PolyBio Research Foundation @polybiorf.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

At the forefront of these efforts is UCSF’s LIINC program, which recently expanded to collecting and analyzing bone marrow biopsies from Long COVID patients & recovered individuals with the support of PolyBio. 4/

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PolyBio Research Foundation @polybiorf.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

An ongoing focus of this research includes monitoring immune and metabolic changes in bone marrow and BM-derived cells that are associated with viral persistence, but cannot be detected in blood samples. 3/

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PolyBio Research Foundation @polybiorf.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

and have been highlighted as sometimes sheltering persistent virions via early data from Dr. Morgane Bomsel’s PolyBio-supported team. 2/

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PolyBio Research Foundation @polybiorf.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

PolyBio is supporting research that investigates the bone marrow as a potential long-term SARS-CoV-2 reservoir site. Bone marrow-derived cells, including megakaryocytes and the platelets they produce, have previously been shown to contain SCV2 double-stranded RNA in Long COVID patients’ samples— 1/

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PolyBio Research Foundation @polybiorf.bsky.social · 17/07/2026

Watch the full Q & A here: www.youtube.com/live/oHJEo0K... Learn more about PolyBio’s Commercialization Advisory Network: polybio.org/polybio-comm...

youtube.com

AMA with Drs Proal and Putrino!

YouTube video by CoRE at Mount Sinai

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PolyBio Research Foundation @polybiorf.bsky.social · 17/07/2026

You have to choose a different regulatory route and that requires a lot of interactions with the FDA, a lot of validation experiments… This incubation process of getting the diagnostic out of academia and into the real world, that’s something we’ve been working on a lot.” @coresinai.bsky.social

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PolyBio Research Foundation @polybiorf.bsky.social · 17/07/2026

Dr. Amy Proal in collaboration with the Cohen Center for Recovery from Complex Chronic Illness this week: “A big goal of ours is that [Long COVID] diagnostics are available to be ordered in insurance care for the most number of patients…

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PolyBio Research Foundation @polybiorf.bsky.social · 16/06/2026

Watch Dr. Brodin’s full presentation from PolyBio’s Spring 2026 symposium: youtu.be/tD5gWVEjudQ?...

youtu.be

PolyBio Spring 2026 Symposium

YouTube video by PolyBio Research Foundation

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PolyBio Research Foundation @polybiorf.bsky.social · 16/06/2026

The team is performing whole genome sequencing and variant analyses in relation to over 3000 whole genomes obtained from patients with variable presentations following SARS-CoV-2 infection within the global COVID Human Genetic Effort Consortium.

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PolyBio Research Foundation @polybiorf.bsky.social · 16/06/2026

The study is being performed in a group of 500< severe and uniquely well characterized Long COVID patients, with signs of organ dysfunction or disease after mild/moderate COVID-19.

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PolyBio Research Foundation @polybiorf.bsky.social · 16/06/2026

This PolyBio-supported project is determining underlying genetic causes, and other modifying factors like sex hormones and interferon responses, impacting restrained T cell responses to SARS-CoV-2 & viral persistence in LongCOVID.

Genetic variants and antiviral immunity in severe long COVID. Three pink DNA double stranded molecules surround a bright pink coronavirus.

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PolyBio Research Foundation @polybiorf.bsky.social · 16/06/2026

“The challenge that we’re currently facing is to take these variants into the relevant cell type where we think they actually exert their function,” such as human organoid models of the intestinal epithelium, allowing the team to observe how these variants impact tissue-based disease.

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PolyBio Research Foundation @polybiorf.bsky.social · 16/06/2026

“What we’re finding across the genome are specific variants that are very much enriched, and have highly likely loss-of-function in these patients with [severe] Long COVID,” said Dr. Petter Brodin on his team’s PolyBio-supported genome study of Long COVID patients.

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PolyBio Research Foundation @polybiorf.bsky.social · 01/06/2026

Written summaries of PolyBio’s Spring symposium presentations are available now! Check out shortened, simplified summaries, or full technical explanations of your favourite research projects. 2026-spring-symposium-polybio.netlify.app #Longcovidresearch #mecfsresearch #chroniclymedisease

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PolyBio Research Foundation @polybiorf.bsky.social · 29/05/2026

We are currently recruiting for this trial of low-dose Rapamycin for Long COVID. Those interested should: -have a confirmed Long COVID diagnosis -be 18 years or older -be prepared to travel to the CoRE clinic for clinical visits (if possible) Email CoreResearch@MountSinai.org to apply now!

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PolyBio Research Foundation @polybiorf.bsky.social · 29/05/2026

The support will also allow study coordinators to conduct home visits for certain participants to collect blood samples, helping expand access for individuals who are too ill or geographically constrained to consistently travel to study sites. 3/

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PolyBio Research Foundation @polybiorf.bsky.social · 29/05/2026

The open-label extension phase will allow all participants – including those initially randomized to placebo – to receive low-dose rapamycin during a defined follow-up period, an approach expected to improve willingness to enroll while preserving the rigor of the RCT phase. 2/

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PolyBio Research Foundation @polybiorf.bsky.social · 29/05/2026

Breaking: Funding from Vitalik Buterin’s Balvi Fund Expands Long COVID Low-Dose Rapamycin Clinical Trial with a New Open-Label Phase 1/

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PolyBio Research Foundation @polybiorf.bsky.social · 23/05/2026

Researchers suggest that salivary virome profiling may eventually help identify biologically distinct patient subsets who could benefit from tailored antiviral or immunomodulatory therapies.

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PolyBio Research Foundation @polybiorf.bsky.social · 23/05/2026

The work also raises important translational questions. If future studies replicate the findings, HHV-6 could become a target for biomarker-guided clinical trials and therapeutic intervention strategies.

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PolyBio Research Foundation @polybiorf.bsky.social · 23/05/2026

The researchers note that while salivary EBV shedding was not associated with Long COVID in this cohort, EBV could still play a role earlier in disease progression or within tissues not sampled in the study.

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PolyBio Research Foundation @polybiorf.bsky.social · 23/05/2026

The findings suggest that HHV-6 reactivation may contribute to chronic disease processes in at least a subset of Long COVID patients.

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PolyBio Research Foundation @polybiorf.bsky.social · 23/05/2026

While overall herpesvirus shedding did not significantly differ between Long COVID participants and controls, higher levels of salivary HHV-6 DNA were associated with greater Long COVID symptom severity, including stronger associations with anxiety, depression, & functional impairment.

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PolyBio Research Foundation @polybiorf.bsky.social · 23/05/2026

The team measured salivary cortisol, testosterone, and estradiol levels while simultaneously testing saliva for DNA from multiple herpesviruses—including EBV, HSV-1/2, HCMV, and HHV-6 A/B—alongside SARS-CoV-2 RNA.

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PolyBio Research Foundation @polybiorf.bsky.social · 23/05/2026

The research team enrolled 45 participants with Long COVID and 45 age- and sex-matched controls. Participants completed detailed symptom surveys and provided saliva samples at multiple timepoints across two consecutive days.

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PolyBio Research Foundation @polybiorf.bsky.social · 23/05/2026

A collaborative study between the laboratory of Akiko Iwasaki at Yale University and the CoRE clinic at Mount Sinai has identified a potential link between reactivation of the herpesvirus HHV-6 and Long COVID symptom severity.

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PolyBio Research Foundation @polybiorf.bsky.social · 23/05/2026

Breaking: PolyBio-Supported Study Identifies Association between HHV-6 Reactivation & Long COVID Symptom Severity The work adds to growing evidence that chronic viral reactivation may contribute to the biological mechanisms underlying Long COVID. Read more: polybio.org/polybio-supp...

polybio.org

PolyBio-Supported Study Identifies Association Between HHV-6 Reactivation and Long COVID Severity - PolyBio Research Foundation

A collaborative study between the laboratory of Akiko Iwasaki at Yale University and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai has identified a potential link between reactivation of the herpesvirus...

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PolyBio Research Foundation @polybiorf.bsky.social · 09/05/2026

From novel platforms of detection for SARS-CoV-2 & herpesviruses implicated in Long COVID, to updates on clinical trials & the Long COVID Cure Initiative, this scientific symposium has a presentation lineup you won’t want to miss.

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PolyBio Research Foundation @polybiorf.bsky.social · 09/05/2026

Excited for PolyBio’s upcoming Spring symposium on Friday, May 22 from 11 AM to 5 PM ET? Here’s the full program of presenters you’ll hear from!

polybio.org

2026 Spring Symposium - PolyBio Research Foundation

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PolyBio Research Foundation @polybiorf.bsky.social · 08/05/2026

Catch Dr. Michael Peluso, part of the PolyBio-supported Long COVID tissue bank & LIINC collaborative, in Men’s Health this week! Read the full article here: www.menshealth.com/health/a7113... #longcovidtreatment #longcovidresearch #menshealth

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PolyBio Research Foundation @polybiorf.bsky.social · 27/04/2026

“The biology of Long COVID is measurable. The missing piece is the infrastructure to validate those signals and translate them into biomarkers, diagnostics, and treatments,” said Todd Park, co-founder of Devoted Health and Athenahealth. “LCCI is built to deliver exactly that.”

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PolyBio Research Foundation @polybiorf.bsky.social · 27/04/2026

“Long COVID is one of the largest unmet medical challenges of our time, and the science is ready for translation. By combining philanthropic capital with a focused execution strategy, we can help compress a process that would normally take decades into just a few years.”

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PolyBio Research Foundation @polybiorf.bsky.social · 27/04/2026

“This is an opportunity to help close one of the biggest gaps in medicine today,” said Steve Pagliuca, Founder and CEO of PagsGroup. “As someone whose family has been personally affected, I’ve seen firsthand how devastating this condition can be.

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PolyBio Research Foundation @polybiorf.bsky.social · 27/04/2026

(Cont.) with the goal of unlocking subsequent phases of the initiative - including extended support of the diagnostics-guided Long COVID clinical trials network, and translation of validated findings into clinical practice via a medical education program.

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PolyBio Research Foundation @polybiorf.bsky.social · 27/04/2026

A Catalytic Matching Funding Model to Accelerate the Next Phases This $10M donation also aims to drive rapid expansion of LCCI through matched philanthropy. The Park-Pagliuca Fund is actively engaging donors to match their commitment with an additional $10M of funds,

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PolyBio Research Foundation @polybiorf.bsky.social · 27/04/2026

These concrete steps will incentivize greater pharmaceutical investment while accelerating the path to effective treatments.

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PolyBio Research Foundation @polybiorf.bsky.social · 27/04/2026

By embedding validated diagnostics into trial design and standardizing trial endpoints, the network will allow trials to enroll faster and generate clearer, decision-ready results.

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PolyBio Research Foundation @polybiorf.bsky.social · 27/04/2026

The funds will also allow the LCCI core team to start building a national, diagnostics-guided, clinical trials network purpose-built for Long COVID.

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PolyBio Research Foundation @polybiorf.bsky.social · 27/04/2026

Diagnostics and targeted treatments The Park-Pagliuca fund adds to previous support for VIPER, a first-of-its-kind program focused on validating biomarkers and diagnostic tests that detect and quantify SARS-CoV-2 persistence and other biological drivers of Long COVID.

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PolyBio Research Foundation @polybiorf.bsky.social · 27/04/2026

“There is a growing disconnect between what science already knows about Long COVID and what patients and clinicians can actually access,” said PolyBio President Dr. Amy Proal. “LCCI is designed to close that gap, systematically and at speed.”

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PolyBio Research Foundation @polybiorf.bsky.social · 27/04/2026

Over the past five years, PolyBio’s international research consortium and others have identified reproducible biological drivers of Long COVID—including and immune dysregulation and viral persistence—that point directly to therapeutic targets. What’s missing is not insight; it is infrastructure.

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PolyBio Research Foundation @polybiorf.bsky.social · 27/04/2026

In the United States alone, the condition is estimated to cost trillions of dollars and has pushed millions of people out of the workforce.

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PolyBio Research Foundation @polybiorf.bsky.social · 27/04/2026

The Bottleneck: Translation, Not Discovery Long COVID has left hundreds of millions worldwide with debilitating fatigue, neurological dysfunction, and increased health risks including heart attack and stroke.

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