Benhur Lee, MD, Professor of Microbiology and Ward-Coleman Chair in Microbiology
A team of microbiologists at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai led by Benhur Lee, MD, have developed an assay that tests the quality of an individual’s antibodies to see whether they strongly neutralize the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Using technology that differs from the more commonly used ELISA method of testing for antibodies, Dr. Lee’s lab has built an identical replica of the outer portion of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, or a pseudo virus. This replica allows researchers to see how well the antibodies from recovered patients actually block SARS-CoV-2 from entering into cells and effectively stop the infection in its tracks. Such neutralizing action provides confirmation that an individual is protected against the virus.