Microbiologist at @polybioRF: studying how persistent pathogens drive inflammaging, mitochondrial dysfunction & cognitive decline #longcovid #lyme #alzheimers
Joined September 2017
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It was great to do this podcast. Persistent #viruses - and many bacteria, fungi and even parasite pathogens - directly hijack our #mitochondria. They can hack and distort human gene signaling that controls senescence & inflammaging. This knowledge is huge for longevity treatments
Great to be featured last night on @WCVB along with amazing PolyBio funder & collaborator Steve Pagliuca. We are working hard to validate novel #diagnostic tests and treatments for the millions of patients around the world suffering from Long COVID & Chronic Lyme disease @pagsceltics @JessicaBrownTV wcvb.com/article/former-celt…
Persistent viral, bacterial, parasite & other #infections are increasingly implicated in chronic diseases and aging
We’ve united the top scientists, biotech innovators, and other stakeholders working to study & treat these infections into a 3-day Summit.
Come watch the talks virtually at the link below! 👇
We’re pleased to announce the inaugural PolyBio Convergence Summit will take place this November 18 to 20.
Presentations will explore the latest advances in persistent infections and their emerging roles in conditions such as Long COVID, chronic Lyme disease, multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s, and aging. Discussions will focus on the practical challenges that must be addressed to translate these discoveries into validated diagnostics, clinical trials, and effective therapies.
Add the virtual schedule to your calendar here: calendar.google.com/calendar…
Amy Proal, PhD retweeted
Breaking: PolyBio-Supported Preprint Finds Persistently Activated Virus-Specific T cells in a Subset of People with Long COVID
👉🏻Virus-specific immune cells show signs of ongoing stimulation and impaired function in a subset of people with Long COVID, offering a potential way to guide targeted clinical trials
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Amy Proal, PhD retweeted
Breaking: Steve and Judy Pagliuca and Governor Maura Healey Accelerate Major Effort to Deliver Treatments for Long COVID
$15 million raised by a coalition of donors to advance diagnostics and clinical trials for Long COVID; with the infrastructure expanding into chronic Lyme disease
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ALT Photos above from left to right: Governor Maura Healey; Steve Pagliuca; Drs. Amy Proal and Mike VanElzakker; Dr. Amy Proal and PolyBio Board member Jessica White. Photo credit: Josh Qualls, Director of Photography, Office of Governor Healey.
Amy Proal, PhD retweeted
In collaboration with the LA Times, Drs. Amy Proal and Tim Henrich discussed the latest tissue-based research approaches to investigate underlying drivers of Long COVID.
“If we’re really going to understand what’s happening and where [SARS-CoV-2] is persisting… we really need to understand what’s happening in these tissues,” said Henrich, co-Principal Investigator in USCF’s PolyBio-supported LIINC tissue program.
“We’re also trying to develop non-invasive means… using PET imaging, to look at different immune activation states, or maybe even look for the virus itself… These studies are currently in progress so we don’t have to put people through these biopsies, or ask for invasive procedures when we can do this in a non-invasive state.”
Amy Proal, PhD retweeted
Breaking: New Study Reveals Substantial Tissue-Level Immune Dysfunction Near Persistent Viral Reservoirs in Long COVID
👉🏻PolyBio-funded UCSF research finds persistent SARS-CoV-2 RNA alongside an altered gut immune response that may impair viral clearance 1/
It's madness that most people in the healthspan-extension space do little to control the activity of #viral, bacterial, #parasite and other pathogens that can hack their bodies over time.
Come listen to me talk at the Liberty Hotel next Thurs where I will discuss how to change this by optimizing anti-pathogen treatment approaches!
eventbrite.com/e/health-inno…
Check out these talk summaries from our recent PolyBio Symposium👇
Highlights include that four groups — Tim Henrich (UCSF), Marcus Buggert (Karolinska), Nicolas Huot (Institut Pasteur), and Esen Sefik (Yale) — presented different lines of evidence (human gut biopsies, non-human primate models, humanized mice) all pointing to the same conclusion: SARS-CoV-2 persists in #LongCovid gut tissue and adjacent lymphoid structures, and that persistence drives ongoing immune dysregulation.
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.
Interactive resource: 2026-spring-symposium-polybi…
#longcovidresearch #mecfsresearch #lymeresearch
6/ Researchers reported increased fibrin-amyloid microclots, elevated neutrophil activation and NET formation, platelet-monocyte aggregates, altered platelet serotonin, SARS-CoV-2 RNA detected in platelets, and evidence that Spike immune complexes can directly drive vascular injury.
Hey! If you’re in Boston check out my talk this Tues at @LongevityGL Aging Code Summit
I’ll overview mechanisms by which persistent infections can accelerate human aging processes. This includes how viruses, parasites & other pathogens directly hijack our mitochondrial activity
Amy Proal, PhD retweeted
Follow along with the #polybiospringsymposium2026 in this thread👇🏻
11:00 am ET—Dr. Amy Proal kicked off this Spring symposium with an overview of PolyBio’s new commercialization network that will help translate Long COVID biomarkers from the lab & therapies from coordinated clinical trials into useful tools in the clinic. She also discussed how this commercialization infrastructure can be applied to other IACIs.
Yes I am excited! Some of the updates on our Long COVID and related chronic illness projects will be truly interesting.
See you tomorrow!
PS: There is a Q&A at the end of each hour so get your questions ready
Excited for PolyBio’s upcoming Spring symposium on Friday, May 22? Here’s the full program of presenters you’ll hear from!
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. 🧵
polybio.org/2026-spring-symp…
This is an incredible $10M donation to our PolyBio Long COVID Cure Initiative (LCCI) Program. Funds are from the Park-Pagliuca Fund: a philanthropic collaboration between the families of Todd Park & Steve Pagliuca, each of whom have family members impacted by Long COVID
Breaking: Park-Pagliuca Fund Donates $10 Million to PolyBio Long COVID Cure Initiative
PolyBio Research Foundation today announced a $10M donation to support the Long COVID Cure Initiative (LCCI), a program designed to deliver treatments to millions of Long COVID patients by translating key academic findings into real-world diagnostic tests, faster and more targeted clinical trials, and accessible, patient-ready therapies.
prnewswire.com/news-releases…
ALT A man with reddish brown hair wears a blue surgical mask and lab goggles and looks under a lab hood to pipette liquid.
12/ This is the systems-level approach that transformed HIV from fatal to manageable - and it's now being built for Long COVID