Isabella Eckerle

coronavirus disease

renal epithelial cell lines of various reservoir hosts, including bats, rodents and insectivores.^[3] Until the works of Eckerle, the isolation of bat-borne viruses in cell culture had been challenging. Eckerle created an experimental approach to instantly freeze the organs of specimens, so-called cryo-conservation, allowing her access to cells from a variety of rare species. She visited Ghana and Gabon as part of field work missions to study and collect bat species.^[1]

middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS).^[5]

coronavirus disease.^[8] In late April 2020, a serological antibody test in Geneva revealed that only 5.5% of the population had been exposed to the disease, which Eckerle described as "smaller than hoped for,".^[9] Eckerle investigated the different responses of adults and children to coronavirus disease.^[10][11] In particular, Eckerle studied the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in the upper respiratory tracts of neonates, children and teenagers. In early May, Eckerle reported that children who fell ill with coronavirus disease were just as infectious as adults.^[12][13] She investigated the viral loads of children and adults, and showed that whilst children can have a more mild form of the disease, there was little difference between the number of SARS-CoV-2 particles carried by adults and children.^[14] She was awarded funding from the Swiss National Science Foundation to investigate the reaction of the pulmonary epithelium to SARS-CoV-2 infection, in an effort to create diagnostic guidelines that help healthcare workers evaluate whether someone will contract a mild or severe form of disease.^[15]