Single Molecule FISH-based Method to Detect SARS-CoV-2 Viral RNA from Patients at Unprecedented Scale and Speed

Long Cai
Professor of Biology and Biological Engineering

Professor Long Cai and his team are developing an innovative fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH)-based method to directly detect viral RNA without purification and biochemical amplification to significantly improve the scale and speed of detecting COVID-19 infections. They have already published a proof-of-principle method to detect 10,000 mRNA molecules in a multiplexed fashion. For multiplexing patient samples rather than different RNA, the team will use patient-specific barcodes to the probes hybridized to RNA from saliva/nasal swabs/other collection methods. Then all patient samples can be pooled and run in a single automated microscopy experiment. They expect to barcode and detect 10,000 to 100,000 patient samples in a single run that can be completed in less than 24 hours if this project is successful. Professor Cai further anticipates this approach can be used to detect host antibodies in the same highly multiplexed fashion from the same patient samples. In addition, other co-infection pathogens can be detected simultaneously at high sensitivity

Philanthropic goal: $300,000
Suggested minimum gift: $1,000

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