A University of Nebraska Medical Center Infectious Disease Doctor is tapped for a nation-wide panel to help develop treatment for the new coronavirus.
Dr. Susan Swindells will join the US National Institute of Health convened by Dr. Anthony Fauci.
“It was an honor to be asked and my pleasure to be of service,” she said. “It’s a terrific group to work with – smart, hard-working and thoughtful. Our first call was March 24, so this was done in record time.”
Dr. Swindells says there is no treatment or guidelines for COVID-19 like there are for high blood pressure or other infectious diseases. The NIH is the nation’s medical research agency, which includes 27 institutes and centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Debra Romberger, M.D., Henry J. Lehnhoff Professor and chair of the UNMC Department of Internal Medicine, said the department is pleased by Dr. Swindells’ involvement.
“Dr. Swindells is extremely well-qualified to contribute to this NIH panel creating COVID-19 guidelines,” Dr. Romberger said. “Her track record of bringing new treatment strategies in other important infectious diseases like tuberculosis and HIV around the world gives her great insight.”
The NIH guidelines, intended for health care providers, are based on published and preliminary data and the clinical expertise of the panelists, many of whom are frontline clinicians caring for patients during the rapidly evolving pandemic. The guidelines are posted online (covid19treatmentguidelines.nih.gov) and will be updated often as new data are published in peer-reviewed scientific literature and other authoritative information emerges.
The guidelines consider two broad categories of therapies currently in use by health care providers for COVID-19: antivirals, which may target the coronavirus directly, and host modifiers and immune-based therapies, which may influence the immune response to the virus or target the virus.