This spring,the World Health Organization began using the Greek alphabet to label key variants of SARS-CoV-2.The Greek names make it easier to talk about variants with the public,but in the scientific community these variantsarebeing discussed and studied at the molecular level to learn as much as possible about their evolution, replication and mutation.Judd Hultquist, PhD, shares insight on SARS-CoV-2 variants. He is an assistant professor of Medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseasesat Feinberg and an HIV scientist whose lab has shifted many resources to studySARS-CoV-2,to track the origin of its variants and also understand howantiviral proteinsfound in humanscan protect against COVID-19and other viruses.
