The purpose of this first Focus Funding COVID-19 call is to address urgent, unresolved questions on immune response, host susceptibility and the infection mechanisms of SARS-CoV-2. Projects must be hypothesis driven and evidence based. It must also be clear from the proposal how the newly acquired knowledge will contribute to a better understanding of the infection process and the concrete management of the current crisis. Projects must be submitted by 7 September 2020.

• Go to call(interner Link)

List of funded Projects:

Subject Area	Project in GEPRIS
Immunology Clinical Infectiology and Tropical Medicine	Dissecting the SARS-CoV2-specific immune response by epitope and single cell mapping in differentially affected individuals(externer Link)
Virology Cell Biology	SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein-Priming Cysteine Cathepsin L Acting at Microvilli of Intestine Epithelial Cells(externer Link)
Virology Immunology	Course of SARS coronavirus-2-specific antibody titers and magnitude of the memory B-cell and T-cell response(externer Link)
Biophysics Bioinformatics and Theoretical Biology Virology	meCocan - Towards a mechanistic understanding of the interaction of SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoprotein and host heparan sulphate proteoglycans(externer Link)
Immunology Virology	Defining the cytotoxic T cell response in COVID-19 patients(externer Link)
Experimental Models for the Understanding of Nervous System Diseases Virology	Infection, transport and degeneration of human neurons caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2(externer Link)
Virology Biochemistry Gastroenterology Cell Biology	Infection of intestinal cells by SARS-CoV2 and its effects on intestinal function(externer Link)
Virology Bioinformatics and Theoretical Biology Immunology	Identification of the molecular origins of comorbidity in COVID-19 patients(externer Link)
Virology	Deciphering the impact of Sars-CoV-2 envelope protein glycosylation on human pathogenicity(externer Link)
Immunology Virology	Investigation of the cell-intrinsic immune response and the antiviral efficacy of interferons against SARS-CoV2(externer Link)
Immunology	Long-term humoral immune responses against SARS-CoV-2 in healthy individuals and patients with primary immunodeficienciess(externer Link)
Molecular and Cellular Neurology and Neuropathology Clinical Neurology; Neurosurgery and Neuroradiology	Immune-mediated pathogenesis and development of autoimmunity in neurological manifestations of COVID-19(externer Link)
Virology	The role of TRIM-family proteins and other host cell factors in the restriction of SARS-CoV-2(externer Link)
Nephrology Immunology	Pre-existing Cross-reactive Anti-SARS-CoV-2 Cellular Immunity in Hemodialysis and Kidney Transplanted Patients - Implications for COVID-19 Disease Prognosis(externer Link)
Immunology Virology	The innate immune antagonism of SARS-CoV-2 ORF3a, ORF6 and ORF7a(externer Link)
Virology	Evolutionary risk assessment of European SARS-related bat coronaviruses(externer Link)
Virology Immunology	Mechanisms of protection from SARS-CoV-2 by neutralizing and non-neutralizing monoclonal antibodies in a small animal model(externer Link)
Virology	Role of TMPRSS2 in SARS-CoV-2 induced expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines(externer Link)
Virology	Inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 by antibodies to the proteolytic cleavage sites of the spike protein(externer Link)
Structural Biology Biochemistry	Biochemical and structural characterization of the SARS-CoV-2 non-structural protein 16 (Nsp16), a cap ribose 2’O-methyltransferase(externer Link)
Immunology	The role of adaptive NK cells in the control of SARS-CoV-2 infection(externer Link)
Cell Biology Immunology	Crosstalk between nonstructural proteins of SARS-CoV-2 and the autophagy signaling machinery(externer Link)
Virology	SARS-COV-2-mediated liver injury(externer Link)
Physiology Virology	SARS-CoV-2 induced damage of the alveolar epithelium in the lung and its inhibition by α1-antitrypsin(externer Link)
Pneumology, Thoracic Surgery Physiology Virology	Impact of SARS-CoV-2 on the barrier function of the airway epithelium(externer Link)
Biophysics Virology	Viral tools and monosynaptic tracers for studying SARS-CoV2 neurotropism and neuronal transmission(externer Link)
Immunology Anaesthesiology	The role of ketogenesis in the immune response towards SARS-CoV-2 (externer Link)
Immunology Clinical Infectiology and Tropical Medicine	Deciphering SARS-CoV-2 mediated inflammasome activation in COVID-19 patient-derived myeloid cells(externer Link)
Molecular and Cellular Neurology and Neuropathology Pathology	Targeting the neurovascular niche in COVID-19(externer Link)
Virology	Identification and validation of key host cellular factors directing SARS-CoV-2 assembly and consequences for neuronal proteostasis(externer Link)
Virology Endocrinology, Diabetology, Metabolism	Endocrine in vitro models to study pathophysiology and diabetes in SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19(externer Link)
Clinical Immunology and Allergology	Understanding Neutrophil Extracellular Trap (NET) formation in COVID-19(externer Link)