Building on research started before the pandemic, the scientists are testing whether or not they can prevent protein receptors on the surface of lung cells from hosting COVID-19. 

“There are thousands of scientists working all over the world who are trying to change the course of this virus,” said Berish Y. Rubin, Ph.D., a professor in biological sciences and the head of the Laboratory for Familial Dysautonomia Research, who has been working on this project with Sylvia L. Anderson, Ph.D., director of their laboratory, since March. “We think we bring a unique point of view and perspective.” 

Before the pandemic began, the two scientists studied a genetic disorder known as familial dysautonomia. For years, they explored different ways to manipulate gene expression. As COVID-19 spread across the world, they realized their prior research could lead to a new therapy or preventative approach for the virus. 

The new coronavirus infiltrates the body by attaching to the “ACE2” protein on the surface of our lung cells, said Rubin. But in order for the virus to bind, the protein needs to be a specific shape. Imagine them as a key and a lock, said Rubin. 

“Only certain keys will work in certain locks. Think of the lock as being the ACE2 protein and the key as the virus that needs to fit into the hole in the lock in order to be able to infect the cell,” Rubin explained.

In the meantime, scientists around the world have been working on a cure. Researchers from Gilead Sciences Inc. have developed Remdesivir, an experimental antiviral drug that has recently gained popularity. Scientists have also identified tiny molecules that can block the site the virus needs to connect to, said Rubin. But they haven’t tried to change the original shape of the ACE2 protein, he said. 

“What we’ve been working on is changing the configuration of the ACE2 receptor, [the same way]we have changed the configurations of lots of proteins we’ve worked on in the past, so that the site the virus needs to attach to is no longer accessible. If it’s no longer accessible, the virus can’t infect the cell,” Rubin explained. “If I change the hole on the lock so the key no longer fits, then I cannot be infected.”

This could lead to the development of a new therapy or prophylactic for COVID-19, he said. 

Before coming to Fordham, Rubin conducted research in immunology and virology at Memorial Sloan Kettering and the New York Blood Center. His studies, including AIDS treatment research, has been published in many journals, including the New England Journal of Medicine. In the fall of 1989, he arrived at Fordham, where he and Anderson first identified the cause of familial dysautonomia, a rare genetic disorder that affects the development and functioning of a person’s autonomic nervous system. In 2017, the two scientists received the Janet Davison Rowley Patient Impact Research Award for their work on the disorder. 

This past March, they started experimenting with cell extracts from their prior research with a possible treatment for COVID-19 in mind. Now, they are growing hundreds of lung cell cultures and testing them with 2,000 different compounds that could reshape the ACE2 protein. The majority of the compounds are common drugs like aspirin and Zantac, which have already been approved by the Food and Drug Administration. The other compounds are “nutraceuticals”—fortified food products or nutritional supplements that you could find in a health food store, said Rubin. These can have promising results, as in the case of Rice Dream, an organic milk alternative that they identified to have an ingredient that aids patients with familial dysautonomia. 

“We are evaluating whether anything in our panel will change the structure of the ACE2 protein to limit or block the ability of the virus to enter and infect the lung cells,” said Rubin. 

Rubin and Anderson are among the scant few who remain at the Rose Hill campus. After the campus closed, they received an exemption from the Office of the Governor for their research. They don’t work side by side—they operate in separate areas, more than six feet apart. Their graduate students who normally work beside them are now stuck at home, as far away as Nebraska, said Rubin. 

The pandemic has affected their lives in other ways. Rubin said he knows at least a dozen people who have passed away from the virus, including a high school classmate. Another friend survived after being on a ventilator for 15 days, but still experiences shortness of breath. And he hasn’t had physical contact with his mother, age 93, for weeks, he said. Anderson, who is in the lab seven days a week, socializes on Zoom and FaceTime when she can find the time.

By the end of summer, the two scientists will hope to submit their first publication on their COVID-19 research. By then, they will know whether or not they have viable results that could result in a potential treatment, said Rubin. 

Speaking by telephone from the Larkin Hall lab, Rubin said he is hopeful that the work will lead to a breakthrough quickly. 

“Every day makes a difference for people’s health and well-being all over the world,” he said. 

The faculty members will be honored on June 27 for their work on behalf of patients with Familial dysautonomia (FD), a rare genetic disorder that impacts the development and function of a person’s autonomic nervous system.

Rubin and Anderson, who jointly direct Fordham’s Laboratory for Familial Dysautonomia, will accept their award at the Fifth Annual Global Health Repurposing Awards (GHRA), in Chicago.

Rubin and Anderson first identified the cause of the disease, which affects one in 30 individuals of Ashkenazi Jewish descent, in 2001, and have spent the last 16 years identifying and testing five natural, over-the-counter treatments for patients.

FD disrupts the autonomic nervous system, causing blood pressure spikes, strokes, vomiting, insensitivity to pain, and dry eyes that can lead to corneal abrasions.

The success of these “nutraceutical” therapies, which have allowed children to live normal lives, has spurred them to apply the same approach to treating osteoporosis and progeria, another rare but devastating progressive genetic disorder that causes children to age rapidly.

“Progeria is an interesting disorder, because people think it is a model for aging, so if you can slow down that process, maybe you can slow down the process in people as well,” he said.

Rubin, who focuses on natural compounds so as to make treatments affordable and accessible, said he’s grateful for the acknowledgement of Cures Within Reach. The researcher said he takes his greatest pleasure from receiving updates from the families who benefit from their treatments. One of the first patients to participate in the regimen, a 7-year-old boy who Rubin said was “on death’s door” in 2003, graduated from college this year.

“Scientists work their whole lives with the hope of impacting the world, whether it’s in the physical sciences, the biological sciences or the life sciences. But it usually takes a very long time for our work to be translated from the laboratory to bedside, so to speak,” he said.

“We have seen the transformation of people’s lives, and that is an incredible thing to be able to see.”