COVID-19 research at CU Boulder

The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated research and science in unprecedented and unexpected ways. Learn more about what goes on behind the scenes at CU Boulder to help combat the negative impacts of this deadly virus and give the world a path forward.

3 years in: What we’ve learned about COVID

Three years after the first cases of COVID-19 emerged, scientists have a far better understanding of how it spreads, how to prevent infection and minimize symptoms, and what needs to be done to prevent the next pandemic.

Tend to get sick when the air is dry? New research helps explain why

4 easy ways to reduce your risk of severe COVID-19

How COVID spawned a surge in superbugs—and what we can do about it

From the archives

Timeline of the pandemic at CU

How has the pandemic changed you?

I've become acutely more aware of the disparities that exist in this country, between predominantly white communities and communities of color, frontline workers and white collar workers, etc. I've also realized just how important in-person school is for our children, and not just because they are learning to read and write, but also for their mental health. I've realized how critical public health is (my mom was a public health nurse), and how serious it is when our public health system is under-resourced. And I've realized I have expert knowledge that can help change peoples’ lives, and that people are grateful for science and knowledge-sharing that is focused on improving health and wellbeing.”
–Shelly Miller | Department of Mechanical Engineering

How has the pandemic changed your field?

The pandemic has upended the typical speed of research and sharing of advances. Rather than waiting on a six-month publication timeline, we now read preprints three days after the research is complete, and peer review happens rapidly in the open, while the formal review process takes place slowly and anonymously. The pace of discovery with this virus simply could not be supported by the old way of doing things.”
–Daniel Larremore | Department of Computer Science and the BioFrontiers Institute

What are your predictions for life in 2021 and beyond?

I'm predicting a second Roaring ’20s because there is pent up demand to celebrate with friends and family and explore the places that have remained on their bucket lists. We also may have the first ‘now generation’—the pandemic may fuel the need to live now because who knows when the next pandemic could halt the speed life. Finally, I believe people will have more ‘real’ face time and less screen time.”
–Dawn Doty | College of Media, Communication and Information

Read more: How has the pandemic changed you?

Isolation is the main feeling and challenge, physically, emotionally and socially. Both effective education and creative work need face-to-face communication and collaboration.”
–Z. John Zhai | Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering

Before the pandemic, my husband and I were always plotting our next adventure abroad. Now we appreciate reading in our backyard hammock and looking up at a bright blue Colorado sky. While Boulder isn't Bhutan, it is the home base we appreciate now more than ever. I used to joke with my mom about her being a ‘homebody,’ and thanks to the pandemic, I'm now more like my mom than ever. In contrast, we will never take for granted the opportunity to travel easily to be with our Ohio and Kansas City families.”
–Dawn Doty | College of Media, Communication and Information

The pandemic has made me eager to learn more about what has gone wrong with the response but also what has gone right. I firmly believe if we can take the lessons of this pandemic, we can come out of this stronger as a society than we were before.”
–Lori Peek | Department of Sociology and Natural Hazards Center

I try not to think on that. Not yet at least. I have trained my attention on my small part in the monitoring effort for the past 10 months, and ensuring my team is trained and safe. Although, I have noticed my fashion has changed, tending to be more field tactical oriented. I also have stopped reading and running, both of which break my heart, replaced by haunting hardware stores and manual brute labor. In essence, I switched verbs from think to do. I have had 10 months of doing. And I have found an embarrassment of my limits in that process. I look forward to the upcoming summer months of thinking. And resting. And improving. And visiting my mom, dad and sister.”
–Cresten Mansfeldt | Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering

Read more: How has the pandemic changed your field?

Disaster researchers have taken the knowledge and expertise they have attained from decades of studying earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes, and other natural hazards, and have applied that lens to this global catastrophe. So many lessons from other disasters—such as the insight that the most marginalized populations suffer disproportionately during times of crisis—have been borne out in this pandemic. There are also new lessons learned, including regarding how to do research when we are distant from one another, that we will undoubtedly carry forward.
–Lori Peek | Department of Sociology and Natural Hazards Center

Researchers of health inequalities have been heavily focused on chronic diseases, and lifestyle behaviors that contribute to them, as the major drivers of health. But now infectious disease is back on our radar. As a health lifestyle researcher, it’s clear to me lifestyle behaviors matter a lot for COVID risk, and social dynamics such as the emergence of new norms around mask-wearing are fundamentally important for understanding lifestyles and risk. I have started conducting research on health lifestyles in the COVID-19 pandemic, following families who have been in my team’s study since 2015–16 to see how the pandemic has changed them.”
– | Institute of Behavioral Science and Department of Sociology

Environmental engineering went home to public health, reuniting with a profession that it separated with a bit in the 1970s.”
–Cresten Mansfeldt | Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering

Finally people are beginning to realize that healthy indoor environments are critical for human health, not just to keep you out of the cold and rain. People are learning what filtration and ventilation is, and why it is important. Unfortunately also snake oil sales people are coming out of the wood work, selling products that are not backed by science.”
–Shelly Miller | Department of Mechanical Engineering

What has changed most for public relations is primarily about space and place, particularly for firms. Work from home was a trend that employees cherished in the ‘before times.’ Now that industry professionals have demonstrated they can work effectively and efficiently in a home office, especially when kids are back to school full time, I question whether a five-day week of commuting to and from an official office will be possible again.”
–Dawn Doty | College of Media, Communication and Information

What are your predictions for life in 2021 and beyond?

I think the pandemic has had important implications for the lives of young people in particular. They have lost more than a year of crucial educational and social development. Thank goodness for screens and the mobile internet era, which have allowed social relationships to continue in some form despite physical isolation. But those relationships are different when conducted online. I am anxious to see what the future will hold for children and youth.”
– | Institute of Behavioral Science and Department of Sociology

Back to norm will be slower than anticipated, while dramatic boom of tourism will be guaranteed. Remote education can only be supplementary to formal school education. Research and creative work cannot be done remotely.”
–Z. John Zhai | Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering

I hope we'll stop thinking of infectious disease as inevitable. COVID-19 precautions have led to dramatic declines in flu and other respiratory diseases, which means that things like testing, social distancing, ventilation and occasional mask use could mean we no longer think of getting sick every year as inevitable.”
–Daniel Larremore | Department of Computer Science and the BioFrontiers Institute

I hope that within a year, things will feel almost back to normal. That by the fall, if we do not have a surge in cases due to opening up too quickly, we will be able to feel safer around each other indoors and most will be vaccinated. I worry about when the kids will get vaccinated, though.”
–Shelly Miller | Department of Mechanical Engineering

That children who have missed the most school due to a lack of technology and a lack of social support will continue to lag behind their peers in educational attainment. This will have lifelong and likely generational consequences unless we intervene as a society. We should focus on the most vulnerable children to ensure we have a future we all want to live into.”
–Lori Peek | Department of Sociology and Natural Hazards Center

Conversations with the Chancellor: Exclusive interview with Dr. Anthony Fauci

CU Boulder research

Unique bioaerosol lab, dedicated students made COVID research possible

Got the sniffles? Here’s how to make the right decision about holiday gatherings

COVID still a ‘dangerous global health threat.’ New international study spells out how we can end it

Another monkey virus could be poised for spillover to humans, new study shows

Virus hunter: Preventing the next pandemic

CU Boulder mathematician earns nation’s highest early-career award for COVID research

US life expectancy took an alarming plunge amid pandemic

Not a moment to waste: How a resource beneath our campus was key during COVID-19

Specific UV light wavelength could offer low-cost, safe way to curb COVID-19 spread

Do COVID vaccines prevent transmission? CU Boulder kicks off national trial

How a ‘rag tag team’ of scientists joined forces to fight COVID-19 on campus

7 lessons about coronavirus that CU Boulder scientists helped discover

2% of people carry 90% of COVID-19 virus, and roommates are safer than you think

Why older adults must go to the front of the vaccine line

Researchers fight COVID-19 with new air filtration in Denver Public Schools

Who should get the first COVID-19 vaccines? Global study provides insights

How a simple smell test could curb COVID-19 and help reopen the economy

Frequent, rapid testing could turn national COVID-19 tide within weeks

How the COVID-19 pandemic can reshape our streets and relationship to cars

Aerosol research instrumental in getting musicians back to playing safely

Singing unmasked, indoors spreads COVID-19 through aerosols, new study confirms

Dorm sewage, vials of saliva and a state-of-the-art new lab: Inside CU’s COVID-19 testing plan

How sampling campus wastewater aims to keep COVID-19 in check

Why better ventilation is key to limiting COVID-19 spread on campus

How an ultra-fast screening test and a team of contact tracers aim to keep campus safe

The Conversation

CU faculty members share expert commentary on hot topics related to COVID-19.

Research webinars

of COVID-19 resesarch webinars, or click through to some our favorites below.

For the media: CU experts

As the CU Boulder community responds to the global COVID-19 pandemic, our researchers are available to discuss various aspects of this disease and its impact on people in Colorado and beyond. To schedule interviews, contact CU Boulder media relations at cunews@colorado.edu.

Engineering & Health

Disinfection of the built environment

Mark Hernandez is the S. J. Archuleta Professor of Civil Engineering, and his expertise is in the characterization and control of bioaerosols and fomites in the built environment. He can speak about the detection, distribution and abundance of indoor microbes and their persistence in response to different cleaning practices. He can also discuss the role of saliva and relative humidity on viral infectivity, and what Coloradans and people who live in dry climates can do to reduce their risk of getting sick from indoor spaces.

Tend to get sick when the air is dry? New research helps explain why

Environmental engineering researchers study airborne coronavirus disinfection

Disease networks and evolutionary strategies

Daniel Larremore, assistant professor in the BioFrontiers Institute and Department of Computer Science, is available to discuss the theory behind how diseases spread in networks. He uses mathematical tools to understand how pathogens evolve to evade the human immune system, with a focus on malaria. His work also probes the theory behind the spread of information, disease or neural excitations, all of which grow as cascades in complex networks.

CU Boulder mathematician earns nation’s highest early-career award for COVID research

Mathematician using Facebook data in the fight against COVID-19

Indoor air quality and infectious disease transmission

Shelly Miller, professor in the Paul M. Rady Department of Mechanical Engineering, can speak about how people can minimize their exposure to indoor air pollutants and COVID-19.

Simple safety measures reduce musical COVID-19 transmission; Aerosol research instrumental in getting musicians back to playing safely

Ask an expert: Staying COVID-safe this coming holiday, winter season

Singing unmasked, indoors spreads COVID-19 through aerosols, new study confirms

Air quality, filtration and ventilation

Jose-Luis Jimenez, distinguished professor of chemistry and institute fellow at the Cooperative Institute for Research in the Environmental Sciences (CIRES), is a top 10 cited scientist on the subject of aerosols: the dominant route of transmission for the virus that causes COVID-19. He can speak about how this virus spreads in the air like smoke, the easy measures we can still take to reduce the risk of contracting the disease ourselves or giving it to others, and how carbon dioxide measurements indoors can serve as an indicator of how well ventilated or not a space is.

COVID still a ‘dangerous global health threat.’ New international study spells out how we can end it

Society & Culture

Making social and policy decisions

Research by Leaf Van Boven, professor of psychology and neuroscience, found that when people simply take a moment to reflect on the consequences of their behavior, they tend to choose options that impose fewer risks on other people. He can speak to the role of personal responsibility in mitigating the spread of sickness, as COVID-19 restrictions lift. He can also discuss the impact of political polarization of COVID-19 management policies on public support for policies to reduce the spread of COVID-19.

Got the sniffles? Here’s how to make the right decision about holiday gatherings

Anti-Asian discrimination and racial profiling

Jennifer Ho is a professor in the department of Ethnic Studies and the director of the Center for Humanities & the Arts (CHA) at CU Boulder, and the president of the Association for Asian American Studies effective April 8, 2020. She can discuss the history of Asian discrimination in the U.S. and the causes and effects of racial profiling and anti-Asian racism related to COVID-19, as well as general history, culture and literature associated with Asian Americans in the U.S.

Anti-Asian discrimination amid pandemic spurs Jennifer Ho to action

(Communication Matters: The NCA Podcast)

Anti-Asian discrimination, impacts on vulnerable populations

Sociology Professor , director of the Natural Hazards Center, can discuss ongoing anti-Asian discrimination and the social impact the epidemic could have longer-term on vulnerable populations, including children, the elderly, and low-income families. Peek is the author of two books: Behind the Backlash: Muslim Americans after 911; and Children of Katrina, which documents the long-term impacts of Hurricane Katrina on children.

K-12 schools ill-prepared for natural disasters, warns CU professor

On coronavirus and the radical right

Benjamin Teitelbaum is an assistant professor of ethnomusicology and international affairs and a scholar of the radical right. He can discuss the role extremist groups are playing in protesting stay-at-home orders and exploiting the pandemic to recruit new members. He can also discuss how the coronavirus pandemic fits into the spiritual worldview of one ultraconservative ideology known as Traditionalism. Teitelbaum is the author of a new book about Traditionalism, War for Eternity: Inside Bannon’s Far-Right Circle of Global Power Brokers.

Business Impacts

Impacts on Colorado’s economy

Brian Lewandowski works in the Leeds Business Research Division (BRD). BRD collects some of the most comprehensive information on the Colorado economy through various regular reports and forecasts, including the Colorado Business Economic Outlook, the Leeds Business Confidence Index and Colorado Secretary of State’s Quarterly Indicators report.

Colorado economy adding new businesses more slowly, new report shows

Impacts on global supply chains

Gregg Macaluso is an instructor of supply chain management and faculty director of the Leeds School of Business Masters in supply chain management. He focuses on creating supply chains for Fortune 1000 companies across several industries. He can speak to the coronavirus’ impacts on global supply chains.

Entrepreneurship, COVID and climate change

Jeffrey York is an associate professor of entrepreneurship and sustainability at the Leeds School of Business. He can explain how entrepreneurship can help solve some of the crises stemming from COVID-19. He can also talk about the similarities between solving COVID-19’s challenges and beating climate change.

Legal Questions

On happiness during a pandemic

, professor of law, specializes in law, happiness and subjective well-being. He also teaches business law. Huang can speak to the emotional impact of the pandemic, as well as the impact of transparent leadership communications.

Research on pandemic emotions

COVID criminalization

, an associate professor at the University of Colorado Law School, can talk about legal responses to the pandemic, including the criminalization of COVID, the importance of nondiscrimination, and the law’s role in promoting public health. Skinner-Thompson draws on his expertise regarding HIV and the law. He has served as editor for “.”

Mental Health Impacts

Supporting your mental health

Sona Dimidjian, a professor in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, can discuss strategies for supporting mental health. Dimidjian is director of the new Renée Crown Wellness Institute, with a research focus on wellness for women, children and families. Her work examines the clinical application of contemplative practices, including mindfulness meditation, and behavioral approaches in healthcare settings, as well as social emotional learning in schools.

Crown gift to establish a unique wellness research institute at CU Boulder

On mental health for working parents, college students

June Gruber, an assistant professor of psychology, can discuss the mental health challenges facing working parents and college students amid the pandemic. Gruber specializes in the study of emotion, happiness and mood disorders and is currently conducting research on emotional wellness among undergraduate college students in Colorado.

6 questions: Navigating life as a working mom in a pandemic

Mental health in a time of disaster

, can speak about mental health challenges—particularly for vulnerable groups including children, adults with pre-existing mental health issues and recent immigrants—in the time of disaster. She can also discuss how different groups interpret and comply with public health messaging. She is a research associate at the on the CU Boulder campus and an assistant professor in the Public Health Preparedness and Disaster Response Certificate Program at the Colorado School of Public Health at the Anschutz Medical Campus.

Education & Remote Learning

Experts on K-12 school year amid pandemic

As K-12 schools across the country face tough decisions on how to reopen, continue remotely or offer hybrid models, education experts from CU Boulder are available for media interviews on a variety of pandemic-era topics.

Historical Perspective

On the flu epidemic of 1918

Susan Kent, a professor in the Department of History, can discuss the origins, spread, impacts and global consequences of the influenza epidemic of 1918. Kent is an expert in British, European and global history and author of the book, (2012).

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