Dr. Kabir H. Biswas, Assistant Professor at Hamad Bin Khalifa University’s (HBKU) College of Health and Life Sciences (CHLS), has published a COVID-19-related research manuscript in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS) journal.

Dr. Biswas, along with PhD in Biological and Biomedical Sciences/CHLS student, Mr. Wesam S. Ahmed (working with Dr. Biswas), collaborated with Yale University researchers on the project, titled “SARS-CoV-2 accessory proteins ORF7a and ORF3a use distinct mechanisms to down-regulate MHC-I surface expression.”

The paper outlined the team’s work in understanding the mechanism of interaction between SARS-CoV-2 protein ORF7a and human major histocompatibility complex class I (MHC-I) protein. Their research showed how the ORF7a protein can bind to the MHC-I molecule and outcompete its cognate partner, and thus aid SARS-CoV-2 in evading immune response.

The full research article can be accessed at https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2208525120